Rolex

Rolex COMEX watches enjoy a special place in the minds and collections of vintage Rolex enthusiasts.  In the earliest years of deep sea exploration, Rolex partnered with the legendary Marseille, France - based maritime organization, COMEX (Compagnie Maritime d'Expertises), an engineering and deep diving company for the oil industry.  The company tasked Rolex with crafting diving watches capable of sustaining extreme pressure conditions. The collaboration between the French commercial diving specialists and Rolex lasted from the early 1970s until at least 2007, pushing Rolex to always seek further improvements and develop the best diving watch possible.

Accordingly, the partnership led to the production of a number of modified Submariners, beginning in the mid-to-late 1960s and intended as tools for divers performing their often rigorous assignments. Comex divers were often allocated a Rolex watch for their operations, exclusively for work done by the Comex organization, and not sold by public retailers nor made available to the public for commercial use.

Specifically, the Rolex Submariner reference 16800 was produced between 1979 and 1988, superseding reference 1680. The newly-released model featured a sapphire-crystal instead of the usual Plexiglas, a new movement (cal. 3035), as well as an increased depth rating of 300m. Furthermore, the bezel would now only rotate unidirectionally, ensuring the watch would be safer for divers to time their decompression. As such, Rolex delivered approximately 300 Submariner reference 16800 to the COMEX organization between 1982 and 1986. Notably, this reference was initially introduced with a matte dial, making the current example from 1982 exceedingly rare.

The COMEX name is prominently placed on the dial, as well as engraved to the caseback, along with the COMEX issue number, in this case a superbly-crisp 6084.   

From the collection of a highly-regarded collector of military-issued watches, the present example stands out for its outstanding condition and very pleasing overall appearance.  The superb case reflects a level of patina one would expect for a well-worn tool watch, while the dial has a flawless matte-black surface.  The luminous tritium hour markers have developed a creamy yellow tone, with pleasantly matching original hands, and is complemented by a bezel that has aged to a stunning blue tone.  The bracelet, reference 93150, is fitted to the watch appropriately with 593 endlinks. The watch is further complimented by a punched Rolex Guarantee with a serial number dating to 1982, along with its original set of booklets, hang tags, Rolex anchor and presentation case.

Gathering all the criterias, this Rolex Submariner Comex would be a trophy for any serious collector of dive watches.