Comex was the shortened title for the company, 'COMPAGNIE MARITIME D'EXPERTISE' formed in 1961 by its President Henri Delauze in Marseille France.
In 1988 Comex merged with major competitor 2W (Wharton Williams). The partnership was short lived and within a couple of months the Companies demerged. During this marriage 2W and Comex performed the clear up works after the tragic series of events that took place on the Piper Alpha Oil platform on the 6th July 1988. 167 men lost thier lives.It was the biggest disaster to ever hit the Oil industry. Many months were spent in rerouting pipelines and installing subsea safety shut off valves in order getting the oil on line again. The Comex and 2W divers were issued with these ID cards.
Twin Comex issue Rolex Sea dwellers,Left 16660 with matt dial and right 16600 with gloss dial, pictured here with the log entry of my very first Commercial dive. Bounce dive to 117M on a Blow out preventer ( BOP)in the Buchan field North Sea, Buchan is very close to the famous Forties field. The dive was to check for a leak on the BOP. The dive was on the 6 May 1984 shortly after leaving the Royal Navy, my supervisor was Willy Owen. It was great to start my commercial career off with a supervisor of this quality, Willy is also an ex Royal Navy Clearance Diver and made me feel very welcome as a new member of his Comex diving team. Willy Owen is also a great bar stool Racer! those that know him, will know what i mean. Willy is still working in the North Sea as a Diving Superintendant. This dive was the first of many, and the logbooks have piled up.
subir fotoRolex collaborated with Comex to produce the helium escape valve. A number of watches were produced for Comex sporting the Comex logo on the dial, this watch is one of a batch of 100 delivered to Comex in 1992. This Comex 16600 is a heavy and robust watch and the dial and hands are in mint condition.
