Rolex

Bill
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Thanks for sharing this exceptional piece and its mission provenance — truly one of the most fascinating COMEX Sea-Dwellers out there

To add some historical and technical context, here are a few additional points that might interest the community, especially those following the evolution of the 16660 COMEX models during the Hydra missions :

Technical & Historical Notes (with credit to Marcello Pisani):

• The first batch of COMEX Sea-Dwellers 16660 (delivery #3000–3099) was delivered in 1982 , all originally fitted with matte “big logo” dials .

  ↳ Source: Marcello Pisani on WPS

• Around 1984 , Rolex began retrofitting these watches with glossy dials , especially in preparation for COMEX diving missions like Hydra V. This explains why mission-issued watches often have a glossy “small logo” dial — it was an intentional Rolex upgrade , not a random variant.

• “The question is… most of us were thinking some watches came out from Rolex with a matt dial and others with a glossy one… [but] with the help of many people… we understood that all watches from the first batch… had matt dials.”

• These upgrades were typically done by Rolex Geneva or COMEX workshops depending on the mission. Watches with Geneva engravings (like in Hydra V) are especially rare.

• Some mission watches, like the one you shared, also had dual provenance (e.g., COMEX and French Marine Nationale), serviced by official MN shops like Yves Pastre in Toulon. These details significantly boost historical relevance.

It’s amazing how a technical tool like the Sea-Dweller became such a layered artifact — crossing paths with industrial diving history, military collaboration, and Rolex’s own evolutionary design story.

Thanks again for bringing this one to light.