ROLEX SUBMARINER 5513/5514 COMEX Men's wristwatch in steel, black dial, painted indexes with luminescent material, "Mercedes" hands. Black aluminum bezel insert. Helium valve on case middle. Steel caseback signed ROLEX COMEX, with small number, inside signed Rolex, reference 5513, date I.72, numbered 3804882. Case reference 5514 and numbered 3804882 between the lugs. Rolex calibre 1520 self-winding mechanical movement. Steel Oyster bracelet reference 93150, code VD, end pieces 580, diving extensions. Watch functional at time of appraisal, without guarantee of future operation or condition of parts. Watch in service with Jacques Bianchi in Marseille in 1999 and 2007, with service cards. Scratches and light marks on case, small numbers on caseback present but very difficult to read (probably 252), hands repainted, service insert with accidents, including one missing mark, dial ends with light traces, later bracelet in average condition. Circa 1972 Diameter 40 mm The Rolex Submariner reference 5513/5514 is of particular importance in the history of the links between the brand with the crown and the marine operating company. COMEX's work in saturation diving and its exchanges with Rolex led to the development of the helium valve on a diver's watch. This valve, located on the caseband of the watch, allows the evacuation of excess helium accumulated within the watch during exercise in hyperbaric chambers, where the gas mixture was very different from natural air, enabling divers to adapt their bodies to great depths. Helium, as a gas with finer molecules than oxygen, would find its way into the watch, potentially damaging the running of the watch and its main components. When the helium pressure became too high, the valve activated, releasing the excess gas. The first watch to see this evolution was none other than Rolex's reference 5513, and since the brand would produce watches specifically for the COMEX, these would take the reference 5514. Hence the presence of reference 5514 on the case, and reference 5513 on the caseback. Like the other references in the Rolex COMEX family, the caseback bears the COMEX engraving, as well as an attribution number. Unlike the other references delivered to COMEX, the Submariner 5514 will not have its dial signed COMEX on the first occurrences. The COMEX mention will appear following a dial change after a service at Rolex or at the diver's request. Whereas the first COMEX numbers engraved on the back were small, notably the 2XX series to which our example belongs. COMEX, or Compagnie d'Exploitation Maritime, is inextricably linked with the great men who made it world-famous. Founded by Henri Germain Delauze in 1962, the company specializes in underwater engineering. In the early 1960s, so-called "professional" diving was limited to unadventurous public works at depths of no more than 30 metres. But the 1960s, known for the search for major offshore deposits, would need the brains and arms of men, professional divers, to support this development at depths well beyond 50 meters. We owe all the major developments that followed to COMEX between 1965 and 1975. From caissons to special diving vessels, not forgetting decompression tables to rely on. To develop all this, COMEX created its Centre Expérimental Hyperbare (C.E.H) in 1964, limited to 365 meters, and a little later, in 1968, a new site in Marseille with a dual objective: on the one hand, to develop underwater technologies in a 300-meter hyperbaric unit, and on the other, a saturation unit adapted for saturation diving under hydrogen and up to 800 meters. COMEX is not just about divers, it's also about an army of doctors, including Drs. Xavier Fructus and Maurice Comet, scientists and engineers. With activities stretching from the mid-1960s to the early 2000s, COMEX's impressive figures include 5,300 operations, 1,000 divers and 2,700 experimental dives.