Comex website:


E FABULOUS HISTORY OF COMEX
Henri G. DELAUZE founded COMEX in Marseille, in November 1961, after ten years of travels and major projects all around the world. At the age of 32, he combined his passion for technological challenges and deep diving, and invented a new industry in the underwater world.

COMEX led the way in industrial deep diving applied to the oil and gas supply and service sector. At the height of its activities, thousands of divers from COMEX, the world leader in manned and robotic underwater engineering, technology and interventions, crisscrossed the world’s seas and worked at depths of more than 300 meters, using helium-based breathing mixtures.

In the mid-90s, COMEX sold its oil subsidiary, COMEX SERVICES, to STOLT TANKERS & TERMINALS. COMEX then implemented a resolute spin-off policy concerning its technological and industrial know-how, creating subsidiaries renowned in the sector of robotics and artificial intelligence.

COMEX has now refocused on hyperbaric engineering and undersea services, by using its unique, world-renowned know-how.






Copyright.... Londonwatchcompany:


Rolex & The COMEX Dive Watch - A Brief History

When Henri G. Delauze founded COMEX in Marseilles, France in the year 1961, industrial deep-sea diving did not yet exist.

However, within a short period of time, COMEX created new technology and pioneered deep-sea diving operations for the offshore oil industry.
For over 30 years, divers of COMEX, then world leaders in sub-sea engineering and manned and unmanned sub-sea interventions, scoured all the seas of the earth and working at depths greater than 500 meters by using mixtures of helium/oxygen to aid breathing underwater.
As they gained more experience and along with improvements in technology, depth records were continually broken (some examples as follows):

Ludion (1966-68) 120 m in hyperbaric box
Physalie (1968-72) 610 m in hyberbaric box (sound familiar?)
Janus I (1968) 4 divers 150m for 14 hours
Janus II (1970) 3 divers 250m for 34 hours
Janus IV (1977) 6 divers 460m and 2 of them go to 501m

In the 1970’s, after the “oil crisis “ thousands of offshore platforms grew all over the world, COMEX was almost the only company able to repair or work on them.
COMEX exists today with over 2000 employees incl. 800 divers located all over the world.
Henri G. Delauze is still the majority shareholder and the Group Chairman, he now dedicates himself to the international development of the companies within the COMEX S.A. group. From 1985 to 1990, as a result of a policy of diversification, COMEX extended its field of activity to industrial maintenance in the nuclear field (CYBERNETIX), outer space and subset leisure (sightseeing submarines and large-scale aquariums).


From the late 1960s onwards, The Rolex Watch Company of Geneva in conjunction with COMEX produced Submariner & SeaDweller watches to be used by all COMEX divers, as COMEX the company and diving developed, so did the diving watch. The evolution is summarised below, each one carrying distinct markings and of course the famous “COMEX” logo.

1970-1973 Submariner Model Ref: 5513 with valve.
1972-1978 Submariner Model Ref: 5514 with valve, made for COMEX only.
1978-1979 Submariner Model Ref: 1680 without valve.
1977-1980 Sea-Dweller Model Ref: 1665 with valve.
1980-1984 Sea-Dweller Model Ref: 16660 with valve, matt or gloss dial
1982-1986 Submariner Model Ref: 16800 without valve, matt or gloss dial.
1992-1997 Sea-Dweller Model Ref: 16600 with valve.
1986-1997 Submariner Model Ref: 16610 without valve.





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Copyright Ed Delgado:


COMEX Divers Open Letters.


I sometimes have had the honor to exchange some emails with ex or current COMEX divers. I have found some of their stories to be extremely interesting and worth sharing as they provide an insiders view of the company and more importantly a glimpse about the actual divers that wore the watches that we collect and enjoy today. I share these stories with their permission and encourage others to join the ranks and email me your COMEX story to share on this page.

__________(Printed with Permission)

Jan 08

"I've a little bit of history I hope you might find interesting Ed.

The Orelia has been working in the North Sea and at numerous world-wide
locations for over 25 years.
Built for John Houlder after he designed the vessel on the back of a
cigerette packet in a London pub!

Comex operated the ship until 1993 when she was bought by Stena
Offshore. The vessel is now owned by the French company 'Technip'
I left the ship yesterday in Newcastle where she is now undergoing a 103
day re-fit.

I worked on the Orelia in the early days for Comex and have been part of
the regular crew for Technip for the last 3 years.
I am employed in the Saturation control room as a.. Supervisor,
responsible for looking after as many as 18 divers within the chamber
complex for up to 28 days at a time.

Ed, I hope this insight into the everyday operation of a North Sea
Saturation diving vessel, you'll find interesting."

from Mike (ex-COMEX diver), see scan below of the Orelia.



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Emails from Ex-COMEX Divers..

"I have owned my 5514 for a great many years (I was a professional diver). In the business we were led to believe these models were in some way inferior to "proper" Rolex's and I have seen these watches up to the mid 80's change hands in bars around the world for as little as $100 because of this perception.

My 5514 has never had the COMEX decal on the dial, it has all the other features and has been serviced by Rolex so it is authentic......This is not unusual as you already know I have seen at least 30-40 of these models (without COMEX on the dial) over time...

......I have taken good care of mine ....... of course you must bear in mind it was a working watch, it has experienced greater depths than the one on the dial and has been on the wrist everyday for 25+ years (although I do think I should now salt it away). believe it or not most of the guys would not wear their watches in the water, this led to them being cynically renamed in the biz as "cabin dwellers" (put that on your website, tee hee !!)."

by Tom (ex-COMEX diver)

_______

"I read your article about COMEX Rolex with interest and can confirm your statement concerning the lack of COMEX on the dial. I am an ex-Comex diver and received my COMEX 5513 in 1974 or 1975, direct from John XXXX at Comex Aberdeen. The back of the case is engraved COMEX, a helium valve is fitted but there is no white Comex insignia on the face. On the back it also had the number 2xx lightly engraved, but this has now worn off due to excessive buffing by Rolex during various service operations, coupled to normal contact wear from my wrist over 32+ years. Rolex have maintained my watch superbly due to supporting various diving expeditions. Any worn parts have been replaced at different times and the model number has changed in the letters I have from Rolex from 5513 to 5514 as at one time the case centre leaked. As the watch is in pristine condition I no longer dive with it as I want to preserve its condition, but it is worn every day. Many of these watches were supplied without presentation boxes and documentation and the explanation I was given at the time was that they entered the UK in the floor of a decompression chamber to avoid possible customs fees! "

By Richard (ex-COMEX Diver)




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