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Lot Essay
With Rolex original blank punched guarantee, anchor, sales tag, box and outer packaging.
Examples of the exceedingly rare COMEX Sea-Dweller reference 1665 in such original and well-preserved condition like this watch are exceedingly rare. As a matter of fact, the specimen offered here for sale stands out by numerous details which are paramount to the demanding collector, most notably the correct dial and correct hands but also the correct Oyster bracelet for this model, reference 93150.
According to literature, roughly 300 examples of the Sea-Dweller reference 1665 with gas escape valve were supplied from the late 1960s until the early 1980s to COMEX. Examples from the last series of reference 1665 COMEX, such as the present watch, vary from the "civil" reference 1665 as follows:
-COMEX logo instead of the model name "Sea-Dweller" above the depth rating
-the case back engraved with the individual COMEX number
-the inside of the case back, on the top of all the regular signatures and numbers, repeats the serial number which is not stamped but engraved
The fascination and desirability of the present watch does not only reside in its impressively small production number but also that it was never available to the public. In fact, as the COMEX watches were worn under the most extreme conditions (for which the model was actually made for), it is fully understandable that some may not survived and others were repeatedly serviced and sometimes not with period or correct exchange parts. Consequently, examples as original as the present watch are amongst the most charismatic and fascinating collector's watches.
COMEX reference 1665 is described and illustrated in 100 Superlative Rolex Watches by John Goldberger, pp. 222 & 223, in Rolex Submariner Story by France e Guido Mondani, Lele Ravagnani, p. 181, and in Steel Rolex by Giorgia & Guido Mondani, pp. 171 & 172.
Examples of the exceedingly rare COMEX Sea-Dweller reference 1665 in such original and well-preserved condition like this watch are exceedingly rare. As a matter of fact, the specimen offered here for sale stands out by numerous details which are paramount to the demanding collector, most notably the correct dial and correct hands but also the correct Oyster bracelet for this model, reference 93150.
According to literature, roughly 300 examples of the Sea-Dweller reference 1665 with gas escape valve were supplied from the late 1960s until the early 1980s to COMEX. Examples from the last series of reference 1665 COMEX, such as the present watch, vary from the "civil" reference 1665 as follows:
-COMEX logo instead of the model name "Sea-Dweller" above the depth rating
-the case back engraved with the individual COMEX number
-the inside of the case back, on the top of all the regular signatures and numbers, repeats the serial number which is not stamped but engraved
The fascination and desirability of the present watch does not only reside in its impressively small production number but also that it was never available to the public. In fact, as the COMEX watches were worn under the most extreme conditions (for which the model was actually made for), it is fully understandable that some may not survived and others were repeatedly serviced and sometimes not with period or correct exchange parts. Consequently, examples as original as the present watch are amongst the most charismatic and fascinating collector's watches.
COMEX reference 1665 is described and illustrated in 100 Superlative Rolex Watches by John Goldberger, pp. 222 & 223, in Rolex Submariner Story by France e Guido Mondani, Lele Ravagnani, p. 181, and in Steel Rolex by Giorgia & Guido Mondani, pp. 171 & 172.