Rolex

bullibeer
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Great post Jeff!!!! THANKS!!!!... and some more information....

Great post Jeff..... and important to show even more some of the background... as still some people think the Comex watches are display watches... LOGO-DIAL for promotion... and do not understand the importance and history of it... and role for the historey of Rolex today!

Well first some answers on the rarity questions....

We can measure the rarity in different way's..... number produced... or still alive!!!

Never forget... these watches are DIE_HARD toolwatches. Used by professionals... who stayed in the most extreme situations.... and where people on a ship.... missions for weeks.... rough/tough people!!! Often EX- MN or SAS or SBS.... in the 70th/80th...
I even know stories of divers smakking the watches against the locker to see if they are strong enough.
ALso don't forget... in the 70/80th these watches where an essential tool!!!! Livesaving! Not as today as they are diving with computers.

Every thing they did in the end of the 60th/70th was experimental... a lot of divers lost there life!

So with this in our mind rarity get's a new persepective.

From batch-wise.... the 1680 will probably be among the rarest.... and also only view survived!!! And also most have lost their original dial....
So the 1680 is counted to be the rarest of the Comex.
But as it has no Valve.... it's not the choice of most collectors.

The 5513 is much rarer then the 5514! From the 5513 probably only about 300 have been build.... as for the 5514 the number is around 700-800.
Also most divers did not like the 5514 so much.

Then always take in considuration... that the early Comex watches where not owned by the divers but by Comex and given to the divers for the mission and returned.... also to Rolex every view month for service and testing (as they where prototypes and tested to develop the valve...)....
Out of the about 300 only a part (about 50%) where delivered with a COMEX-logo dial..... and only view survived!!!!

So the 5513 with an original matte dial.... is realy rare... much rarer then a 5514!!!
Only about 40-60 left!!!

And the 5513 came in small number and medium number engraving (only small part of the batches).... so how happy can i be... and how rare is then this ;-))))





Original matte dial... from sun of the diver..... and with medium numbers...;-))



The 5514 is more known.... and hyped by big dealers in the past... as it has the special reference for Comex 5514 as 5517 for Milsub.

But the 5513 is the true history of Comex.

Then the 1665.... well there is also a big difference...... first batch.

NUMBER 2000-2100.... First series, 600 dial, streight Rolex logo on the back as the DRSD.... that is the most wanted one. And a lot of collectors love that watch.. as it presents the erea of the big depth....

But these watches where only delivered to Comex in the 2nd half of the 70th....... and mostly for special missions.

That made me wonder...... the 5513's are issued from about 1971... the 5514 from when i remember well (pleae correct if wrong) about '74/75...... and the 1665 later... around '76/77....

So why did Comex use the 5513 and 5514 before the 1665.... when we all think the 1665 was developed in 1969 and we see MK3 DRSD's.... from about 1972/73.....

Wh invest in the others then..... was quite a puzzel to me!

Well the answer was simple.... money LOL!..... Comex tested the 1665.. already in the 60th... but most of their work was in depth not deeper then 200 mtr... and there are even papers of SUBMARINERS going on missions deeper then that.....

Simple.... the 1665 was not needed on most of the missions... and therefore to expansive for the main toolwatch. That explains the total of about 1100 5513/5514 against 300 1665....

If any of the experts see some mistakes in my numbers of years... please comment and correct! Thanks...

And here one from 1992... out of the batch of 100... and there comes the rarity factor NO2!!!!!!!!

Out of the 16600, 16610, 168000,..... newer versions..... only a view are known with provenance!!!!
Most of them where given to desk divers, relations..... or are still available NOS.....

This one is one of the view..... from a long time diver from Comex....





Rarity has many faces with Comex.....