Reference:5517
Submariner -> 5517
The 5517 is the MilSub: the British military Submariner, purpose-built for the Royal Navy and never sold through any retail channel. Production ran to roughly 1,200 units, and only around 180 are accounted for in collector databases. A 1978 example sold at Sotheby's in November 2023 for 482,600 CHF, the highest MilSub auction result on record, putting the 5517 alongside the earliest and rarest Submariners despite being a 1970s watch.
Core facts
| detail | value |
|---|---|
| reference | 5517 |
| family | Submariner (no date, military-issue) |
| distribution | Royal Navy (British military), no retail |
| movement | caliber 1520 (disputed; forum collectors argue 1570) |
| case | 40mm, fixed bars (soldered, non-removable spring bars) |
| crystal | acrylic |
| bezel | 60-minute (full-minute markings around entire bezel) |
| dial | T SWISS T designation (tritium) |
| caseback | broad arrow, circled T, military service number |
| hands | Mercedes (early batches), broadsword/plongeur (Batch 3) |
| total production | approximately 1,200 units |
| accounted for | roughly 180 examples |
Where it sits in the line
The 5517 sits outside the ordinary retail no-date Submariner line. The 5513 was used by various military forces, but those were standard commercial watches procured through military channels. The 5517 was built for British military diving with specifications that appear on no retail Submariner: fixed bars soldered into the lugs, a 60-minute bezel graduated all the way around, a T SWISS T tritium dial, and military caseback markings. Each was a Ministry of Defence requirement rather than a Rolex commercial choice.
The 5514 (COMEX) and the 5517 are the two non-retail branches of the 5513 era, and they sit in different worlds. The 5514 was a civilian-professional watch issued to a French commercial diving company. The 5517 was military, issued to the Royal Navy.
Production outline
Production ran in three batches, each with its own caseback and hand signature. Total output was roughly 1,200 units, of which about 180 are accounted for in collector databases and auction records. The remainder are lost, destroyed through military use, or sitting undiscovered. The scarcity is a structural part of how the watch trades.
Batch 1: 5513 case engravings between 12 lugs
The first batch still carries 5513 lug engravings, the clearest sign that the 5517 starts as a military adaptation of the commercial case rather than a separate case family.
Serial bands fall between roughly 3M and 4M, putting the run in the early 1970s — about 1971 to 1974. The lower boundary is not fixed from factory records.
Batch 2: 5513 engravings plus 5517 stamp under 7 lug
The second batch keeps the 5513 engravings between the twelve lugs and adds a 5517 reference stamp under the seven lug. Some examples carry both styles on the same caseback at the same time, the dual-marking pattern that captures the transition from repurposed 5513 cases to dedicated 5517 production. The Sotheby's December 2019 lot, sold as a 5513/5517 c.1974, fits this transitional character.
Serial bands run between roughly 4M and 5M, mid-1970s production, about 1975 to 1977.
Batch 3: 5517 engravings between lugs with broadsword hands
The third and final batch carries 5517 engravings between the lugs and the broadsword hands that most collectors now picture when they say MilSub. This is the late, full-spec form of the reference.
Serial bands run between roughly 5M and 6M, late-1970s production, about 1977 to 1980.
All three serial bands are collector approximations cross-referenced from auction records, private sales, and reference catalogues rather than factory data. The Royal Navy never published procurement lists by serial number, and Rolex does not confirm military issue dates. The ranges are internally consistent across auction catalogues and represent the current collector consensus, not factory boundaries.
Movement notes
The 5517 movement is disputed. Published source work leans toward caliber 1520. Forum collectors argue for caliber 1570. Both readings stay alive until direct movement evidence surfaces.
Dial map
T SWISS T designation
The 5517 dial carries the T SWISS T designation, with the letter T flanking SWISS at the bottom of the dial. Both T markers signal a tritium radiation source, the isotope used for watch luminescence in this era. The dual-T format was legally required under UK regulations for tritium-lumed watches. It is one of the cleanest single-glance separators between a MilSub dial and a commercial 5513 dial.
Standard military dial
The dial carries the SUBMARINER model text and, on most examples, Rolex Oyster Perpetual above centre. Most MilSub dials carry no depth rating, in metric or imperial; the Ministry of Defence did not call for one. Military identity is carried by the T SWISS T marking, the caseback engravings, and the case modifications, not by a separate dial design.
Maxi I dial
The Sotheby's 2023 lot is described as a Maxi I dial. Maxi follows the same logic as on the late 5513: enlarged lume plots for legibility, in the last years of matte-dial production. The 1978 production date lines up with Maxi I placement on the 5513 timeline.
Broadsword hand variants
Third-batch examples carry broadsword (plongeur) hands, wider and more sword-shaped than the standard Mercedes hand and absent from every retail Submariner. On a wrist or in a photograph, they are the fastest visual cue that the watch is a MilSub.
Case, bezel, crystal, and crown
Fixed bars
Fixed bars are the key structural identifier. Strap bars are soldered permanently into the lugs rather than fitted as removable spring bars, so the strap cannot detach underwater if a bar fails. They are sized for NATO-style fabric pass-through and will not take a standard Oyster bracelet.
60-minute bezel
The 60-minute bezel carries minute gradations all the way around rather than only at five-minute intervals, giving the diver minute-by-minute elapsed-time tracking for decompression. It was a Ministry of Defence requirement and appears on no retail Submariner of the period.
Case engravings and caseback markings
Military-issue watches carry specific engravings on the caseback and between the lugs, varying by batch as set out above. Correct, matching military markings are the primary authentication test for any 5517.
The dual-engraving pattern splits cleanly between maker and customer. Rolex reference and production markings sit on the inner caseback. Military identification (broad arrow, circled T, NATO stock numbers, service numbers) sits on the outer caseback. The inside/outside split holds across all three batches and is the first place a serious buyer looks.
The broad arrow is the British government property mark, stamped into the outer caseback and present on most 5517 examples. Any broad-arrow watch in the civilian market either left service through official decommissioning or carries an unclear chain of custody. The mark itself is never a civilian or retail marking.
The circled T is the UK legal requirement under the Radioactive Substances Act for tritium-containing items. It typically appears next to the broad arrow, marking military ownership and regulatory compliance in the same engraving block.
Many examples carry a NATO stock number beginning 0552, the Ministry of Defence procurement prefix, and a correctly formatted 0552 number is consistent with authentic MOD procurement. An individual service number or unit identifier is often engraved alongside, linking the watch to a specific sailor or diving unit. Cross-referencing a service number against Royal Navy records, where accessible, is the most rigorous provenance check available for the reference.
Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes
Military-issue watches were delivered on NATO-style fabric straps rather than metal bracelets, in keeping with the fixed-bar design. The bars do not take a standard Oyster bracelet, and the NATO pass-through is deliberate: the strap continues beneath the watch even if one bar fails, so the watch stays on the wrist. Packaging followed procurement logistics. Watches arrived in military stores packaging, not standard Rolex retail boxes.
Special branches
Batch 3 broadsword
Third-batch broadsword examples are the most collected and most valuable form of the reference. Dedicated 5517 engravings, broadsword hands, fixed bars, and the 60-minute bezel are the full-specification MilSub in one watch.
Batch 1 transitional
First-batch examples with 5513 engravings show the 5517 before it developed its own caseback identity. They are the earliest military-specific Submariners in the 5517 programme.
Authentication warning
The 5517 is one of the most faked Rolex references in the market. Extreme value (consistently above $200,000 at auction), a comparatively simple base watch (a modified 5513), and the difficulty of verifying military provenance combine to make the reference a fraud target.
The conversion path is short: a standard 5513 takes fixed bars, a 60-minute bezel, military caseback engravings, and broadsword hands. Each step is within reach of a skilled watchmaker, and the finished result can be visually convincing to anyone who has not handled a genuine example.
Three checks carry most of the authentication weight. First, documented provenance: a chain of custody connecting the watch to a specific Royal Navy unit or service number, verifiable against military records where those records are accessible. Second, physical inspection by a specialist who can read fixed-bar construction, caseback engraving depth and consistency, bezel graduation quality, and hand proportions against genuine military specification. Third, cross-reference against known examples; with only about 180 accounted for, the specialist community is small enough that most genuine watches are tracked.
The fake problem is not theoretical. Specific fraudulent conversions have been documented at auction and through private dealers, and authentication should be treated as the load on any 5517 purchase.
Historical market and auction record
Three auction results frame the 5517 as a consistent six-figure reference across different examples.
Sotheby's, November 2023: a MilSub c.1978 sold for 482,600 CHF and reset the auction ceiling for the reference. That result is now the reference point for a full-spec late watch.
Sotheby's, November 2018: a 5517 c.1978 sold for 218,750 CHF, documented with caliber 1520, military issue numbering, and a Rolex presentation case, against an estimate of 150,000 to 300,000 CHF.
Sotheby's, December 2019: a 5513/5517 c.1974 sold for $262,500. The lot bridges the 5513 and 5517 designations, consistent with the Batch 1 and Batch 2 examples where 5513 and 5517 markings coexist on one caseback.
Three results above $200,000 in their respective currencies, inside a five-year window, for a watch produced in roughly 1,200 units with only 180 accounted for. The rarity is structural rather than statistical. It was made for one client, in limited procurement batches, to be used operationally, and most of these watches had hard lives.
The value drivers are also specific. A 5517 reaches prices above $250,000 because it carries genuine military provenance rather than retail stock, period-correct tritium lume aged naturally across five decades, and physical specification unavailable on any retail watch (fixed bars, 60-minute bezel, broadsword hands). Each factor adds value on its own; together they produce results that regularly clear pre-auction estimates.
The market runs on batch type, completeness of military documentation, and physical condition. Third-batch broadsword examples in full-spec condition, with documented provenance, the service number on the caseback, the matching inside number, and an original T SWISS T dial in an unpolished case, sit at the top of the MilSub market.
Sources
- The Vintage Rolex Field Manual — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra
- History of the Rolex Submariner - Part 2, The 55XX References and 1680 Date — Tom Mulraney, Monochrome
- Inside Mike Wood's 'For Exhibition Only': A Private Rolex Collection On Limited Display — Tim Vaux, Hodinkee
- Full Spec Military Submariner, Reference 5517, Circa 1978 — Sotheby's, Sotheby's
- MilSub Submariner, Ref 5517, Stainless Steel Military Wristwatch Made for the British Armed Forces, Circa 1978 — Sotheby's, Sotheby's