Rolex Submariner runs after years on the seabed

Matt Cuddihy couldn't believe it: While collecting trash on the ocean floor, the surfer discovered a salt-encrusted Rolex. He shared his find on social media – and even found the man who had lost it years earlier.

Matt Cuddihy sometimes collects trash from the seabed. In Noosa, Australia, where the surfer usually goes, he finds all sorts of things—for example, broken fins from surfboards. But this time it was different. Among the usual debris, Matt discovered a watch—and not just any watch, but a Rolex Submariner that lived up to its name.

After a quick cleaning and knocking off the thick salt crust, he discovered: It's still working! And not only that – because sharing it on social media turned the chance find into a fascinating story, which he shared with the watch blog "Fratello."

Cuddihy initially didn't know how long the Rolex with model number 5513, which was manufactured from 1962 onwards, had been lying on the seabed. It must have been a long time, because a thick crust had formed around the watch and the sand had worn the glass almost milky. But the movement apparently suffered no damage, as it was still running after he moved it.

He described the find to "Fratello" as follows: "When I fished it out of the sea, I washed it in fresh water, and most of the sand, salt, and organisms came off. It smelled pretty bad and had heavy corrosion on the bezel, but the second hand was still moving. The crown was jammed, so technically it still showed the time, but not in my time zone."

Cuddihy, who himself wears rather inexpensive watches, sent the Rolex to a friend in Melbourne to learn more about the model. He assumed it was a cheap fake, but the opposite was true. After a sort of emergency service at a Rolex store, the crown was removed and basic functionality restored. And it was clear: This watch is indeed authentic.

Many wanted the Rolex – but only one knew its secret
But instead of rejoicing in his discovery and wearing a watch marked by the ocean, he trawled through the endless messages he received in response to his Instagram post. Not only did countless interested parties approach him, wanting to buy the watch for a lot of money, but there were also people claiming it was theirs. Since the watch was engraved, there was a way to track down the real owner—because only they would know the serial number and engraving. Cuddihy deliberately omitted this important detail.

And indeed, a man named Ric contacted "Fratello" and Matt and stated that he had lost his Rolex on the Australian coast, that it had an engraving, and that there were documents from that time that confirmed his report of the loss to the police. Ric knew,

Cuddihy was rewarded with a fascinating story: In 1971, Ric's father gave him the watch for a string of sailing victories. From then on, he wore it daily, as the rotating bezel actually helped him. Ric traveled to many countries with the watch, including Switzerland. In 1980, he lost the watch for the first time when it fell out of his jacket pocket into a septic tank while Ric was cleaning it. Three years later, when the tank was emptied, the watch was found – and it was still working. Only the bracelet had fallen off, which is why the Rolex is still on a fabric strap today.

Many adventures later, during which Ric never took off the watch despite the previous loss, his father died. The Submariner now served as a memento of his memory. In 2005, after countless years of service, it was returned to Rolex for service – and Ric received a document with the serial number he recently so desperately needed.

The joy of "his" new watch was short-lived – because Matt was actually able to find the original owner through social networks.
 
The near-final loss of the Rolex Submariner came in 2019 when Ric went surfing along the coast in Noosa. He describes the moment to "Fratello": "I was surfing in the national park, and the swell was small, only about two feet.

It wasn't the best day, and my mind was elsewhere. I had a Velcro strap on my watch because my buddy still had the steel bracelet from when I lost it in the septic tank. I was riding that wave and my hand brushed past my leg rope around my knee. The leg rope must have ripped the watch off my wrist. That's how it fell into the water—I didn't even realize what had happened."

It wasn't until he got to the car that he realized his loss. He says he felt "hopeless" at the time. The memories of his father that clung to the watch were gone. He even hired a diver to find the watch – unfortunately, to no avail. Then Matt found the watch – and Ric wrote to him.

"When I received the news from Matt (that the watch had the serial number mentioned, ed.), I completely broke down. This watch is something that has experienced so many adventures in my life. I couldn't even sit down with my daughter and wife while we were having dinner. I got up, went outside, leaned against a post on the patio, and just cried," Ric tells Fratello.

A few weeks ago, Ric and Matt met for dinner. It turned out they lived only 50 kilometers apart. He handed over the watch, and Ric then took it to the Australian Rolex office to be fully restored.

Source: Fratello