MAXI DIAL

The Maxi Dial run started after 1976 and continued until around 1984 with the introduction of the black gloss dial with white gold surrounds. Collectors have adopted the term Maxi because of the larger tritium plots compared to the previous dials, a carry over term used to describe the larger hour lume plots on the 16610LV introduced in 2003.

A brief overview of the Maxi Dials before we begin. There were five of them. All of them have “SUBMARINER” printed on top of the depth rating except the Maxi I which has “SUBMARINER” printed below the depth rating. In addition, all of the Maxi Dials have coronets more narrow at the bottom than the Serif Dials and Pre Comex Dials before them, and finally, when viewed under a 10X loupe, all of the Maxi Dials have “open 6‘s”, in the depth rating, some more open than others.

MAXI I DIAL

The Maxi I Dial was introduced in 1977 to 1978 and corresponds to cases produced in the early to mid 5 mil serial to early 6.0 serial. This was the last time Rolex would have a matte dial with “SUBMARINER” written below the depth rating. While the tritium hour plots of the Maxi I don’t touch minute marks below them like on the Maxi III, they are still very large.

Occasionally there is some confusion on how to tell the Pre COMEX Dial from the Maxi I Dial because both of have large tritium hour plots and have “SUBMARINER” printed below the depth rating. Here are some clues that I find helpful.

• The most obvious way to tell is by looking at the coronet, which on the Pre COMEX  dial is fat, rather than slender at the bottom. The coronet on the Maxi I by contrast is more tapered and slender at the bottom in appearance.
• In addition, the Pre COMEX dial has the “=” in the depth rating above and slightly to the left of the “A” in “Submariner” while the Maxi I Dial has the “=” sign in the depth rating directly above the “A” in “Submariner”.
• Finally the Pre Comex dial has a normal appearing “S” in “SUBMARINER” while the Maxi I Dial has the characteristic “zig zag S” in “SUBMARINER” which looks more like a backwards capital “Z” than an “S”.

Click thumbnails below to view full-size images:

Pre COMEX DIAL photo courtesy of whiskyguy

DETAIL 1

DETAIL 2

Helpful Hints to recognize the Maxi I Dial: If the coronet is more slender and tapered from top to bottom, the depth rating is printed above “SUBMARINER”, and the shape of the “S” in “SUBMARINER” is a “zig zag S” rather than a normal appearing “S”, then it is a Maxi I Dial.

MAXI I DIAL

DETAIL 1

DETAIL 2

MAXI II DIAL

The Maxi II Dial is commonly seen in the 5 mil and early 6 mil stamped cases and was introduced in 1978. This was the first time that “SUBMARINER” would be printed above the depth rating in a matte dial. 

There are several features of the Maxi II Dial that are distinct from the other Maxi Dials. These features include:

• the lack of serif on the depth rating
• a more normal appearing “S” rather than the “zig zag S” in “SUBMARINER” as seen in the Maxi I and Maxi IV Dials
• the “=” sign is placed directly below and in the middle of the “A” in “SUBMARINER”

Helpful Hints to recognize the Maxi II Dial: If “SUBMARINER” is printed above and is shorter in length than the depth rating below it, there is a lack of serif on the “f” in the depth rating, and the “=” sign is directly below and in the middle of the “A” in “SUBMARINER”, then it is a Maxi Dial II.

MAXI II DIAL photo courtesy of Jacek

DETAIL 1

DETAIL 2

MAXI III DIAL

The Maxi III Dial is a favorite among many 5513 collectors because its large tritium hour plots appear to touch the five minute hash marks underneath, giving it the nickname “lollipop”. The dial is commonly seen in cases stamped in the 5 to 6 mil range and was likely introduced around 1978.

There are several features of the Maxi III Dial that are distinct from the Maxi II, IV, and V Dials. These features include: 

• the large tritium hour plots that often appear to touch the 5 minute hash marks
• the large “open 6’s”, the unique serif on the “f” in the depth rating
• the fact that the two “0’s” in the “200m” depth rating line up directly underneath the      “N and E” in “SUBMARINER”

Helpful Hints to recognize the Maxi III Dial: If “SUBMARINER” is printed above and is shorter in length than the depth rating below it, there is serif on the “f” in the depth rating, and the two zero’s in the depth rating line up directly under the ‘‘N” and “E” in “SUBMARINER”, then it is a Maxi III Dial. 

I intentionally did not include the fact that the tritium appears to touch the five minute hash marks because this is not always the case. If you look closely at a macro shot of a Maxi III dial or under a loupe, and you will see that the hour plots do not always touch the larger minute markers beneath them. Furthermore, it has been my observation that the printing of the text on the dial is much more precise in its application than the application of the tritium.

MAXI III DIAL photo courtesy of Andrew Shear

DETAIL 1

DETAIL 2

MAXI IV DIAL

The Maxi IV Dial is commonly seen in cases stamped in the late 6 mil to late 7 mil range and introduced around 1981. The features of the Maxi IV Dial include the following:

• shares some of the characteristics of the Maxi I in that they both have the unique “zig zag S” in “SUBMARINER”
• has “SUBMARINER” written above and shorter in length than the depth rating below it characteristic of the Maxi II and III dials
• a very subtle feature is the fact that the “=” sign in the depth rating is directly below the “A” in “SUBMARINER” and moved slightly to the right. This is in contrast to the Maxi II where the “=” sign was directly below and in the middle of the “A” in “SUBMARINER”.

Helpful Hints to recognize the Maxi IV Dial: if the “SUBMARINER” script is above the depth rating and you can identify the unique “zig zag S” in “SUBMARINER”, then it is a Maxi IV Dial.

MAXI IV DIAL

DETAIL 1

DETAIL 2

MAXI V DIAL

The Maxi V Dial is commonly seen in cases stamped in the 7 mil to 8 mil range and continued until around 1984 when the black gloss dial with white gold surrounds was introduced. The features of the Maxi V Dial include some characteristics in common with the Maxi II, III, and IV Dials in that “SUBMARINER” is printed above the depth rating.  However, in this dial the printed “SUBMARINER” text is longer than the depth rating below it. 

Other features include:

• “open 6’s”
• a lack of serif in the depth rating
• the “=” sign is directly below and in the middle of the letter “A” in “SUBMARINER”

Helpful Hints to recognize the Maxi V Dial: if the matte dial has “SUBMARINER” written on top and longer in length than the depth rating then it is a Maxi V Dial.

MAXI V DIAL photo courtesy of GeoGio Greece

DETAIL 1

DETAIL 2

Click here for other examples