Case No. 001

Case No. 001

1965 Rolex Ref. 5513 - Explorer Dial

A Submariner Like No Other

Fresh to Market discoveries usually start in fairly ordinary ways. A quiet introduction from a friend. A phone call from someone who found you online. Occasionally they begin somewhere even more casual.

This one started in a WhatsApp group.

It was a chat made up mostly of collectors and a few dealers. The kind of place where people share watches they’ve seen, talk about the market, and occasionally pass along a lead. At one point someone mentioned that a person local to him had inherited a Submariner. That alone would have been interesting, but what followed got everyone’s attention. The watch, he said, was a reference 5513 with an Explorer dial.

Anyone who spends time around vintage Rolex knows how unusual that is.

Explorer dial Submariners are one of the great oddities in the Rolex world. Instead of the traditional Submariner dial, they carry the 3-6-9 layout made famous by the Explorer. For decades collectors have believed these watches were sold primarily through Commonwealth markets, particularly in the UK. What made this example especially compelling was the presence of its original papers from a London retailer, which helped corroborate that story. Watches like this rarely appear let alone with all of documentation still intact.

The conversation in the group immediately shifted. People started speculating on value. Someone suggested it could easily be a six figure watch. Another dealer simply said to keep him posted if it ever came up for sale. Rather than wait to see what happened, I reached out privately to the collector who had mentioned it. I told him that if there was any chance the watch might become available, I would be very interested. Not long after that he connected me with the person who had inherited it.

The watch had belonged to a close friend of his who had purchased it in London in 1965. When the friend passed away the watch had been left to him. The photographs he sent were surprisingly good. They looked like they had been taken at a watchmaker’s bench. The watch was shown clearly from several angles, and alongside it were the original papers that had been kept with it all these years.

Everything about it looked exactly the way you hope a watch like this will look. The dial appeared to be in excellent condition and the case looked honest and untouched. It had remained with the original owner for decades and had only changed hands once after he passed away.

Fresh to Market in the truest sense.

We spoke for a while about the watch and about his friend who had owned it. Eventually we were able to come to terms on a deal. Even though I never actually saw the watch in person before purchasing it, everything about the situation felt right. The story was consistent, the details lined up, and the watch appeared to be exactly what it should be.

When a watch like this surfaces there is always an element of timing involved. Being in the right conversation at the right moment. Knowing when to reach out. Sometimes simply raising your hand while everyone else is still thinking about it. This Submariner was one of those moments.

It’s rare enough to see an Explorer dial 5513 at all. To find one preserved in this kind of original condition, still with its papers and coming directly from the life of the man who bought it nearly sixty years ago, is something else entirely.

For me it remains one of the most remarkable Fresh to Market watches I have ever had the privilege of acquiring.

Fresh to Market documents the hunt. Sometimes it begins with a quiet introduction. Other times it starts with a conversation that happens at exactly the right moment.

This was one of those moments.

If you have a watch with a story behind it, I would be glad to hear from you.