Phillips To Auction Steve McQueen's Rolex Submariner Ref. 5513

As a follow up to last year's epic sale of Paul Newman's Paul Newman Daytona (and subsequent Daytona fever), Phillips has just announced that it will be selling yet another icon's iconic Rolex – the Submariner reference 5513 (not to be confused with his 5512, which sold in 2009 at Antiquorum for $234,000) that was purchased by Steve McQueen in the 1960s and gifted to his stuntman, Loren Janes, in the late '70s. McQueen and Janes started working together in 1958, and would go on to collaborate in more than a dozen movies, including Bullitt, The Getaway, and The Thomas Crown Affair. The caseback of the watch is engraved: LOREN, THE BEST DAMN STUNTMAN IN THE WORLD. STEVE.

The watch stayed with Janes and survived the Sand Fire wildfire that ripped through parts of Los Angeles in 2016. Eighteen homes were destroyed, including Janes's. All was thought to be lost, but apparently the watch was found by Janes's wife and daughter amid the ashes. The 5513 was sent to Rolex for service and restored. We aren't sure of what exact work was done in the service, but we do know that the case was refurbished and dial replaced at some point (the consignor has included a period-correct dial for the watch). The Sub was purchased from the family by Hollywood memorabilia collector and Beverly Hills Real Estate broker Michael Eisenberg (who also chased Paul Newman's Daytona), who has consigned the watch to Phillips for the October auction in New York with an estimate of $300,000 to $600,000. It is accompanied by a letter from the Janes and Rolex confirming it was indeed purchased by McQueen and serviced by Rolex. You can read more about it here and here.

But, being purchased by McQueen and being worn by McQueen are different things. It should be noted that this watch, which was previously unknown by many, has an extremely similar look to the other McQueen watch that sold in 2009. That's because while this watch was likely born with a two-line, gilt 5513 dial, it now features a matte four-line 5512 dial, making the matter more confusing. The big question we have here is when the dial was replaced – when it was in possession of McQueen (unlikely) or the Janes (possible). The one thing we do know is that the watch had this matte 5512 dial on it before it was sold to Mr. Eisenberg, which is a plus.

It should also be noted that McQueen's watches have always done very well at auction, but there is a constant debate about which Heuer Monaco he actually wore. There may have been as many as a dozen, so which is really entitled to be called the McQueen Monaco? This has been explored previously, and it's our guess we'll see something similar with these two McQueen Subs. While a matte dial 5512 Sub is what we most often think of in relation to McQueen's Rolex of choice, there is one image of McQueen wearing what appears to be a two-line-dial Submariner (what this watch was likely born with) so it is possible it is this watch. Again, with watches like this – where the provenance is not as direct as what we saw with Newman's Daytona – it is sometimes difficult to decipher how things came to be. And one must remember there are real dollars at stake. This piece should be interesting to watch based on both its condition and provenance because, as you know, in the vintage watch market, both are everything. You can read more about this listing here. （Rolex Submariner Ref. 5513 replica watch）

Our watch store

We selling BEST Quality Fake watches,both womens fake watches and mens fake watches or even couple watches,We have all brands replica watches such as Panerai watches replica,Replica Audemars Piguet Watches, Bell & Ross replicas,iwc replica,Replica breitling,Tagheuer replica,Replica Rolex watches and all other luxury brands.