Rolex Hulk: Rolex Submariner 116610LV Complete Guide

Rolex Hulk: Rolex Submariner 116610LV Complete Guide

The model number of the Rolex hulk is 116610LV. The full model name is Rolex Submariner 116610, and the fact is that the name ”Hulk” has never been used by Rolex themselves, but rather by collectors who have seen similarities between the green dial and green bezel, with the Hulk.

In this article, we’re going in-depth on the hulk Rolex Submariner, which is perhaps the most unique and bold Rolex Submariner timepiece.

What is a Rolex Hulk?

A Rolex hulk is a version of the iconic and highly popular dive watch from Rolex with the model name Submariner. There are several Submariner watches in Rolex’s Submariner range, one of which is the Hulk.

How much is a Rolex Hulk?

It is difficult to say how much a Rolex hulk costs because the fact is that the price change consistently. The main reason for this is that Rolex several times per year increase their prices in order to increase exclusivity, but another reason is also that the price of this model varies depending on the country you buy it in and the currency they use. Different countries can have different currencies, and depending on how strong or weak the currency is when you buy it, the price can vary when comparing it to the recommended retail price in a different currency.

Right now, we are only talking about the recommended retail price, and if we are to talk about the price of a Rolex Hulk 116610LV on the secondhand market, it’s a completely different story. Interesting to add is of course that the price on the secondhand market depends on the retail price, but also on-demand.

In writing moment, however, these are the retail prices in a few different currencies:

Rolex Hulk 116610LV Retail prices:

• Rolex Hulk 116610LV Recommended retail price in Euros: 8400 EUR
• Rolex Hulk 116610LV Recommended retail price in US Dollars: 9,050 USD
• Rolex Hulk 116610LV Recommended retail price in Swedish Crowns: 84 550 SEK

”Rolex pricing policies

All prices are Rolex’s suggested retail price inclusive of V.A.T.

The prices of gem-set models are dependent on market fluctuations and therefore subject to variations.
Rolex reserves the right to modify the prices and models on this website at any time.”

Since the demand for the Rolex Hulk 116610 has changed over time, and the demand for the timepiece has skyrocketed in the last couple of years, the price on the secondhand market has changed significantly more than what the recommended retail price has. Also, note that these retail prices are subject to change when Rolex will increase their prices.

Rolex Hulk 116610LV history

The Rolex Hulk 116610LV was released in 2010 at Baselworld watch fair, where Rolex introduce all their timepieces for the upcoming year.

This model can be considered a very bold and unique release from Rolex due to its very bright and instantly recognizable color.

Rolex is known for being very conservative in its releases, but you can certainly say that the bright green Submariner was something completely unique and different from the vast majority of Rolex’s other previous releases. At the same time, the 116610LV was an instant success upon its launch, met with great feedback and praise.

Building on the already wildly successful Submariner date model, Rolex refreshed it by making it in a completely new green color, introducing to the range a timepiece that stands out from the crowd, yet is a true classic that people have come to love over the course of its over a 50-year-long history. To fully understand this timepiece, let’s go back to 1953 when Rolex released its very first Submariner timepiece.

While the first Submariner looks a bit different from the modern version, going back to the fact that Rolex is highly conservative, the first Submariner is still very much a Submariner which you can see a clear connection between the first and the latest Submariner model.

In the brand’s constant pursuit of perfection, Rolex has over the years updated and improved the Submariner to what it is today. This includes giving it greater water resistance, making it more solid, and more reliable, and moving to parts that tend to age significantly slower than parts that were used in the beginning. This includes things such as moving from aluminum bezels to virtually scratch-proof ceramic Cerachrom bezel inlays.

 When Rolex first introduced the Submariner, it set a benchmark and pushed the boundaries for what a serious professional dive watch is. But back in the day, the watch market looked a lot different from what it does today, a time when people used watches for pure functionality and as tools. Today, the vast majority of Rolex Hulk Submariner owners never dive with their watches, and the closest they come to water is when washing their hands.

Rolex Hulk discontinued?

In 2019, there was a lot of speculation about whether or not Rolex would discontinue the Rolex Hulk Submariner reference 116610LV. This discussion was especially hot before the 2019 Baselworld edition, but the future proved that the Rolex Hulk would remain in Rolex’s collection for at least another year – until 2020 when it was discontinued and replaced by the 126610LV.

The reason for this can be discussed, but one reason could be that the Hulk is so immensely popular that Rolex just didn’t see any reason to discontinue it just yet. But at the same time, it makes sense that the discussion of whether or not this watch would be discontinued at Baselworld 2019 makes sense because after all, it has been in production since 2019, without essentially any updates or changes, other than barely noticeable differences such as the print on the dial.

Furthermore, it is quite interesting to discuss the discontinuation of the Rolex Submariner Hulk, because the modern Submariner watches with the reference beginning with 11 has been in production for more than a decade, and still uses Rolex’s old generation movement the 3135 as opposed to the second generation 3235, so in due time, we can with 100% certainty say that this model won’t be in production for many more years. But whether Rolex simply changes its movement and continues the production of the Hulk, makes more noticeable changes to the model, or discontinues it altogether, the future will reveal.

But one thing is for sure, the 116610LV Hulk will be discontinued one day, and if we are to guess, Rolex will refresh the whole Submariner line by introducing the new 3235 caliber to all Submariner watches, but also make more noticeable changes, for example making slimmer lugs to the case. Because if there is something that people have complained about, it is that the lugs of the case are quite thick and not very slim.

Update* September 1st

We wrote the above “guesses” in 2019 before Baselworld, and it is quite interesting to see now that the Submariner Hulk as officially discontinued on the 1st of September 2020. Rolex didn’t only discontinue the Hulk but also presented the new caliber as well as slimmer lugs on the rest of the Submariner models. So to answer that question, the 116610LV is as of the 1st of September 2020 no longer in production.

2020 WAS the year when Rolex completely changed the Submariner line. They discontinued all Submariner models in its collection and replaced them with the new generation 1266XX generation models with slight changes to the case, bracelet, and of course the movement.

Another reason that there was previously some speculation about the Rolex Hulk’s discontinuation is that the first iteration of a green Submariner was the “The Kermit,” which was made to commemorate the Submariner’s 50th anniversary in the early 2000s. After that model, Rolex released the ”Hulk”, and therefore, it could be viewed that the ”Hulk” was made as a continuation of that anniversary model, thus it is about time that the model is discontinued.

Rolex hulk availability

As mentioned, there is a huge demand for the Rolex Submariner Hulk 116610LV.

This is not only the case for the Hulk but more or less all Rolex sports models in stainless steel. In particular those from the Submariner range.

If you go to an official Rolex retailer, you can forget that the authorized dealers will have one in stock. And if they do have one in stock, you won’t see it in the front window, and they won’t sell it to you unless you are a VIP customer.

Many official Rolex retailers closed their waiting lists for the model because of the fact that the demand for the watch is so much higher than the number of watches that they receive each year. At many places, you are looking at a waiting list of many years, unless, again, you’re a VIP customer with a good relationship with the authorized retailer.

While the prices on the secondhand market of the Rolex Submariner 116610LV are much higher than the retail price, the availability here is a completely different story. If you are prepared to pay over retail for the Rolex Hulk in order to skip the waiting list, they are available to buy.

Since the 116610LV is discontinued since 2020, the only way to buy a hulk is to buy it on the secondhand market. And naturally, as soon as the news about the discontinuation of the model was out, prices skyrocketed further.

There has been a lot of debate about the short supply of Rolex watches, in particular of the stainless steel sports models, which more or less all have a waiting list, some longer than others. This is a different story that we won’t go too much into detail about in this article, however, what we can say is that Rolex is producing far fewer Submariner Hulk watches than there is demand for. 

 As a result of the short supply, the prices on the secondhand market have skyrocketed over the last couple of years, and continue to do so.

Rolex Hulk Anniversary

The Rolex Hulk can be seen as an anniversary watch in one way.

As mentioned earlier, in the early 2000s, Rolex released the Submariner ”Kermit”, reference 16610LV, featuring a green aluminum bezel, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Submariner model. Then, the Kermit was discontinued for a while until another Submariner with a green colorway was released – the Submariner Hulk.

Rolex Hulk bracelet

At its core, the Rolex Hulk is just like your standard Rolex Submariner, only that it the bezel and dial have been made in a striking green color. As a result, it has the same technical features as them.

This means that it is equipped with a sporty and robust Oyster bracelet made in 904L steel. The bracelet is brushed except for the sides of the lugs and clasp.

The bracelet is made up of flat three‑piece links which are the mainstay of the Oyster collection. The so-called Oyster bracelet is fitted on the entire range of Professional watches.

Furthermore, the clasp is equipped with a very clever and functional Glidelock clasp. This means that the wearer can expand the bracelet to about 20 mm in 2 mm increments. Also, the Fliplock extension links enable the band to be adjusted by an additional 26 mm. This extension allows for a secure and comfortable fit over the most protective diving suits, or, allows you to simply adjust the bracelet size to sit comfortably on your wrist at all times without the use of any tools.

Many people believe that the clasp is longer, taller, and generally bigger due to the Gridlock function, but in reality, the clasp is the same size as the Explorer II and GMT II. The only difference is that the clasp cover is longer.

The adjustments work by pulling on the bracelet link, detaching the lock from the detents on the underside of the clasp, and sliding the link to slide in grooves machined into the clasp sides. The Submariner bracelet is also outfitted with a detachable half-link. The half-link allows the wearer to use it on one end of the clasp, or the other to center the clasp on the wearer’s wrist.

Rolex hulk black dial

Do not confuse the Rolex 116610LV ”Hulk” with the 16610LV. For the untrained eye, it’s easy to mix them together due to the fact that they are both green. However, unlike the first green Submariner, the Kermit, the Hulk features a green sunburst dial as opposed to a black dial. Moreover, the bezel of the Hulk is made in Cerachrom as opposed to aluminum.

Rolex hulk case size & specifications

Dial

The Rolex Submariner hulk 1116610LV features a greens sunburst dial that catches the light beautifully. Because of the sunburst dial, the watch changes its look and personality depending on how the light hits it. From some angles, the dial can look black, and from others, it can showcase a striking bright green color.

The dial layout is apart from that exactly the same as the standard black Submariner. It has a ”Maxi dial” with large indices which features a highly legible Chromalight display with long-lasting blue luminescence.

Case

The watch is equipped with a 40mm Oyster case made in 904L ”Oystersteel”. It is a Monobloc middle case with a screw-down case back and winding crown. The crown of the watch is a screw-down crown with a Triplock triple waterproofness system Thanks to this, the watch is waterproof to 300 meters / 1,000 feet

The bezel is a unidirectional rotatable 60-minute graduated, scratch-resistant Cerachrom insert in ceramic. The numerals and graduations are coated in platinum

Like all Rolex watches, the watch is equipped with scratch-resistant sapphire. Being a date function watch, it has a cyclops lens over the date window to improve the date legibility. 

Rolex Hulk movement

The Rolex Submariner 116610LV is powered by the tried and tested Rolex Caliber 3135. While this can be considered an old movement as Rolex has been using it for decades, it is a movement that has proven to be extremely reliable that continues to tick year after year. The movement is automatic (perpetual), which means it is also mechanical.

Being COSC certified, and also going through Rolex’s own tests by Rolex in their factory, it has a precision of 2/+2 sec/day, after casing. In terms of function, the watch has a center hour, minute, and seconds hands, as well as an instantaneous date with a rapid setting. It has stop-seconds for precise time setting

The movement offers a power reserve of approximately 48 hours

Rolex hulk investment

This is quite an interesting topic when it comes to Rolex, since Rolex, generally speaking, is known to be quite good investments.

At the same time, a lot of people despise the words investment and Rolex in the same sentence, but because it is such a wildly discussed topic, we thought we would touch upon it a bit in this article.

Now, before we say anything, buying Rolex watches from an investment standpoint is just like investing in anything. You never know what will happen to the market, and you never know if buying a watch will be a good investment or not until the future reveals the answer.

However, looking at the past tends to give quite a good indication

The tricky part, however, is that the Rolex market has never looked the way it looks today, where it is practically not possible to get many of the sports models from Rolex in stainless steel from authorized dealers due to extreme demand and low supply, and as a result of this, it makes it a bit more difficult to predict the future and what will happen next.

But generally speaking, the secondhand value of stainless steel sports Rolex watches tends to increase in value over time. In particular when a certain model is discontinued.

Now, to talk a little bit about the Rolex 116610LV, it seems that this is a watch that is a good investment because the prices on the secondhand market have only continued to increase.

But what the future will hold, no one actually knows.