5513 Dial Question: Serif v. Maxi

[dbhak22]

Hey all,

Have a question I can't seem to find an answer to...and maybe there isn't a good answer for it but thought I'd ask the members here.

As most of us know, for 5513s, the maxi dial is one of the most popular/sought after. And common understanding is that the maxi dials started in the early 5-mil serial range to the early 6-mil serial range.

My question is, how/why would a 5513 within that serial range have a serif dial? I'd understand if they may have a non-serif dial since these were the dials commonly understood to be used coming up to the maxi dials but serif dials were before non-serif so are even older ("further away" from the maxi dial range)?

I'm also asking because I recently sold a Submariner in this combination (my uncle's watch; first owner) and he is 100% sure that he purchased this way new from Bucherer back in the late 70s. BUT, because the case is in the maxi range, many were cautious which I completely understand as the vintage Rolex world is a bit of a scary one and we all fear the frankens. However, I noticed recently that HQMilton has this configuration as well which made me wonder...just one of the Rolex mysteries? Have all of these had dials replaced with older ones at some point? Maybe Rolex just popped in some old dials they had laying around?

1978 / 5.5m / Serif Dial


1978 / 5.6m / Serif Dial


1979 / 6.0m / Serif Dial

[Sky21]

Hello, I don't think that these dials can immediately be considered as replacements. In the 5 to 6 million serial there are so many different dials seen in such a short time that any of them were probably original. You can find the Non-Serif, the Pre-Comex, and the Maxi 1, 2, and 3 dials so why not the Serif dial as well. I think the serial ranges listed on various websites are more of a guide than a hard and fast definite rule.

[dbhak22]

Originally Posted by Sky21

Hello, I don't think that these dials can immediately be considered as replacements. In the 5 to 6 million serial there are so many different dials seen in such a short time that any of them were probably original. You can find the Non-Serif, the Pre-Comex, and the Maxi 1, 2, and 3 dials so why not the Serif dial as well. I think the serial ranges listed on various websites are more of a guide than a hard and fast definite rule.

Thanks for the response! Appreciate it.