Rolex Submariner

The Rolex Submariner is the dive watch every other dive watch is measured against, and the most searched-for pre-owned Rolex. BeepWear lists 21 Submariners, from $9,995 to $53,000 with a median of $19,500: ten sit between $10,000 and $20,000, six between $20,000 and $40,000, and four full-gold pieces are above $40,000. Thirteen are the 40mm case made until 2020 and seven are the current 41mm. Each is inspected before listing and photographed as the actual watch.

Which Submariners are in stock? The steel core of the range is here: a 14060 no-date, the 16610 Submariner Date that ran from 1988 to 2010, the current 41mm ceramic Date, and a 2022 126610LV. The green pieces collectors ask for by nickname are all represented: a 16610V Kermit with its green aluminium bezel, three 116610LV Hulks with the green dial and green ceramic bezel, and the 126610LV, called the Starbucks or Cermit, with a green bezel over a black dial. Six are two-tone steel and yellow gold, including the 16613, 116613LB and 126613LN, with blue and black dials. Four are solid 18 karat yellow gold, among them a 116618LN and 41mm blue-on-blue and black-on-black pieces.

What does a pre-owned Submariner cost? The floor here is $9,995 for a 16610 Date, and a 14060 no-date is $11,500. A current steel ceramic 41mm Date is $18,900. The green references carry a premium: the Kermit is $19,435, the Starbucks $19,000, and the discontinued Hulks are $25,000 to $26,500. Two-tone runs from $14,950 for a 16613 to $24,500 for a modern blue-dial piece. Solid gold starts at $47,500 and tops out at $53,000. If your budget is under $20,000 you have ten watches to choose from on this page.

Kermit, Hulk, Starbucks: what is the difference? Three generations of green. The Kermit is the 16610LV of 2003 to 2010, a black dial under a green aluminium bezel, made for the model’s fiftieth anniversary. The Hulk is the 116610LV of 2010 to 2020, green dial and green ceramic bezel, the only all-green Submariner. The Starbucks is the 126610LV from 2020, back to a black dial under a green ceramic bezel, in the 41mm case. The nicknames are collector shorthand, not Rolex names, but the reference numbers on this page are exact.

40mm or 41mm? Rolex moved the Submariner to 41mm in 2020 and, at the same time, to the calibre 3235 with a roughly 70-hour power reserve and a slightly slimmer lug profile. The difference on the wrist is smaller than the number suggests, because the lugs were narrowed as the case grew. The 40mm watches here are the 14060, 16610, 116610 and their two-tone and gold equivalents; the 41mm ones are all 126-series references from 2020 onward.

Date or no-date? The no-date Submariner (14060 here, 124060 in the current line) has a cleaner dial without the Cyclops lens and has always been the cheaper of the two. The Date adds the magnified date window at three o’clock. Purists tend to prefer the symmetry of the no-date; most buyers prefer the date. There is one no-date in stock and twenty Dates, which is roughly the proportion Rolex made them in.

How water resistant is a Submariner, and does that still hold on a used one? Every Submariner since 1979 is rated to 300 metres. The rating depends on the gaskets, though, and gaskets age. A pre-owned Submariner that has not been pressure-tested since its last service should be treated as a watch to keep dry until it is tested, however good it looks. Ask when the seals were last replaced; on a watch serviced in the last few years the answer is usually on the paperwork.

What should you check before buying a pre-owned Submariner? The bezel first: it should turn anticlockwise only, click evenly through 120 positions, and line up at twelve. On aluminium-bezel references (14060, 16610, 16610V, 16613) look at fade and scratches, which are honest wear and priced accordingly, and confirm the insert is original rather than a replacement. On ceramic references check the bezel for chips at the edge. Confirm the lume on hands and dial matches, that the bracelet clasp still closes firmly, and ask for the service history.

How does BeepWear list and ship these? Every Submariner is pre-owned, inspected before listing, and photographed as the actual item you will receive. Stock is one of a kind, so a sold listing comes down rather than lingering. Orders ship insured within the United States, and the authenticity guarantee, returns policy and warranty terms each have their own page.

Related: all pre-owned Rolex watches, Rolex Yacht-Master, Rolex GMT-Master II