Ever Wanted a Watch For Forty Years? My Sub 5513. At Last.

[Teeritz]

When I saw my first Bond movie (actually, it was a Roger Moore double-bill) back in the summer of '74 or '75 (can't recall exact year, I was a kid), I became a fan of OO7 and I also developed a hankering for a Rolex Submariner 5513 like the watch that Bond wore in that film.
Well, thrillseekers, I finally got one yesterday;



It's a long, long story, which I wrote about over on my blog, in case you have nothing to do for the next hour.

Removed a link and slipped it on;


Not a perfect fit as far as where the clasp is sitting on the inside of my wrist, but I'll get around to fine-tuning it sometime soon.
Now all I have to do is thin out the collection a little so that I end up with watches that get a little more regular wear.
I'd better head over to the Rolex Forum. Probably should have gone there first.

Cheers, all.

[Martin]

I love the 5513! It's my favourite sub that I might be able to afford!

[Matt]

Morning Teeritz,

My you look taller this morning, and strangely handsome with an aura of authority and calm resolution on your firm jaw. While I'm thinking about it, you remember we argued some years ago, well I now realise that you do, in fact, pronounce it 'tomato' and I was wrong, so very wrong. Have you considered marrying my daughter? She only has a Phd in Medical Chemistry, is merely the ninja captain of the UK Kendo team and is barely drop dead gorgeous all, but she is the best I can offer to you as a humble token of my utter devotion.

*ahem*

Joking apart, it's one you have talked about for a long as I've known you and it does look the absolute dogs on you, so congratulations.

Just don't wear it in the shower, I hear that they are water soluble.

[Teeritz]

Morning Teeritz,

My you look taller this morning, and strangely handsome with an aura of authority and calm resolution on your firm jaw. While I'm thinking about it, you remember we argued some years ago, well I now realise that you do, in fact, pronounce it 'tomato' and I was wrong, so very wrong. Have you considered marrying my daughter? She only has a Phd in Medical Chemistry, is merely the ninja captain of the UK Kendo team and is barely drop dead gorgeous all, but she is the best I can offer to you as a humble token of my utter devotion.

*ahem*

Joking apart, it's one you have talked about for a long as I've known you and it does look the absolute dogs on you, so congratulations.

Just don't wear it in the shower, I hear that they are water soluble.

That's easy. I haven't showered since I got it.

Thank-you, sir. I can now finally stop yapping about it. My wife is extremely relieved. Gotta run. Some nefarious criminal organisation has just hijacked a nuclear sub in the Atlantic and are holding it to ransom.

[muddy250]

How's the jaw doing? Must be aching a bit with the grin you can't shake.
Many congratulations, at last!

[Matt]

How's the jaw doing? Must be aching a bit with the grin you can't shake.
Many congratulations, at last!

It's that grin, we all know that grin. Whenever I'm trying to explain loving watches to people, it's the one bit I can't explain if they don't already know it. Some watches just give you a fat unshakable grin the very first time you wear them as yours, and you know that they will give you that grin for years to come every time you put them on after a break or notice them after they've just done their job unobtrusively for a while. You can get the same grin from cars or sports or doing something cool, but you have to do something, watches just give you the grin for free. They are, basically, a grin inducing drug.

So, Teeritz, did you pick it up from a dealer?

[Teeritz]

I picked it up off Chrono24 from a dealer in Italy. You should've seen my face when I put the store's address through Google Maps and up came the satellite imagery of a dirt road. Anyhow, the seller has a Premium rating on Chrono24, but I've never sent that high an amount via bank transfer and that was the scariest part.
This seller's price seemed realistic and the condition of the watch was among the best I'd seen on the site. I spent a few days mulling it over before I made the purchase.
Six or seven pre-owned watch dealers in my town, but I would only trust two of them. The rest of them play a game that I don't like. All of them told me that they hadn't seen a late '70s/early '80s 5513 for quite some time. I must admit that I hadn't seen any on their websites for the past two or three years. These models were getting a little thin on the ground here, so I widened my search.

As for the grin, it's been more of a smug smirk, but I think as the months roll by, I'll look at this watch for the time and the grin may appear out of nowhere.

[geoffbot]

Superb! A sub for the connoisseur Glad you finally realised your dream - a true grail achieved!

[Cam]

Wow! Very nice! Congrats on finding such a fine example

[Moroz]

Well done! A beautiful piece! You'll enjoy it for years to come.