Rolex - The Watch Auction: One Geneva Saturday, May 9, 2015 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: 1982
    Reference No: 16660
    Case No: 7'122'563
    Model Name: Sea-dweller, Comex
    Material: Stainless steel
    Calibre: Automatic, 3035
    Bracelet/Strap: Stainless steel Rolex Oyster reference 93160, end links stamped 592
    Clasp/Buckle: Folding twin lock deployant clasp
    Dimensions: 40mm. Diameter
    Signed: Movement, dial, case and bracelet signed, serial number repeated inside the case back, outer case stamped with COMEX issue number 3011 and signed Rolex Oyster, Original Gas Escape Value
    Accessories: Rolex punched blank guarantee, product literature, green plastic wallet, spare link, swing tags, anchor, presentation box and outer packaging

  • Catalogue Essay

    Rolex supplied various Submariner and Sea-Dweller models to COMEX featuring the patented gas escape valve to the side of the case. The present Sea-Dweller reference 16660 is considered one of the rarest variants. Presented in very good original condition the watch is complete with original blank punched guarantee and accessories. The case correctly displays both the reference number and serial number on the inside of the back and in very crisp original condition. In addition the case back is engraved with the COMEX issue number, in this instance 3011, as well as the more usual Rolex Oyster Original Gas Escape Valve inscription.

  • Artist Biography

    Rolex

    Swiss • 1905

    Founded in 1905 England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, it soon became known as the Rolex Watch Company in 1915, moving its headquarters to Geneva in 1919. Like no other company, the success of the wristwatch can be attributed to many of Rolex's innovations that made them one of the most respected and well-known of all luxury brands. These innovations include their famous "Oyster" case — the world's first water resistant and dustproof watch case, invented in 1926 — and their "Perpetual" — the first reliable self-winding movement for wristwatches launched in 1933. They would form the foundation for Rolex's Datejust and Day-Date, respectively introduced in 1945 and 1956, but also importantly for their sports watches, such as the Explorer, Submariner and GMT-Master launched in the mid-1950s.

    One of its most famous models is the Cosmograph Daytona. Launched in 1963, these chronographs are without any doubt amongst the most iconic and coveted of all collectible wristwatches. Other key collectible models include their most complicated vintage watches, including references 8171 and 6062 with triple calendar and moon phase, "Jean Claude Killy" triple date chronograph models and the Submariner, including early "big-crown" models and military-issued variants.

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Ref. 16660
A very rare stainless steel wristwatch with date, bracelet and gas escape valve, guarantee, anchor, swing tags and box, made for COMEX

1982
40mm. Diameter
Movement, dial, case and bracelet signed, serial number repeated inside the case back, outer case stamped with COMEX issue number 3011 and signed Rolex Oyster, Original Gas Escape Value

Estimate
CHF60,000 - 80,000 

Contact Specialist
Nathalie Monbaron
+41 22 317 81 83

The Watch Auction: One

Geneva Auction 10 May 2015 6:30pm