Pre-Comex???

[Clay]

I have dabbled in vintage Rolex watches for many years....All of a sudden I'm hearing the term "Pre-Comex"...Can someone explain this to me????

[AK00]

Rolex Comex watches were manufactured from the year 1970 all the way to 1997.

Diver watches Comex are, hence Comex are known to have MAXI dials, better visibility under water.

MAXI dials are denoted by bigger indices, usually touching the minute markers, and identified by the FT (after 660) - whereby the lower horizontal of "F" aligns with the horizontal stroke of "T".

On the term PreComex, this usually applies to dials used on regular production 5513s - unsure about possible leftover dials or not BUT there is a direct correlation between Comex and PreComex dials.

What I have noticed is that most PreComex productions are usually in the region of 5.1 million serial + or - .

Take a look at the 1st TWO pictures featured on BJS Article on Comex watches - http://bjsonline.com/watches/articles/0023.shtml



- DO pay attention to these 2 details:

1) Rolex Crown: Seemingly thick at the base, resembling somewhat like a Bart Simpson crown from the gilt era mid-60s 5513 but more defined and refined.

2) FT Letterings (after 660): Lower horizontal stroke of "F" is aligned with horizontal stroke of "T", same method of identifying MAXI dials.



Now back to evidence of regular PreComex 5513s:**Pictures stipulated are from the sellers**

1) A PreComex with box and papers sold by 964RS (a well-known collector with many nice pieces) - http://www.newturfers.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2643

- this precomex is a 5.1 million serial
- Rolex crown resembles the same crown used on both the Comex 5513 and 5514.





2) A PreComex sold by nbTimes (a well-known collector and trader) about 1 weeks back - http://forums.watchnet.com/index.php...o=417414&rid=0





So in a nutshell, how the term PreComex came about is probably a strong relationship between Comex productions and the same dials used on regular 5513s. How scarce these PreComex dials are, or not is not determinable at this time - let's leave it to the long-time collectors to answer that.

There are also some collectors who feel that they have a PreComex 5513. One of them is me until now.

Here's my 5513 (supposed PreComex dial):



What I was under the impression of a PreComex dial was determined by:

1) Rolex Crown: Crown with a fat base, like a Bart Simpson from gilt era mid-60s

2) 3,6,9 Indices: With Serif at the edges, or pointed edges at the 4 corners of the indices at 3, 6, 9 o'clock.

However, I did not find any correlation with these features with any Comex watches. hence I have established that this is not a PreComex dial.

1) The O in the Rolex is different from the O on Comex dials - more prominent on Comex dials.

2) The FT horizontal strokes are not aligned - signifying not a MAXI dial.

These are just my observations based on studying Comex and PreComex dials all these while and by no means, am I right with regards to numbers, production or perhaps correlationships.

Perhaps someone who knows can chime in and shed some light on this current question.

[Clay]

Many Thanks.....

[Kokyuryoku]

Thanks for the tutorial Alan. Great information . Those PreComex and Comex watches look sooo nice

[DCgator]

Great info. Thanks!

[whiskyguy]

Nothing to add but a pic

Pre-comex 5.1 million

[onkyo]

After reading all this .... and being well aware of sellers advertising 'pre-Comex' watches, I still have no idea what 'pre-Comex' means (other than a selling gimmick)

[Some Pair]

Originally Posted by onkyo

After reading all this .... and being well aware of sellers advertising 'pre-Comex' watches, I still have no idea what 'pre-Comex' means (other than a selling gimmick)

That makes two of us.
All I know is that the Gent who authenticated mine, and thru whom after I purchased it performed a Mainspring and Acrylic replacement, told me it was a Pre Comex. (When I thought it originally was a Maxi Dial).
That Gent is the well known Rolex Vintage Go To guy here on TRF etc, Steve Mulholland.

Works for me.

[onkyo]

Originally Posted by Some Pair

That makes two of us.
All I know is that the Gent who authenticated mine, and thru whom after I purchased it performed a Mainspring and Acrylic replacement, told me it was a Pre Comex. (When I thought it originally was a Maxi Dial).
That Gent is the well known Rolex Vintage Go To guy here on TRF etc, Steve Mulholland.

Works for me.

Maybe Jed can chime in here and edumacate us.

[jedly1]

OK.. pre comex isnt a name that implies a premium.. it is just a name

....it is just a name that is given to one type of 5513 dial that a few of us started using (just to call it something) as it is similar in appearance to some of the comex 5514 dial with the same sloppy crown... i.e probably the basis for that dial and for the same sub contractor...

the dial in question appear at the beginning of about 5 million through to mid 5 million...the crown has the unmistakable over sized left hand side and yes is the one shown above, it isn't a maxi dial but the plots are bigger than all the previous dials...but not as big as maxi lol.... whisky guys is a perfect example as is 964rs which is one of my old ones :)

akoo the one you show with heavy patina is a serif dial used from circa 1970-1973/4 ( serial 2.4- 4 mil)


matt dial running order goes :

meters first flat white plots
meter first malteser plots :)
meters first flat plots (prone to getting a lot of patina)
non serif feet first (1st)
serif dial
non serif feet first(2nd)
pre comex
maxi dials1-5
wg surrounds

[onkyo]

Originally Posted by jedly1

OK.. pre comex isnt a name that implies a premium.. it is just a name

....it is just a name that is given to one type of 5513 dial that a few of us started using (just to call it something) as it is similar in appearance to some of the comex 5514 dial with the same sloppy crown... i.e probably the basis for that dial and for the same sub contractor...

the dial in question appear at the beginning of about 5 million through to mid 5 million...the crown has the unmistakable over sized left hand side and yes is the one shown above, it isn't a maxi dial but the plots are bigger than all the previous dials...but not as big as maxi lol.... whisky guys is a perfect example as is 964rs which is one of my old ones :)

akoo the one you show with heavy patina is a serif dial used from circa 1970-1973/4 ( serial 2.4- 4 mil)


matt dial running order goes :

meters first flat white plots
meter first malteser plots :)
meters first flat plots (prone to getting a lot of patina)
non serif feet first (1st)
serif dial
non serif feet first(2nd)
pre comex
maxi dials1-5
wg surrounds

Thanks for your input Jed....

[Clay]

Jesus......And all I wanted was a nice 5513.....

[Beef]

Great tutorial, Alan! Thanks!

[mcjp6]

Originally Posted by jedly1

meter first malteser plots :)

Jed, malteser plots, not heard of these, what do they look like????

[AK00]

Very fine PreComex example you got there Whisky!

Thanks Jed for the vital information. ;)

Did not notice the lop-sidedness of the crown until you mentioned, the LEFT side now seems larger in size. :)

I thought I might have been wrong on the MAXI dial statement, thanks for the clarification. Got me thinking last night when I was comparing the pictures but then again, COMEX assimiliates with diving, so that FT strokes association just came about naturally with MAXI.

[jedly1]

Originally Posted by mcjp6

Jed, malteser plots, not heard of these, what do they look like????

lol.. sorry another name just used on one of the other forums briefly.. a malteser is a honeycombed ball chocolate coated sweet. the plots look like one of them cut in half... a perfect round domed look. like this one that was my ad's own watch 1.7 million serial (as they tend to be) very unique look on the matt dial to see these more in the style that we see on the gilt dials, there is obviously a lot more luminous material present and possibly a diffrent recipe.. as it glows really strong after light exposure...

[mcjp6]

Yes, understand 100%, thanks so much for the education.......

[bb3188]

Michael, your gilt would classify as one with those lovely puffy dome plots....

[mcjp6]

Originally Posted by bearbrass3188

Michael, your gilt would classify as one with those lovely puffy dome plots....

Certainly puffy Mark (and I think beautiful) , but not matt, gloss of course, so does not really fit into this scenario.

But, any excuse for a photo.........

[Keldw]

Recently picked up one as well

[ABChop]

Holy thread revival batman!........4.5 yrs

[Keldw]

Originally Posted by ABChop

Holy thread revival batman!........4.5 yrs

Oh well Just saw it today

[erikscollectables]

Have been reading up on the so-named Pre-Comex dial as my 5513 seems to have one. Plenty has been written on it so thanks for all the research on that!
Came to this older post

Just noticed that the booklets from the end of the 70s and the early 80s use the same stock photo of a 5513 and the dial there seems to be a Pre-Comex one as well. Just wanted to add this to the knowledge on dials in this great forum.

(might have been noted by someone before but I did not come across it when googeling pre-comex :))

Regards, Erik

[tantovincoio]

1977

Ciaoo

[erikscollectables]

Originally Posted by tantovincoio

1977
Ciaoo

Wow looks near mint!!!

[Spyder555]

Curious to see if there is any further information related to Pre Comex Dials unearthed over the last 3 years since this thread went dormant. I have spent a little time reading articles and find that these are indeed unique, and may have been left over dials from COMEX dial printing. Given the low production number of the COMEX watches, is it possible that the dials were also low production runs, making these Pre Comex logo variants rarer 5513's, than the other 5513 dial variants available in 77/78?

[Spyder555]

Any thoughts on Pre Comex dials based on fresh data?

[roh123]

Originally Posted by Spyder555

Curious to see if there is any further information related to Pre Comex Dials unearthed over the last 3 years since this thread went dormant. I have spent a little time reading articles and find that these are indeed unique, and may have been left over dials from COMEX dial printing. Given the low production number of the COMEX watches, is it possible that the dials were also low production runs, making these Pre Comex logo variants rarer 5513's, than the other 5513 dial variants available in 77/78?

They were the standard dials which were used for some Comex watches. Jed put it well back in 2010. Usage of the pre-comex name is sometimes used to make it sound more exclusive than mk1/2/3/4/5/whatever. It’s just a name for a common dial configuration. Not more. Not less.