Few Swiss watch brands can rival Rolex’s iconic name. While other brands compete for second place among the most well-known and sought-after watches in the world, Rolex stands apart as the lone superior and reigns supreme as the king of watch manufacturers. There is a good reason the company uses a crown as its logo. How have they kept that title for so long? They are extremely good at creating limited editions that send the Rolex faithful into a frenzy, only to disappear and become the legendary rare finds that keep their consumers searching like Indiana Jones looking for lost treasure. One of the more recent and now most sought-after limited editions is the Rolex Submariner ref. 116610LV. Better known as the Rolex Hulk.
Of course, the Submariner is a familiar name for the Rolex faithful, but this particular one has a few tricks up its sleeve that made it a smash (obligatory Incredible Hulk phrase). Here is everything you need to know about the Rolex Hulk.
Release and specs
The Rolex Submariner reference 116610LV, AKA The Hulk, graced us with its presence in 2010. Almost immediately, the first thing to notice was the all-green dial. This was the first time in Rolex’s history that a watch had the honor of getting the green hue of the brand’s logo on the dial and the bezel. The LV at the end of the reference number stands for lunette verte, green bezel in French. A little on the nose but fantastic in its own right.
The color isn’t the only thing to love about The Hulk. It has the perfect size of a 40mm diameter, the movement of the caliber 3135 of the house Rolex associated with the spiral Parachrom Blue, and a power reserve of 48 hours with a strong resistance to magnetic fields. We also can’t forget the famous Rolex ceramic bezel, the cerachrome, which appeared on the GMT in 2005 only in black but finally expanded to make this watch more iconic.
It is a rare find
Like everything wonderful in this world, the Rolex Hulk came to an end. Perhaps fittingly, it came to an end like much of the rest of the world we knew in 2020. After ten years in production, The Hulk gave way to its replacement, The Rolex reference 126610LV, affectionately known as The Starbucks. Eventually, Rolex will run out of green things to name these watches after, or the Bosten Celtics will get a watch of their own. The Starbucks returned the look to the green bezel and the black dial, making it look closer to the previous Kermit, which made the green dial a rarity in the Rolex world.
A first-time option, followed by fan adoration and, ultimately, discontinuation, created the perfect storm for Rolex fans and faithful to create a rush to find their few-of-a-kind (in comparison to the rest of the Rolex catalog) and hold onto it as a family heirloom. What that ends up causing is a treasure hunt, the likes of which the stylish Indiana Jones would thirst after, and a pricepoint to match. On the secondhand market, the Rolex Hulk can fetch up to $20-$30K.
Hulk vs. Kermit and Starbuck
The Rolex Hulk wasn’t the first Submariner to be offered with the brand’s illustrious green color. The Rolex Submariner reference 16610LV, nicknamed The Kermit, preceded it with a black dial and logo green bezel. This edition of the Submariner arrived in 2003 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the brand’s most iconic watch. While the original sported the iconic red and blue, there was a later version that was all black, perfect for everyday wear. With the green bezel, a new group of Rolex faithful emerged, the ones who looked to stand out. The Starbuck followed the Hulk 10 years later and went back to the black dial.
There are many differences between the two watches, but as the only two to get the brilliant logo green and become icons, they can sometimes be confused. Separated by nearly a decade, the Hulk is known and easily discernible by the all-green dial and bezel, taking what Kermit did to the next level. As you begin to shop for your first Rolex watch, there are numerous products, legends, and icons to choose from. James Bond loved the Submariner and wore it almost exclusively. The Submariner changed the dive industry even as it was developing in the mid-century. And in 2010, Rolex pulled out all the stops and brought forth one of the most iconic and now rare watches of their entire catalog. If you are lucky enough to get your hands on one of these all-green masterpieces, we hope you have your pocketbook ready.
