Rolex Oyster Perpetual Sea Dweller COMEX N°2049 Reference 1665 - First series Circa 1977 Rare and mythical steel diver's watch with automatic movement. - Round steel case, rotating bezel with black painted aluminium insert, fluted crown and screwed case back. - Matte black "Pisani dial" with "Comex" inscription in a white cartouche, painted round, triangular and rectangular hour markers, luminescent Mercedes hands, right central second hand, date window at 3 o'clock. - Solid steel Oyster bracelet with steel folding clasp with security (93150 - AB7 "S" - end link 580) Case, dial, bracelet, buckle and movement signed Serial number: 5,175,527 (engraved in the case back) and N°2049 Movement: mechanical self-winding Calibre 1570 and N°D394461 Case: Carrying case - Papers: Service card from an approved Rolex watchmaker dated 12 December 2002 Diameter: 39 mm - Length of the bracelet (12 links and diving extension): 19 cm (Good general condition, scratches from use, service bracelet and insert, revision mentioning the change of the helium valve, the bezel trim, the spring, the glass and the clasp of the bracelet, the watch works at the time of the expertise but without guarantee in time, a revision of use is necessary) A catalogue dedicated to the Rolex Comex is available on request. The watch is delivered with the following diving equipment, all from Mr Henry P. Comex diver: -Red wetsuit top signed Comex and N°4535 -Bottom red diving suit signed Comex and N°3727 -A pair of red diving shoes (Under blister and label comex) -A pair of red diving gloves -One orange Fenzy -Blue wetsuit signed Comex -Steel holder signed Comex -Steel diving lamp signed Comex -A small yellow dive tank -Comex dive table recommendations -The diver's personal logbooks (professional diving and underwater professions logbook), with the dates, places, depths and clients of the missions (including Total Elf), the survival booklet of Robert Gordon's Institute of Technology, the professional diving booklet of the Chamber of Commerce of the underwater industries... -A set of photographs showing Henry P. during his missions, notably on offshore oil stations, wearing suits similar to those attached to the watch (reproductions) -A press article on Comex written by Eric du Goutel and photographs by Michel Croizard, relating the life of Comex divers during their missions and in which, the first name of our diver appears at the end of the article with the following note: "An accident is always possible. (...) Henry damaged his finger with the high-pressure water jet - to cut the concrete - he did not notice it until he got into the turret. Background: Mr. Henry P. was a diver with Comex, the COmpagnie Maritime d'EXpertises, founded by Henry Germain Delauze in 1961 in Marseille. As a professional diver, he worked on oil platforms, in particular, during underwater missions to create or repair pipelines. All his equipment was vital to him and the best tools of the time were at his disposal, including his Rolex Sea-Dweller watch, reference 1665, engraved 2049 on the back. From 1953 onwards, Rolex designed and marketed its Submariner model, an iconic diving model that would later inspire the entire watch industry. But divers and specialised companies, wanting to go further and further into maritime exploration in the 1960s and 1970s, were faced with the problem of the depth and resistance of the tools used at the bottom of the oceans, which were subject to numerous constraints, particularly pressure. The owner of the Geneva manufacture at the time, Mr. André Heiniger, successor of the founder Hans Wilsdorf and a diving enthusiast, approached Henry Germain Delauze to test the next models of the brand with the crown under extreme conditions. This is how some specific models like the Submariner reference 5514 will be born but also entrust before the marketing, pre-production models. The Rolex Sea-Dweller reference 1665 is the first Rolex watch equipped with a helium valve on the left side of its case, allowing it to go to 600 meters deep. According to several sources, about 300 Rolex Sea-Dweller watches, reference 1665, were delivered to Comex, each bearing a specific engraving allocated to each diver. Our example has the number 2049. Now collected worldwide, Rolex Comex watches were first and foremost professional tools for divers.