OVERVIEW

By 1960 it had become widely known that the use of Radium in watches had the potential to pose at least a mild health risk, especially to those who who applied it to the dials (google Radium Girls) and so watch brands started to phase out its use in the early part of the decade. As Rolex started this transition they put a small lume dot below the 6:00 marker (!) to denote the lesser Radium content in the dial & hands and this was done for only a very short period of time until making the full switch to Tritium lume. These examples are considered a sweet spot for many collectors since you get the most coveted features in one package: Gilt, chapter ring dial with pointed crown guard case plus lower Radium content which is more safe and ages better over time. Exclamation dials are rare, but even more rare is finding one on a 5512 that looks like this.

CONDITION NOTES

CASE: Excellent with only potentially light polishing in the past on the top of the lugs. Overall, the case maintains its original shape and chamfers. Caseback has an engraving with “R.B. DOWLING” on it which by a quick internet search could possibly be the name of a famous painter.

DIAL: Gorgeous galvanic gilt glossy dial with perfect lume plots and some light lacquer deterioration from the lume. Despite this its still one of the best dials I’ve seen in a while and if I didn’t mention it you might not even see it. Ask me for a sunlight video.

HANDS: Excellent original flat gilt handset with matching patina and original lume.

MOVEMENT: Looks great and keeping time as well as any 60+ year old watch should.