WELCOME TO 5513 MATTE DIAL.COM
I am a collector at heart and come by it honestly, the collector gene coming from my parents. At first the “humble” 5513 without even a date feature did not seem appealing to me. However after spending some time with the reference 5513 I began to realize that the lack of a date feature is seen by many as a plus. With no date window, the result is a downright spartan if not classic dial. If the 5513 was a Porsche, it would be the 356 Speedster with side curtains instead of roll up windows and an uncluttered dashboard, with its tachometer displayed in the middle. Furthermore just as every modern Porsche can trace its roots to the 356, every modern Submariner can trace its roots back to the 5513. Wearing and collecting them makes me think of times past when things were less complicated...the most important thing, wearing a waterproof watch and keeping track of the elapsed time under water.

The 5513 with its matte dial was produced from 1966 to around 1984, and it’s hard to imagine anyone who has a passion for vintage Rolex not to put one on their wrist at sometime. It is my hope that having all these 5513 matte dials compiled together will serve as a helpful reference guide to those new to vintage Rolex as well as serve as a catalyst for more seasoned collectors to share their experience and knowledge concerning this reference. Hopefully this guide will stand the test of time and help vintage Rolex enthusiasts answer the all too often question, “What dial is this?”

Before we commence, I must give proper credit to those who generously shared their expertise and support so that this project could be possible. A big warm thank you to Marcello Pisani, Jedly, and Tomvox for their knowledge, time, and commitment to see this project completed. In addition I would like to thank Bluemartinifan for his editing skills that allowed this review to better serve its target audience. Furthermore, this project was aided by Tomvox’s exhaustive research into what have become known as the Maxi dials that he compiled and released in early 2008.