Rolex

Here are some pictures of my most recent watch which I have been fortunate to find & buy (or actually found an owner willing to sell it). It is a 2.8 mil 5513 with HEV. Caseback reads 1970, Bexely letter states it was issued to Comex in 1972. The watc...  

How many do you own of these Comex? You may open a Museum! What a superb collection you're a building! Very Best, my friend nicolas

intense life of it. It is watches like that that build the myth of a brand Congratulations Luc

Great addition & truly stunning Comex! Well done, enjoy it!!!!! Rgrds.Philipp

the faded bezel... indicated usage & character..... Cheers

What the great catch...Congrats... Thanks for sharing... Best Chung

and a watch with so much character! fernando

Comex at its best. Rolex at its best. Enjoy the great find, you lucky man ! ...  

...That is the most beautiful evenly faded dial I have seen. True magnificent Comex with a great history Well done and congratulations BR Hans

this faded bezel really looks awesome ! Filip

......another fantastic watch in your outstanding collection !! Really a heartbeater - enjoy it. Regards Matthias

Watch and pics!!!

I love it, really beautiful comex. I hoop to see it soon in real live. Enjoy it Cheers, Bas.nl

Wear it in good health.

Happy it found a great new owner..... the best Comex ref. for me. Found out some interesting stuff about 5513's... And it's so nice.... they are the true watches of the beginning of the Comex conquest to me!!!! Enjoy this beauty! It's just a killer!!!! Be... 

you're welcome to share your informations my friend ;-) I agree concerning the early Comex....I love them ! Cheers Jeff

Looks like this one had a hard but interesting and fulfilling life! Great that it ended up on your wrist Ciao, D

nt

Any chance you can give us an indication of the number on the back. If not the exact number at least range 50-75 75 and over. I imaging it is the small number. Thanks for sharing. Best Bill

It is a small number in the very low 100's Cheers

It seems that there a few good examples in 283 serial range. So we are still searching for the upper limit its seems - there is in 2.83 mil Mike woods 1969 5513 #51 Matt logo dial - I live between Mike and the #102 with no logo with full provenance - 102 ...  

Thank you for your post. The number is 103. It still has the orginal small logo dial. When I m back home next week I ll have a look at the paperwork of the diver again. I think the delivery of these early Comex watches was not perfect science. The batch m...  

These guys were like rock stars bringing in big buck based on depth and time of the dive. I have an original Doxa watch from a diver in 1968 telling abouit fighting through the narcosis to complete his dive constantly trying to convince himself that thing...  

From all the stories I ve heard and were shared over the years, I think we can only image the kind of life these guys lived. Many of them today are still difficult to approach. They are just a different breed. Can only imagine the bar fights, the drinking...  

Thanks for sharing that one. Looks like a couple of guys may have been Rolex men. Bill

......I can understand why you consider this a grail. Also love the faded insert.....adds that realism of "lived-in" look. Congratulations to you. J

...what is the highest Comex number one has seen for a 2.83mil 5513....then I will play with 172 But again, just my personal experience.

... 24

in my records ( with pictures ) are numbers 13 and 197.

I have pictures of 172 though ;-)

We would love to see a small picture if possible. Logo or no logo or any service dials. Thnaks Bill

...  

The dial would have been received at service? Thanks Bill

it's a later glossy replacement dial ( late 80s- early 90s ).

So we have a pretty good range to assume that there may have been as much as 200 units of the Rolex Comex 5513. The all seem to fall in the 2.83 mil range. Thank you Marcello for the excellent information. Bill

the first batch of 5513 ( 1972 delivery ) consists of 200 watches. there is also a 2nd and much smaller batch of 5513 delivered in 1973.

about the dates. It seem some divers have the watches in their possession sometime between 1970 and 1972. I am curious if watches were delivered slowly over time which means some divers would have them in 1970 while the last batch may have been delivered ... 

in the south of France these watches were given in two times ( both in 1972 ) . 5513 ( with valve ) given in a previous time ( for ex. 1970 ) had no delivery number in the back. the 5513 " comex nr.1 " have in fact a case in the 2.83 range ( so produced a... 

I think we can all rest assured that your facts are clear. I wonder if we will hear about any more. Thanks Bill

btw it's not possible that a case in the 2.83 range could be from 1969 ( which has an upper limit a little above 2.2 ).

I was assuming that some How Mike Wood had a special inside track on the date. Could be Mike simply mis labeled his item 1969. But that got me thinking. But as You noted it would seem high for 2.83 mil to be other than 1970/71 era. But again looking at th...  

as the 2.2 range is roughly equally shared between 1969 and 1970 , while 3.5 range is shared betwen 1973 and 1974., according to internal Rolex production tables. the problem is that you use " selfmade tables " you find on the net usually the mistake may ... 

I'm getting a tingle just looking at the photos and reading about it - how excited must you be!! Best wishes, Vernon

keep in mind this is a topic of 2009 !!

I am always intrigued by what we can learn over time. The real catalyst for my bring this back was the picture of Mike W pictures with a 1969 Comex noted as 2.83mill which was curious. Could just simply be mis labeled. Best Bill

I ve asked Mike to join the discussion and clear up the mystery :-)