Reference:116610LV: Difference between revisions

|title=Rolex 116610LV Submariner — Production, Dial Variants, Serial Ranges | BezelBase

|description=The 116610LV is the green-dial, green-bezel Submariner Date that collectors call the **Hulk**. Rolex introduced it in 2010 alongside the black 116610LN,…

|modified_time=2026-04-29T02:46:06Z

<small>[[Reference:submariner|Submariner]] -> '''116610LV'''</small>

The 116610LV is the green-dial, green-bezel Submariner Date that collectors call the Hulk. Rolex introduced it in 2010 alongside the black 116610LN, replacing the 16610LV "Kermit," and ran the reference until 2020 when the 126610LV "Starbucks" took over. Case, movement, bracelet, and crystal are shared with the 116610LN. The bezel and dial are what set the Hulk apart, and what carry the market.

The Hulk is a one-generation anomaly. Every other green-bezel Submariner pairs the green bezel with a black dial. The Hulk pairs a green Cerachrom ceramic bezel with a green sunburst dial, the only Submariner that commits to green on both surfaces. When the reference left production in 2020, the green Submariner dial left with it.

{| class="wikitable"

| green Cerachrom ceramic, unidirectional 60-click, platinum PVD numerals

The 116610LV is the green variant within the 116610 generation of the Submariner Date, sitting parallel to the black-bezel 116610LN. The two references share case, movement, bracelet, crystal, and crown. Only bezel color and dial color differ.

The green-bezel Submariner has run continuously since 2003, and each generation has given the concept its own treatment. The Hulk is the outlier.

| green (permanent)

| green (permanent)

Rolex introduced the 116610LV at Baselworld 2010 as the direct replacement for the Kermit. The Hulk carried the same generational upgrades as the 116610LN: Cerachrom bezel, Maxi Case, Glidelock bracelet, and Chromalight lume. Caliber 3135 stayed throughout. No mid-run dial or bezel variants are known.

Production ended in September 2020 when Rolex replaced the Hulk with the 126610LV "Starbucks" at the postponed 2020 novelties announcement. The successor moved the line to a 41mm case and caliber 3235 with a 70-hour power reserve.

Caliber 3135 throughout, identical to the 116610LN. COSC-certified automatic, 28,800 vph, about 48 hours of power reserve, Parachrom blue hairspring. The successor 126610LV moved to caliber 3235 with a 70-hour reserve. That is the principal functional upgrade between the two generations.

The green sunburst dial is the feature the Hulk is named for. In low light it reads almost black. In direct sun it turns vivid green. Paired with the wide Maxi case, the dial gives the watch a heavier visual presence than the Kermit at the same nominal size.

=== What makes the green dial unique ===

 

Collector research usually splits the Hulk dial into three print generations across the decade. The differences are real but subtle. Production was high enough that the market premium tracks desirability rather than scarcity.

[[File:Ref 116610LV detail.jpg|thumb|right|250px|alt=Detail view|Detail view]]

Identical to the 116610LN: 40mm in 904L Oystersteel in Maxi Case (or "Super Case") format, with wider lugs, no lug holes, and a solid fluted screw-down caseback. Approximately 12.5mm thick, 48mm lug-to-lug.

Green Cerachrom ceramic, unidirectional 60-click, with platinum PVD numerals and graduations. The green ceramic does not fade or develop patina the way the green aluminum insert on the Kermit did. Kermit bezel fading is a feature collectors track and price, with well-faded examples commanding a premium. On the Hulk the color stays put.

Green Cerachrom is widely understood to be the hardest of the colored ceramics for Rolex to produce consistently, with a proprietary pigment formula and tighter sintering tolerances than the black or blue inserts. The same green Cerachrom carries forward onto the successor 126610LV. What changes across the generation is the dial.

Sapphire with Cyclops at 3 o'clock and anti-reflective inner coating. Same as the 116610LN.

Oyster bracelet with solid links, Oysterlock clasp, and Glidelock extension. Same specification as the 116610LN, with roughly 20mm of micro-adjustment in 2mm increments. Oysterlock is the locking safety clasp used across the modern Professional line. Glidelock is the in-clasp, on-the-fly length adjustment.

Standard Rolex green box of the 2010s era with warranty card, COSC tag, booklets, and hang tags. No known packaging differences between the 116610LV and 116610LN.

Collector nicknames for the green Submariners track color combinations rather than reference numbers. The Kermit (16610LV) pairs a green aluminum bezel with a black dial, named for the Muppet. The Hulk (116610LV) pairs a green Cerachrom bezel with a green sunburst dial, named for the all-green look. The Starbucks or Cermit (126610LV) returns to a green bezel and black dial. "Cermit" blends "ceramic" with "Kermit"; "Starbucks" comes from the green-and-black palette.

The Hulk nickname stuck because the watch is green everywhere. That commitment to green across the full face is what separates the reference visually from its siblings, and it is also what divides opinion among collectors. Some read the all-green as too much. Others read it as the most distinctive modern Submariner.

A small number of 116610LV watches left production with engraved casebacks or retailer signatures tied to institutional or royal deliveries. The best documented are the Khanjar Hulks, delivered through Khimji Ramdas in Oman during the reign of Sultan Qaboos, who died in 2020. Khanjar examples carry the crossed-dagger emblem engraved on the caseback, with international guarantee paperwork stamped by Khimji Ramdas. Auction examples have appeared at Sotheby's with estimates in the USD 25,000 to 50,000 range, reflecting both the Hulk's standalone premium and the Omani royal provenance.

 

Other retailer-signed or special-delivery 116610LV watches surface occasionally at auction, but none rises to the scale of a named series. The Khanjar examples are the one consistently-documented small branch of the reference outside standard production.

The 116610LV has traded above the 116610LN on the secondary market since both were in production, and the premium widened after discontinuation in 2020. As of late 2025, Sotheby's data put the Hulk at about USD 23,600, close to double the USD 11,900 retail on its successor, the 126610LV.

Rolex made the 116610LV in volume; its premium is demand, not scarcity. Rolex did not publish production figures, but the decade-long run on a popular Submariner reference put a substantial volume into circulation. The premium reflects desirability against a now-fixed supply rather than genuine scarcity of the kind that drives vintage references with small production runs. Market activity runs primarily through dealers and secondary retail rather than lot-level auction attention at the major houses.

[[File:Ref 116610LV hero 2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|alt=Rolex Submariner Ref. 116610LV|Rolex Submariner Ref. 116610LV]]