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Some history
Many rolex collectors who have an interest in vintage watches, consider the 1680 'Red Sub' and the 1665 'Double Red Sea Dweller' to be must have pieces. Without question, these are great watches.
With the versions of both of these watches, the value and authenticity can be affected by several things, some of which were the direct result of Rolex servicing!
It was common practice for Rolex to service the early Sea Dwellers and Submariners every six months (when possible) and the watches were overhauled and upgraded to the latest standards of Rolex specification.
This would mean new casebacks, dials, hands and in sometimes even movements. This meant that a 1680 Submariner could have had it's hands and dials changed at least once during it's lifetime, changing from a red letter to a white letter dial.
Some Rolex dive watches were seldom 'upgraded' and remained largely original throughout this period, and these were the Comex Diver models that are now very collectable.
Comex (Compagnie Maritime d'Expertise) were a diving company based in Marseilles that specialised in deep sea diving for the oil industry around the world.
Rolex had very close contact with them, and in collaboration they researched the problems caused to diving watches such as when divers de-pressurised in the chambers.
The Comex Divers needed solutions for water resistance at extreme depth and the danger of explosive decompression caused by helium penetrating the interior of the watch while they breathed the mixture of oxygen and helium within their hyperbaric chamber.
The problem was solved by Rolex when the placed a valve inside the case of a Submariner at the 9 o'clock position that would enable the helium to escape bit by bit as the pressure inside was taken down to atmospheric pressure.
Out of this collaboration were born the Rolex Comex Submariner Unique ref 5514 and the Rolex Comex Sea Dweller 1665.
Comex Submariner
Comex Sea Dweller
Because these watches were originally unique to the Comex Company, they stayed in their original specification, without service upgrades like the civilian 1680 and 1665. As a result, they are rare and unique, and the value of the genuine examples is increasing considerably each year.
I have been thinking recently that this history, and the fact they are legitimately collectable in the market, make the Comex Divers an attractive and interesting watch to add to your collection.
Many rolex collectors who have an interest in vintage watches, consider the 1680 'Red Sub' and the 1665 'Double Red Sea Dweller' to be must have pieces. Without question, these are great watches.
With the versions of both of these watches, the value and authenticity can be affected by several things, some of which were the direct result of Rolex servicing!
It was common practice for Rolex to service the early Sea Dwellers and Submariners every six months (when possible) and the watches were overhauled and upgraded to the latest standards of Rolex specification.
This would mean new casebacks, dials, hands and in sometimes even movements. This meant that a 1680 Submariner could have had it's hands and dials changed at least once during it's lifetime, changing from a red letter to a white letter dial.
Some Rolex dive watches were seldom 'upgraded' and remained largely original throughout this period, and these were the Comex Diver models that are now very collectable.
Comex (Compagnie Maritime d'Expertise) were a diving company based in Marseilles that specialised in deep sea diving for the oil industry around the world.
Rolex had very close contact with them, and in collaboration they researched the problems caused to diving watches such as when divers de-pressurised in the chambers.
The Comex Divers needed solutions for water resistance at extreme depth and the danger of explosive decompression caused by helium penetrating the interior of the watch while they breathed the mixture of oxygen and helium within their hyperbaric chamber.
The problem was solved by Rolex when the placed a valve inside the case of a Submariner at the 9 o'clock position that would enable the helium to escape bit by bit as the pressure inside was taken down to atmospheric pressure.
Out of this collaboration were born the Rolex Comex Submariner Unique ref 5514 and the Rolex Comex Sea Dweller 1665.
Comex Submariner
Comex Sea Dweller
Because these watches were originally unique to the Comex Company, they stayed in their original specification, without service upgrades like the civilian 1680 and 1665. As a result, they are rare and unique, and the value of the genuine examples is increasing considerably each year.
I have been thinking recently that this history, and the fact they are legitimately collectable in the market, make the Comex Divers an attractive and interesting watch to add to your collection.
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