Robert De Niro's Hunter/Killer Rolexes

Robert De Niro with a Vintage Rolex Daytona (Paul Newman) image: famewatcher

Robert De Niro is one of the greatest Hollywood A-list actors of all time with a tremendous lineup of some of the greatest movies ever made including The Godfather Part 2 (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), The Untouchables (1987), Good Fellas (1990), Analyze This (1999) and Meet the Parents (2000). You almost can bank on a De Niro film being a powerful moving experience.  Even his comedies have depth.

Clearly De Niro loves his Rolexes.  In the above picture we can see him with the classic vintage Paul Newman Daytona Reference: 6241 with a white dial and stainless steel case and band.  This classic uses a 37 mm case and is powered by a manual winding Valjoux 72 movement. The screw-down crown makes the winding a bit more challenging, and turned off many buyers at the time.

This is a highly sought after Rolex, often pulling in well over 100k at auction.  It has a plexi-glass crystal and a Paul Newman dial.  The chronograph pushers are at 2 and 4 o'clock and the dial can support measuring track lap times up to 200 kilometers/miles per hour.  It has a centre hour, minute and seconds hands, small seconds hand at 6 o'clock, 30-minute counter at 3 o'clock and 12-hour counter at 9 o'clock.

Robert De Niro in the Academy Award Winning movie Deer Hunter with
a Submariner Ref 5512 No Date - image in Rolex Magazine

In the title of this article I am making reference to De Niro's Submariner in both "Deer Hunter" and more recently, in the movie "Killer Elite."  The Vintage Submariner 5512 had a long production run from 1958 through 1978.  It has a 40mm stainless steel case and matching stainless steel band.  It has no date, a black dial, and as it ages, its lumens create a beautiful and highly coveted patina which is extended to the patina on the hour and minute hands.  It is powered by a caliber 1530 movement and supports a diving depth of up to 660 feet.  It has an acrylic crystal and a black matte dial, making the hour markers stand out impressively. The crown guards protect the scre-down crown.  Because of the long production history, it isn't difficult to pick up a Reference 5512 for under 15k.