Rolex – Comex

In the history of watchmaking, Rolex occupies a special place. First, through its status as the world's leading watch brand, as its power has remained unrivaled since its founding in 1905. Second, through its intimate and historic connection with the marine world, initiated in 1926 with a major invention: the Oyster, the first waterproof watch. However, the greats of this world become even greater thanks to decisive encounters that mark the history of both parties. For Rolex, this encounter is called Comex, an acronym for the Compagnie Maritime d'Expertises, formalized in 1971. Comex, a Marseille-based company founded in 1961 by Henri-Germain Delauze (a former student of Arts et Métiers in Aix-en-Provence, then a collaborator of Cousteau), specialized in deep-sea operations to meet the varied needs of underwater engineering.

Sea-Dweller, watch the depths

This collaboration began with Comex, impressed by the performance of the Sea-Dweller, unveiled in 1967 by Rolex. The company then decided that its divers would use these watches during their underwater explorations. These divers provided the brand with valuable information on the watches' behavior in real-life conditions. For its part, the Sea-Dweller distinguished itself with its exceptional performance. In 1977, Comex divers reached a depth of 501 meters, almost reaching the water-resistance limit of this timepiece. Rolex's response was swift: the following year, the manufacturer redefined the standards for professional diving watches with the new Sea-Dweller 4000, water-resistant to 1 meters, a true feat for the time.

Unmatched records

To distinguish its consumer models from the "tool watches" officially used by Comex, Rolex produced watches with a dial bearing the Marseille company's logo. These pieces, now extremely rare, are highly prized by collectors for their historical value linked to Rolex, Marseille, and the marine world. They achieved record sales at auction. In 1988, Comex organized the Hydra VIII expedition, in which six divers saturate-dive to a depth of 534 meters, a world record in the open ocean that remains unmatched. These divers were equipped with the famous Sea-Dweller. Four years later, during the Hydra X experiment, a Comex diver reached a simulated depth of 701 meters in a hyperbaric chamber, wearing a Sea-Dweller on his wrist for 43 days. This record remains unbroken to this day.

Waterproofing, always at the heart of innovation

From this fruitful relationship between the brand founded by Hans Wilsdorf and the Marseille-based company, now headed by Alexandra Oppenheim Delauze (Henri-Germain's granddaughter), a unique partnership was born. Comex controls the water resistance of Rolex diving watches using imposing hyperbaric tanks, developed jointly. These tanks test the watches' resistance to pressure, with a safety margin of 25%, in accordance with current standards. During the final tests, water resistance is verified with exceptional results, such as the Deepsea Challenge, a flagship model capable of withstanding pressure equivalent to 13 meters deep.

A reminder for future buyers: with Rolex, they are wearing on their wrist the brand that invented water resistance, a key invention symbolizing the mastery of one of the most complex natural elements: water.