The reference 5512 was the first Rolex Submariner to be produced with crown guards. These protective features of the watch case are placed above and below the winding crown. The earliest models produced in 1959 had what have been called square crown guards. In retrospect, it’s easy to see that Rolex was still experimenting with this new feature because the square crown guards were subsequently changed to the “eagle beak” crown guards (below second picture). By 1960 the pointed crown guards (below third picture) featured on the 5512 had replaced the “eagle beak” crown guards. In 1964 the Submariner’s crown guards were changed to the round version, which is the style that we currently enjoy today.

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