ROLEX. A RARE MEN'S VINTAGE STAINLESS STEEL AUTOMATIC 5512 BRACELET WATCH WITH POINTED CROWN GUARDS 5512 "CORNINO" Model: Oyster Perpetual, Submariner 200m=660ft Date: 1960 Case reference: 5512 Movement: Signed, 25-Fine Rubies, Cal. 1530 Dial: Signed, black, luminous applied hour dots, silvered Mercedes hands with luminous applied, white outer minute division, non date Case: Signed, brushed and polished stainless steel, black bezel insert, screw down crown, pointed crown guards, screw down back, No. 578XXX Bracelet: Signed, brushed and polished stainless steel, signed stainless steel deployment clasp Size: 39mm Accompaniments: Genuine Rolex bezel insert from 1960's *For a similar example of this watch without the bracelet, please see Lot 15, Christies Watch Auction 23-30 September, sale 18905, An important Private Asian Collection Part IV. In 1953, French diver Jacqes Cousteau wrote The Silent World, a book that narrated his underwater explorations, This book and the Academy Award-winning film that followed captured the world's imagination and forged a generation of recreational divers. Rolex's response to this (and the ground-breaking divers watch developed by Blancpain) was to create a versatile wristwatch that still to this day continues to stand to test of time - the Submariner. This particular watch is all the more interesting because of the pointed crown guards and the "exclamation mark dial", making it an extremely rare and collectable piece. The small radium dot at the 6 o'clock position, which due to being located below a baton, resembles and exclamation mark. These kind of dials were produce for only a short period of time, between 1961 and 1962. The second notable feature is the pointed crown guards. These crown guards ( or "Cornino" in Italian), were produce by Rolex after complaints from costumers about bulkiness, Rolex filed away the square crown guards of their stock. The "Cornino" was born. Another notable feature can be found towards the base of the dial at 6 o'clock, which reads ‘T SWISS T<25’, denoting that the watch is Swiss and contains a certain quantity of tritium that emits less than 227 MBq. Previous models are instead inscribed ‘SWISS-T< 25’, denoting that the watch is Swiss but that this watch contains a certain quantity of tritium that emits less than 925 MBq. (39mm.)