Rolex 116610LV Submariner
Submariner -> 116610LV
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. Bezel and dial are the only points of difference, and they are what the market pays for.
The Hulk is a one-generation anomaly. Every other green-bezel Submariner pairs that bezel with a black dial; only this reference runs green Cerachrom over a green sunburst dial, green on both surfaces. When it left production in 2020, the green Submariner dial left with it.
Core facts
| detail | value |
|---|---|
| reference | 116610LV |
| nickname | Hulk |
| family | Submariner Date |
| production | 2010 to 2020 |
| movement | caliber 3135 (COSC, ~48hr power reserve) |
| case | 40mm 904L Oystersteel, Maxi Case, ~12.5mm thick, ~48mm lug-to-lug |
| crystal | sapphire with Cyclops, anti-reflective inner coating |
| water resistance | 300m / 1000ft |
| bezel | green Cerachrom ceramic, unidirectional 60-click, platinum PVD numerals |
| bracelet | Oyster with Oysterlock clasp and Glidelock |
| lume | Chromalight (blue) |
| dial | green sunburst, white gold Maxi markers |
| crown | Triplock screw-down with guards |
| predecessor | 16610LV "Kermit" |
| successor | 126610LV "Starbucks" / "Cermit" |
Where it sits in the line
The 116610 generation ran as a pair: the black-bezel LN and the green LV. Everything structural is common to both, from case and movement through bracelet, crystal, and crown, so choosing between them was a color decision and nothing else.
Green Submariner lineage
The green-bezel Submariner has run continuously since 2003, and each generation handled the color differently. Only the Hulk took green past the bezel.
| reference | nickname | years | bezel material | bezel color | dial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16610LV | Kermit | 2003–2010 | aluminum | green (fades) | black |
| 116610LV | Hulk | 2010–2020 | Cerachrom ceramic | green (permanent) | green sunburst |
| 126610LV | Starbucks / Cermit | 2020–present | Cerachrom ceramic | green (permanent) | black |
Production outline
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. The bezel never changed across the run, and the dial changed only in print detail.
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.
Movement notes
Caliber 3135 runs the whole production, the same movement the 116610LN uses: COSC-certified automatic, 28,800 vph, about 48 hours of power reserve, Parachrom blue hairspring. The successor 126610LV moved to caliber 3235 and a 70-hour reserve, which is the one functional gain across the generational change.
Dial map
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, it gives the watch a heavier visual presence than the Kermit at the same nominal size.
The green sunburst
The sunburst finish is specific to the Submariner, not a Day-Date green dial dropped into a diver case. Collector accounts describe the lacquer as carrying gold and aluminum particles, which would account for its depth and the way it shifts under different light. Against the green Cerachrom the dial reads as a single monochromatic field, an effect no other Rolex sport watch carries.
Collector research splits the Hulk dial into three print generations across the decade. The differences are real but subtle.
Case, bezel, crystal, and crown
Case
Identical to the 116610LN: 40mm of 904L Oystersteel in the Maxi Case (or "Super Case") format, with wider lugs, no lug holes, and a solid fluted screw-down caseback. Roughly 12.5mm thick and 48mm lug to lug.
Bezel
Green Cerachrom ceramic, unidirectional, 60 clicks, numerals and graduations in platinum PVD. It does not fade or take on patina the way the green aluminum insert on the Kermit did, and Kermit fading is something collectors track and pay for, with well-faded inserts carrying a premium.
Rolex publishes nothing about how Cerachrom is pigmented. The collector-side reading is that green is the hardest of the colored inserts to fire consistently, with a proprietary pigment formula and tighter sintering tolerances than black or blue. The same green carries forward onto the successor 126610LV.
Crystal
Sapphire with the Cyclops at 3 o'clock and an anti-reflective coating on the inner surface, as on the 116610LN.
Crown
Triplock screw-down with crown guards, rated to 300m / 1000ft.
Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes
Bracelet
Oyster bracelet with solid links, an Oysterlock clasp, and the Glidelock extension, the same specification as the 116610LN. Oysterlock is the locking safety clasp used across the modern Professional line; Glidelock is the in-clasp adjustment, giving roughly 20mm of length in 2mm increments without tools.
Packaging
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.
The nickname lineage
Collector nicknames for the green Submariners track color combinations, not reference numbers. Kermit comes from the Muppet, for the green aluminum bezel over a black dial. Hulk names the all-green look. The 126610LV answers to two names: Starbucks, after the green-and-black palette it returns to, and Cermit, a blend of "ceramic" and "Kermit".
The Hulk name stuck because the watch is green everywhere, and that is also what divides collectors. Some find the all-green too much. Others call it the most distinctive modern Submariner.
Special editions
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. They carry the crossed-dagger emblem engraved on the caseback and international guarantee paperwork stamped by Khimji Ramdas. Sotheby's has offered examples with estimates in the USD 25,000 to 50,000 range, which prices the Omani provenance on top of the Hulk's own premium.
Other retailer-signed and special-delivery examples surface at auction from time to time, none of them at the scale of a named series. The Khanjar watches are the one small branch of the reference outside standard production that is consistently documented.
Market and collector context
The 116610LV has traded above the 116610LN on the secondary market since both were in production, and the gap 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.
That premium is demand, not scarcity. Rolex never published production figures, but a decade-long run on a popular Submariner put substantial volume into circulation; what changed in 2020 is that the supply stopped growing. Most of the trade happens through dealers and secondary retail, with the major houses paying the reference comparatively little lot-level attention.
Related references
- Submariner 116610LN — 2010–2020
- Submariner 116613 — 2009–2020
- Submariner 114060 — 2012–2020
- Submariner 116618 — Yellow Gold (2008–2020)
- Submariner 116619LB — "Smurf", White Gold (2008–2020)
- Submariner 16610LV — "Kermit", Green Bezel (2003–2010)
See also the Submariner family index, movement reference, bracelet & clasp guide, and serial numbers by year.
Sources
- History of the Rolex Submariner - Part 2 — Tom Mulraney, Monochrome
- The Rolex Submariner: A Complete Collector's Guide — Stephen Pulvirent, Sotheby's
- The Vintage Rolex Field Manual — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra
- Rolex Submariner LV: Dive Watches from Kermit to Starbucks — Fratello
- Comparing Kermit vs Starbucks — Fratello
- Rolex Submariner 116610LV Year-Long Review — Andy Green, Time+Tide
- Hands-On: Rolex Submariner Date 41mm Kermit 126610LV and 126610LN — Brice Goulard, Monochrome
- Rolex Submariner Date 126610LV In-Depth Review — Brice Goulard, Monochrome
- The Rolex Submariner in 2020: What Actually Changed — Josh Shanks, Watchonista
- Rolex Submariner 116610LV In Green Watch Review — aBlogtoWatch
- Rolex Submariner Hulk Ref 116610LV Lot 116 — Phillips Geneva XII
- Rolex Submariner Hulk 116610LV Brand New Last Year — Sotheby's
- Reference 116610LV Submariner Khanjar Hulk circa 2012 — Sotheby's
- Reference 116610LV Submariner Hulk circa 2020 — Sotheby's
- Bourn in Oman: The Rolex Collection — Ross Povey, Revolution
- Rolex Hulk Mark 1-3: A Guide to Dial Differences — WatchGuys
- Rolex Hulk Submariner: The Complete Guide — Powerfunk, Luxury Bazaar
- For the First Time Rolex Hints at Production Numbers — Coronet / Foulkes 2024
- The Evolution of the Green Bezel Submariner — Jamie Morton, Everest Bands
- Rolex Hulk Submariner 116610LV Complete Guide — Millenary Watches
- Bob's Watches Submariner history — Bob's Watches
- 116610LV Hulk: How many dial variations? — RolexForums