1963 Left-handed LHD Rolex Submariner Ref. 5513 ‘PCG’ with Gilt ‘Underline' dial

Some watches whisper history. Others, like this one, seem to shout it from beneath the waves. The Rolex Submariner ref. 5513 was introduced in 1962 as a no-nonsense diver’s companion, built with the purity of purpose that defined Rolex’s golden era of tool watches. Yet even among the rarest variations— like those with gilt gloss dials and pointed crown guards—there exists a sliver of production so rare, so anomalous, it almost feels mythical: the left-handed.

This particular example dates to 1963, and from first glance, it’s clear that something is different. The crown, customarily perched on the right, has migrated to the left side of the case—an exceedingly rare configuration that Rolex never officially catalogued.

These destro watches, believed to be special orders from military units or left-handed professional divers, are marked by telltale signs: the serial number between the lugs at 6 o’clock, and the reference number at 12—a reversal from standard production that hints at a carefully orchestrated deviation inside Rolex’s Geneva walls. However, some skeptics say this could be a human error as serial and reference number engraving was a manual job back then and the person who did it could have turned the case 180 degrees accidentally. So the final telltale sign is the dials' back—more preciselly, the dial feet. In normal watches, the dial feet are placed at 11 and 6 o'clock. This means that if you turn the case 180 degrees to place the crown in the left side, the dial would not fit anymore in the right position as the dial feet are now placed at 12 and 5 o'clock. So, what we have to look at here is for any signs or traces of the dial feet at 11 and 6 o'clock been removed or cut off and welded back again in the 12 and 5 o'clock positions.  

Only a handful of these have surfaced, but not all have been thoroughly inspect and even some that have fetched high auction prices have turn out to be modified common dials.

As if that weren’t enough, this 5513 features a gilt ‘underline’ dial—produced only during Rolex’s brief transition from radium to tritium lume in 1962-63. The faint horizontal line beneath the OYSTER PERPETUAL text is a discreet nod to shifting radiation standards of the early 1960s, and its presence today offers a window into an exacting moment of technical and regulatory change. Combine that with the elegant symmetry of pointed crown guards, and you have a watch that occupies a razor-thin intersection of form, function, and sheer improbability. It’s a mirror-image Submariner, forged at the intersection of the familiar and the fantastical—and it doesn’t just tell time; it tells a story few others can.

It’s this rare convergence of technical history, transitional detail, and left-handed construction that makes this watch not just collectible, but unforgettable—a true unicorn in the world of vintage Rolex.