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Rolex Submariner Date "Kermit"

Reference 126610LV. A sheet to take with you: the numbers to check the watch against, what to look at, and what to ask. It does not authenticate anything and it does not tell you whether to buy.

Check the numbers

Measure or ask. A watch that does not match these is not necessarily wrong, but it is a question worth the answer.

Anything above marked not recorded is a gap in this catalog, not a property of the watch. Do not read a blank as a zero.

Before anything else

Physically this is the 126610LN with a green bezel. Case, dial, hands, bracelet and caliber are the same watch, so the tells for the LN apply here unchanged, and the replica market that targets the LN targets this reference too.

What to look at

1. case Bezel insert colour consistency against a known-good example
   Correct A single even green through the whole insert, including inside the engraved graduations and at any edge chip
   Red flag Colour that shifts across the insert, or a darker or grey substrate visible where the surface is worn or chipped
2. case Bezel graduations
   Correct Platinum-coated graduations sitting cleanly in the fired ceramic, uniform in width around the full 60 minutes
   Red flag Graduations that vary in width or brightness, or that sit proud of the insert surface
3. movement Caliber 3235 identification
   Correct Rolex caliber 3235 with the Chronergy escapement; the date changes instantaneously at midnight and the seconds hack when the crown is pulled
   Red flag A date that creeps over several minutes, or a seconds hand that keeps running with the crown out
4. bracelet Oyster bracelet and Glidelock clasp
   Correct Solid links with even brushing, and a Glidelock extension that steps positively through its detents
   Red flag Hollow end links, a clasp that slides without detents, or brushing that changes direction between links

Known issues on this reference

• The green Cerachrom insert is the whole reason this reference carries a premium over the 126610LN, which makes the bezel the part most worth scrutinising and the part most often swapped.
• A 126610LN fitted with an aftermarket green insert is a cheaper watch wearing this one's identity. The case, papers and serial will all be genuine, so the bezel and the paperwork have to agree.
• Rolex fired the colour through the ceramic rather than coating the surface, so a genuine insert does not show a different colour at a chipped edge or a worn graduation.

Parts that are commonly replaced

• Bezel inserts are replaced after scratching. On this reference that is also the swap that changes what the watch is worth, so ask when it was done and by whom.
• Crystal replacement after impact is routine; confirm it is a Rolex sapphire rather than an aftermarket mineral.
• Clasp replacement is frequent. Confirm Rolex markings and that the Glidelock functions.

Ask the seller, whatever the watch

• When was it last serviced, by whom, and is there paperwork?
• Has the case ever been polished?
• Which parts are not original to it?
• Do you have the box, papers and the original bracelet or strap?
• Why are you selling it?
• Can I see it in daylight, and can I take a photo of the caseback?

What this sheet is standing on

The specifications above are sourced to rolex.com. What else the catalog does not know.

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