Reference:116610LV
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." It ran until 2020, when the 126610LV "Starbucks" took over. Mechanically, the Hulk is the same watch as the 116610LN. The difference is color, and color is what defines the reference and its market.
The Hulk is a one-generation anomaly within the green Submariner lineage. 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 reference in the entire Submariner line to commit to green on both surfaces. When Rolex discontinued the 116610LV in 2020, it discontinued the green Submariner dial 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 116610LV is the green variant within the 116610 generation of the Submariner Date, sitting parallel to the black-bezel 116610LN. Case, movement, bracelet, crystal, and crown are shared between the two references. Only bezel color and dial color differ.
Green Submariner lineage
The green-bezel Submariner has run continuously since 2003, and each generation has given the concept its own treatment. The Hulk is the outlier.
| 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 |
The Kermit established the green-bezel Submariner as a collector reference in 2003 on a black dial and aluminum bezel. The Hulk replaced it in 2010 with the ceramic bezel generation and added a green sunburst dial. The Starbucks replaced the Hulk in 2020 and walked the dial back to black while keeping the green Cerachrom.
Production outline
Rolex introduced the 116610LV at Baselworld 2010 as the direct replacement for the Kermit. It carried the same generational upgrades as the 116610LN: Cerachrom bezel, Maxi Case, Glidelock bracelet, and Chromalight lume. No mid-run dial or bezel variants are known. Caliber 3135 stayed throughout.
Production ended in September 2020 when Rolex replaced the Hulk with the 126610LV "Starbucks" at the delayed 2020 Baselworld novelties announcement, moving the line to a 41mm case on caliber 3235 with a 70-hour power reserve.
Movement notes
Caliber 3135 throughout, identical to the 116610LN. COSC-certified automatic, 28,800 vph, approximately 48 hours of power reserve, Parachrom blue hairspring. The successor 126610LV moved to caliber 3235 with a 70-hour reserve, which is the principal functional upgrade between the two generations.
Dial map
The green sunburst dial is the reason the Hulk became the Hulk. In some light it reads almost black; in direct sun it turns vivid green. Together with the wide Maxi case, it gives the watch a heavier visual presence than the Kermit despite the shared nominal size.
What makes the green dial unique
The sunburst finish is specific to the Submariner — not a Day-Date green dial dropped into a diver case. Rolex Forum members describe the dial as made from "gold and aluminum dust," a characterization that, if accurate, would help explain the distinctive depth and light-shifting quality. The dial interacts with the green Cerachrom bezel to produce a monochromatic green effect that no other Rolex sport watch replicates, before or since.
Collector research usually splits the Hulk dial into three broad print generations across the decade. The differences are real, but subtle. The bigger market point is simpler: production was high, so the premium is about desirability rather than scarcity.
Case, bezel, crystal, and crown
Case
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.
Bezel
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 — a well-faded Kermit bezel commands a premium — but on the Hulk the color stays put.
Rolex Forum discussions describe green Cerachrom manufacturing as a particular challenge, requiring a proprietary green pigment formula, and achieving a consistent, vivid green in ceramic reportedly demands parameters beyond what the black or blue inserts call for. The same green Cerachrom carries forward onto the successor 126610LV; what changes across the generation is the dial beneath it.
Crystal
Sapphire with Cyclops at 3 o'clock and anti-reflective inner coating. Same as 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, Oysterlock clasp, and Glidelock extension — the 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. Bracelet reference is likely 93250, consistent with six-digit Submariner fitment.
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 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. Some collectors find the all-green too much. Others find it the most distinctive modern Submariner. The Hulk does not invite a middle position.
Special editions
A small number of 116610LV watches left production with engraved casebacks or retailer signatures tied to specific institutional or royal deliveries. The most documented of these 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 25,000–50,000 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.
Market and collector context
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, the Hulk trades at approximately $23,600 USD on Sotheby's data — nearly double the $11,900 retail on its own successor, the 126610LV.
The 116610LV is not rare in an absolute sense. Rolex Forum consensus holds that Rolex produced "quite a few" across the decade of production. 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.
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 — 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