Rolex - The Watch Auction: One Geneva Saturday, May 9, 2015 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: 1958
    Reference No: 5510
    Case No: 361'995
    Model Name: Submariner
    Material: Stainless Steel
    Calibre: Automatic, 1530
    Bracelet/Strap: Rolex Oyster, reference 7206, end links stamped 82
    Clasp/Buckle: Folding deployant clasp, stamped 1.69
    Dimensions: 38mm. Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial and movement signed, case back further stamped 1. 1958
    Accessories: None
    Literature: For another example of a reference 5510, please see 100 Superlative Rolex Watches, by John Goldberger, pages 208 to 209

  • Catalogue Essay

    Reference 5510 was manufactured for only a very short period of time and it is believed that less than 300 examples were manufactured. The production belongs to a period of time when the brand were making small quantities of unusual and varying divers watches. The present watch combines the characteristics any vintage Rolex collector aspires to. The case is preserved in excellent original condition with sharp beveled edges and the inside of the case back correctly corresponds to the date of manufacture. The insert is correct and the black lacquer dial reveals a rich complexity of different layers. The gilt writing and outer minute calibration are not printed on the black lacquered background but underneath and shine through in negative relief. The luminous hour markers and hands have aged evenly and taken on a beige-yellowish tone matching the gilt writing.

  • Artist Biography

    Rolex

    Swiss • 1905

    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.

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Ref. 5510
A fine and very rare stainless steel wristwatch with centre seconds and bracelet

1958
Stainless steel
38mm. Diameter
Case, dial and movement signed, case back further stamped 1. 1958

Estimate
CHF60,000 - 80,000 

Sold for CHF87,500

Contact Specialist
Nathalie Monbaron
+41 22 317 81 83

The Watch Auction: One

Geneva Auction 10 May 2015 6:30pm