Football manager Michael Carrick spotted wearing a Rolex

Michael Carrick, manager of Manchester United, was spotted this weekend wearing a Rolex Submariner Ref. 16610 COMEX—one of the most coveted professional dive watches ever produced. The stainless steel sports watch sat on his wrist during a match-day appearance, its aged patina and distinctive COMEX dial immediately recognizable to watch enthusiasts familiar with this rare reference.

The Ref. 16610 COMEX is a purpose-built variant of Rolex's Submariner line, manufactured between 1978 and 1990 in collaboration with Comex, the French saturation diving company. Unlike standard Submariner models, the COMEX variant features printed "COMEX" text on the dial and includes a helium escape valve at 9 o'clock—essential technology for commercial divers working in pressurized saturation environments. The case is stainless steel with a 40 mm diameter, rotating unidirectional bezel with 60-minute timing, and a water resistance rating of 300 meters. The movement is Rolex's caliber 3035, an automatic chronometer-certified mechanism offering reliable timekeeping in extreme conditions.

The Ref. 16610 COMEX commands premium valuations in the collector market because Rolex produced fewer than 1,000 examples during its 12-year production run—making it substantially rarer than mainstream Submariner references. The helium escape valve and COMEX provenance are signatures of professional-grade engineering that elevated the model beyond sport-watch status into industrial artifact territory. Variations exist; some examples feature gilt dials, while others display MK1, MK2, or MK3 dial evolution markers across the production period.

Carrick's selection of this reference aligns with a broader trend among senior football management and elite sports figures toward vintage and discontinued Rolex sports watches. The Submariner Ref. 16610 COMEX sits at the intersection of technical credibility and horological rarity—qualities that appeal to discerning professionals outside watchmaking itself. The watch's robust heritage and specialist functionality represent values congruent with high-performance sports leadership.

On the grey market, a well-preserved Ref. 16610 COMEX typically trades between £35,000 and £55,000 GBP (approximately $44,000–$69,000 USD), depending on dial variant, case condition, and service history. Original retail in the 1980s hovered near $3,000 USD. Availability remains constrained; the reference rarely appears at auction and almost never surfaces through official Rolex channels.