A Deep Dive Into The Rolex COMEX Submariner

From a distance you would be forgiven for confusing this incredibly rare and highly sought-after diver for “just another Submariner”. In truth, from a distance - it does look the same. That is, until you spot the logo at 6 o’clock. That bold, capitalised COMEX on the dial. It never ceases to send a shiver down the spine of watch lovers around the globe. In a line - there are Submariners and there are Submariners. This is the latter. But first, before I explain why, lets discuss COMEX and the connection with Rolex.

COMEX or “Compagnie maritime d’expertises” is a French diving company - the NASA of the deep sea. It began to work with Rolex to develop the ultimate dive watch between 1970 to 1997. Over this period of time, Rolex produced nine COMEX variations, from the Submariner or Sea-Dweller ranges. While the Submariner was launched in ‘53, it was in fact the Rolex Sea-Dweller, launched in 1967, that paved the way to improve the capabilities of the Submariner which only had a 200m depth rating. One defining feature of these timepieces during the COMEX era was that of the helium escape valve – HEV (also called the gas escape valve- essential for dive professionals, such as COMEX’s commercial divers).

The first watch created by Rolex for COMEX, in 1970, was the Rolex Submariner ref. 5513, that featured the HEV. They also later produced the ref. 5514 with the HEV, a reference made exclusively for COMEX. Reportedly, only 154 of these watches were produced making them impossibly difficult to find on the vintage watch market. One of the next watches was the 1680, produced without a valve for one year between 1978 and 1979. The following COMEX Submariners were produced without a valve and spanned references 16800 (matte or gloss dial – the one we have here for sale), 168000 (glossy dial), and the 16610.

It is important to note that Rolex didn’t commercially release any of the COMEX models. Instead, they were commissioned and offered only to COMEX and their commercial divers. This comex submariner 16800 from 1983 we have for sale is quite a remarkable specimen. Fitted with factory oyster bracelet, it comes with box and service papers. The markers and hands have a beautiful matching creamy hue to them and the comex stamp is crisp. The coolest part?  It was given to the original diver George’s Arnoux as a special presentation watch for his 10th Anniversary of working for COMEX in 1987. In fact, this is the actual watch featured in the famous book “a journey into the deep” by John Goldberger - and was owned by one of the icons of dive watch collecting world Mr Rezza Rashidian. It’s a rare opportunity to own a truly collectable watch and we are proud to have it live on watchcollecting.com now.