168▼
Rolex
Ref. 5508
Submariner
A fine and rare stainless steel wristwatch with centre seconds and bracelet
- Estimate
- CHF15,000 - 25,000
CHF25,000
Lot Details
- Manufacturer
- Rolex
- Year
- 1958
- Reference No
- 5508
- Case No
- 489'985
- Model Name
- Submariner
- Material
- Stainless steel
- Calibre
- Automatic, 1530
- Bracelet/Strap
- Stainless steel Rolex Oyster, reference 7206, end links stamped 58
- Clasp/Buckle
- Folding deployant clasp, stamped 4. 67
- Dimensions
- 38mm. Diameter
- Signed
- <em>Case, dial and movement signed, inside case back stamped III. 1958</em>
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
The reference 5508 with so-called “small crown” was the final Rolex model to be made without crown guards, found on every other Submariner produced afterwards, beginning with the reference 5512. The reference is also noteworthy for being the last version of the Submariner to have a depth rating of 100 feet.The present example is fitted with its original and stunning glossy dial, with a combination of gilt printing for the coronet, Rolex, Oyster Perpetual, and Submariner text, and a silver printed depth rating. The dial’s luminous markers match the luminous material found inside the early style hands.
Literature
Rolex
Swiss | 1905Founded in 1905 England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, it soon became known as the Rolex Watch Company in 1915, moving its headquarters to Geneva in 1919. Like no other company, the success of the wristwatch can be attributed to many of Rolex's innovations that made them one of the most respected and well-known of all luxury brands. These innovations include their famous "Oyster" case — the world's first water resistant and dustproof watch case, invented in 1926 — and their "Perpetual" — the first reliable self-winding movement for wristwatches launched in 1933. They would form the foundation for Rolex's Datejust and Day-Date, respectively introduced in 1945 and 1956, but also importantly for their sports watches, such as the Explorer, Submariner and GMT-Master launched in the mid-1950s.One of its most famous models is the Cosmograph Daytona. Launched in 1963, these chronographs are without any doubt amongst the most iconic and coveted of all collectible wristwatches. Other key collectible models include their most complicated vintage watches, including references 8171 and 6062 with triple calendar and moon phase, "Jean Claude Killy" triple date chronograph models and the Submariner, including early "big-crown" models and military-issued variants.
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