The Countdown Begins: Inside the Mind of a Rolex Collector
Plus the biggest peek we've ever had inside Rolex; a job posting from Audemars Piguet and the latest from Le Brassus.
In today’s newsletter:
Introducing The Countdown, a fun new way to profile collectors. The first edition features a whole bunch of beautiful gilt Submariners.
Then, behind the paywall: The most info I’ve ever seen published about what’s going on inside Rolex.
And what a job posting from Audemars Piguet tells us about what’s going on in Le Brassus.
Dr. John Field is a watch collector, anesthesiologist, and competitive shotgun shooter from Beaumont, Texas (population 112,193). He knows what he knows, and, more importantly, what he doesn’t know.
“I really know Rolex Submariners from 1959–1966,” Field says.
If you’ve been around vintage Rolex, you’ll best recognize Field as the proprietor of 5513mattedial.com or as “Beaumont Miller II” on Instagram (“I’m from Texas and use a Miller 2 blade during procedures,” Dr. Field says matter-of-factly).
Field’s Southern accent is smooth and sweet like molasses—much like the warm, brownish dials he tends to collect.
I sat and chatted with John about his decades of collecting vintage watches at the NAABS meetup last month. He and his brother organized the first meetup 10 years ago—seven collectors talking watches over a few steak dinners—and it’s grown into an annual event with around 35 attendees.
My chat with Field is the perfect opportunity to introduce a new series to Unpolished: The Countdown, a look inside the mind of a collector.
Each edition will follow a simple 3-2-1 format:
3 watches that define their taste
2 objects they love beyond watches
1 piece of advice
It’s a snapshot of what they wear, what they value, and how they think. You’ll see an edition every few weeks. Without further ado, here’s The Countdown with Dr. John Field.
“My father wore a 1963 Rolex Oyster Perpetual for 60 years,” Field says. “Seeing that watch every day on my father’s wrist and knowing how special it was to him make it much more significant than something he never wore.”
Field’s father wasn’t a watch collector, but he collected stamps. “It’s crazy to think it’s in your DNA somehow,” Field says. Perhaps it’s seeing someone else amass a collection that gives you license to maniacally pursue your own interests.
1. Rolex Submariner Ref. 5512 ‘Eagle Beak’
“This is a [Rolex] Submariner 5512 ‘eagle beak’ from 1959,” Field says. In 1959, Rolex introduced the first Submariner with crown guards, using a bulky square shape. Turns out these crown guards made it hard to use the crown, so Rolex switched to “eagle beak” crown guards soon after, referring to how they taper to a final point. By 1960, Rolex would transition to pointed crown guards, making these early 5512s extremely rare.
“This is one of the crowns of my collection,” Field says. In addition to the sharp crown guards, it retains an original red triangle insert—the price of the bezel alone could net you a few modern Subs.
Urban legend says that as few as 100 square crown guard 5512 examples exist today, with maybe twice that many eagle beak 5512s.
Field has a beautiful gilt dial in his 5512 that’s aged to a tropical brown.
2. One of the Earliest Submariner Ref. 5513s
“This is one of the earliest 5513s ever produced,” Field says, explaining he knows of just one example with a serial number earlier than his.
Rolex introduced the Submariner ref. 5513 a couple of years after the 5512. The biggest difference is on the inside, as the 5513 did not have a chronometer-certified movement, while the 5512 did. On the dial, that means a 5513 has a simple two lines of text—after the first couple of years, 5512s are all “four liners” that say superlative chronometer officially certified.
“To have one of the first 5513s ever made is just as exciting as having a 5512,” Field says.
3. That ‘Crazy’ Submariner Ref. 5512
“This watch is crazy,” Field says. If you just look at it, you can see it’s a good-looking Submariner. But a few attributes make it special to collectors: Four-liner; chapter ring; underline; silver gilt print.
“I’ve only seen one other dial exactly like this,” Field said, adding that it’s probably the rarest 5512 he’s ever held. I’m always curious about where collectors draw the line between rare and obscure, so I posed the question to John.
“First, it has to appeal to you. Just because it’s rare doesn’t mean it’s desirable or that you should own it,” Field said. “Then, it has to be important in that class of objects—either as a technological or aesthetic advancement.”
“I’ve never chased a watch just because it’s rare.”
Beretta 687 EELL and 682 Gold
“I’m a competitive sporting clay enthusiast,” Field says. He’s been competing for 26 years.
“I compete with a Beretta 687 EELL.” He’s got a pair of ‘em, and that’s been his competitive shotgun for the last 15 years.
“It’s funny because you won’t see many people shooting the same gun for 15 years. So when somebody says ‘I’m still trying to learn my new gun, I kind of chuckle and keep on shooting.”
Field also showed his Beretta 682 Gold. It’s clean, with a receiver that’s nicely machined and finished. As someone who knows nothing about shotguns, much less thought I’d ever include any in this newsletter, I asked John about their similarities to watches.
“There are a handful of things I think are worthy of passing down—watches and shotguns are certainly two of them,” Field says. “There’s a beauty of craftsmanship to both.”
They’re also both tools made to be used.
“I went through a period of looking for a safe queen, for the perfect watch,” Field said. But when he started thinking about his father’s Rolex, he realized the fun in passing these objects down is knowing they were worn, shot, or used all the time.
“Buy the best you can afford,” Field said. “Always focus on quality and condition.”
“I remember one time I was thinking about buying a watch and my father asked, ‘Do you think you’ll ever find a nicer one?’” If not, it’s an easy decision.
Field looks at the dial first and then the case. “A great watch starts with a great dial, but doesn’t end there.” Field says he’s handled so many examples he can tell whether a case is soft, thin, or overpolished, and tells collectors to seek out the same hands-on experience.
The Roundup
💼 Audemars Piguet is hiring a Global CPO Manager. AP is hiring someone to build out its certified preowned program. According to the job description, “Your main responsibility will be to build and set up a transactional call center dedicated to second-hand watches.” The goal is to build a system that lets customers remotely purchase second-hand watches. Former CEO François-Henry Bennahmias said that AP would launch a CPO program, so it sounds like the brand is gearing up for a rollout. Unlike Rolex with its network of retailers, it sounds like AP’s program will be more centralized since it’s transitioned to a model of brand-owned boutiques.
More importantly, you all in Switzerland are getting 7 weeks of vacation a year and a pension?? If only those French Duolingo lessons were sticking a little better….
🌎 Rolex released its first sustainability report. There’s a ton of info about the company—it’s gotta be the most I’ve ever seen published in one place. I’d start on the company presentation, and then click through the other sections. As you might imagine, there’s some PR-speak, but also a lot of real facts about Rolex. A few callouts from my first read:
15,548 employees worldwide, 80% in Switzerland.
Rolex had 5% staff turnover in 2023, three-quarters of which were retirements. It made 1,102 hires in Switzerland in 2023.
Gender breakdown: men 56.9%; women 43.1%. At management level: 81.4% men; 18.6% women.
Rolex has 1,470 points of sale worldwide.
Precious materials account for 88% of Rolex’s carbon footprint, most of that from mining gold. It sources precious metals in three ways: recovered gold from Rolex production waste (70%); mined gold (18%) and residual gold from watchmaking and electronics (12%).
Rolex is introducing a new presentation box made of 45% wood, a change from its previous box that was 92% plastic.
The Rolex jet? “As part of its commercial activities, Rolex uses private aviation…it fully offsets the CO2 emissions generated by this type of travel through the purchase of certified carbon credits.” They’re probably actually using NetJets (or whatever), but much the way some imagine there’s a Hodinkee helicopter, let’s imagine there’s a Rolex jet.1
Rolex’s sustainability report is required by a broad new European Union directive. The NY Times wrote last year that some watch brands might be “greenhushing” as sales slow. But based on the actions detailed in this report, sustainability sounds like a real, continued effort for Rolex.
I could probably do a follow-up newsletter on this report—let me know what you think.
🕵️ A $12 million watch heist is solved. Last year, they stole $12 million in watches and jewelry from a Hyde Park Jewelers in Colorado. Now, the suspect has been found in New Jersey—where he was wearing a $10k stolen watch.
🌀 For Sale: Jaeger-LeCoultre spiral pocket watch. Check out this trippy JLC pocket watch with black dial on eBay.
Get in contact:
tony@unpolishedwatches.com
❣️ Tap the heart or leave a comment if you like the format—seriously, it helps me know if Unpolished is hitting the mark:
LGA to Soho in 10 minutes!
I’d like to see a review of the report. Those details are interesting. I also appreciated the Denver theft update. I visit Denver regularly and have been to that store so it felt more tangible. Plus the story and way it was done is almost like a movie heist.
Another great newsletter. Looking forward to additional “Countdown” content.
How about the amazing Mall security at Cherry Creek Mall! Wild!