The PHILLIPS New York Watch Auction: XIII takes place on 6-7 December 2025, at our Park Avenue headquarters. The auction includes more than 140 of the world's finest watches – and though we are loath to boast, we truly think it's one of the best catalogues we've ever put together. We'll be highlighting a number of the most interesting lots and stories featured in the sale right here, including the 1958 Rolex Submariner “Big Crown, 4-Liner” Ref. 6538 (lot 26) seen below.
The Rolex Submariner Ref. 6538 doesn’t need much introduction.
Even if you’ve never studied vintage Rolex, you’ve seen it – on Sean Connery’s wrist in Dr. No, From Russia With Love, and Goldfinger. The “Big Crown” Ref. 6538, with its 8mm winding crown and lack of crown guards, is the archetype of the legendary "James Bond" Submariner.
Produced for only a few short years in the mid-to-late 1950s, the Ref. 6538 helped define the modern dive watch. Although many examples have come to auction over the decades, few have survived in the kind of condition seen with lot 26 in this weekend's Phillips New York Watch Auction: XIII.
Most early Submariners led the hard lives they were originally built for. They were tools – scratched, polished, and worn to the bone. What makes this particular Ref. 6538 special is how little of that story it shows. Its case remains strikingly sharp, with factory bevels still visible along the lugs and the “Stainless Steel” engraving on the caseback as crisp as when it first left Geneva in 1958.
These are the kind of details that tend to disappear after a single polish, and their presence here makes clear that this watch has spent decades tucked safely away rather than strapped over a wetsuit. Even under a loupe, the surfaces read as honest: some wear, yes, but no soft edges or telltale signs of refinishing.
The dial provides another revelation. The glossy black lacquer surface retains its depth, with only the faintest fissures expected from age. The printing remains vivid, and the luminous plots and hands have aged together to a rich, even beige.
The “four-liner” text layout, with the two additional “Officially Certified Chronometer” lines beneath the depth rating, signals a later, rarer, and more highly sought-after evolution within the reference. These chronometer-rated movements appeared only toward the last few years of 6538 production (starting around 1956), making surviving dials like this scarce.
When viewed as a whole, this watch captures the essence of mid-century Rolex design – compact at 37mm yet bold with its oversized crown, glossy dial, and red triangle bezel insert. It’s the last of the pure, no-guard Submariners, before Rolex transitioned to the more familiar Ref. 5512 and Ref. 5513 that would define the 1960s.
Vintage Rolex watch collecting often hinges on nuance: the bevel of a lug, the glow of a lume plot, the crispness of an engraving. The present 1958 “Big Crown, 4-Liner” Ref. 6538 is the complete package, preserved with the kind of attention and care that feels almost impossible to find today.
You can view the complete Phillips New York Watch Auction: XIII auction catalogue here.