Manufacturer: Rolex Year: 1962 Reference No: 5508 Case No: 764'460 Model Name: Submariner "Exclamation dial" Material: Stainless steel Calibre: Automatic, 1530 Bracelet/Strap: Hermes, leather Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel, signed Rolex Dimensions: 37mm. Diameter Signed:Case, dial and movement signed, inside case back stamped II.62 Literature: For another example of a reference 5508 with exclimation dial please see 100 Superlative Rolex Watches by John Goldberger, page 186
Catalogue Essay
This reference 5508 was manufactured in the early Sixties and is fitted with a dial where the signature and scales are printed in gilt but with the addition of the white printed depth rating. The dial is beautifully preserved in original condition and displays consistent ageing with the numerals and hands. It further impresses with a wonderful rich black lacquer which remains intact. The most noteworthy feature however is the “Exclamation” dial. These dials stated to appear in 1962, the very year the current watch was manufactured. It is believed a small dot placed at six o’clock confirms the use of tritium. A few years later Rolex stated to use SWISS T<25 therefore an “Exclamation” dial in such condition is a true rarity. Launched in 1958, reference 5508 was an upgraded version of reference 6536/1, depth rated to 100 meters (330 ft.) and is fitted with a case without crown guards and the newly designed bezel with divisions for the first fifteen minutes.
Founded 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.