Rolex Submariner Date Starbucks · Reference 126610LV
Rolex Submariner Date Starbucks 126610LV
Known as Kermit (this generation), sometimes called the Starbucks. Collectors split on the name: the 2003 to 2010 reference 16610LV was the original Kermit with a green bezel and black dial, and when the 41mm 126610LV landed in 2020 with the same green bezel and black dial, a lot of people kept calling it Kermit while others started calling it Starbucks after the green mermaid logo. We hear both across the counter. The all-green 116610LV from 2010 to 2020 is the Hulk. Keep those three straight and you will not overpay.
The 126610LV is the current green-bezel, black-dial Submariner Date, introduced at Watches and Wonders in 2020 alongside the black-bezel 126610LN. It is the 41mm redesign that replaced the 40mm 116610 line that ran from 2010 to 2020. Green Cerachrom bezel, black dial, Oystersteel case and bracelet, date at three under the Cyclops. The move from 40mm to 41mm is smaller than the number sounds because Rolex slimmed the lugs and case sides at the same time, so on the wrist it reads as a tidier watch than the 116610 it replaced, not a chunkier one. This is the reference most people picture when they say they want a two-tone-free steel Sub with a splash of color, and it is one of the hardest steel sports Rolexes to buy at retail.
Produced: 2020 to present. Still in current Rolex production as of 2026. Early production examples (often called MK1 by collectors, roughly 2020 into 2021) show a slightly different green bezel tone and printing that some buyers chase; later MK2 examples are the ones coming off the line now.
In stock at Ultimate Diamond
3 pieces on the counter right now.
Specifications
- Reference
- 126610LV
- Model
- Submariner Date
- Case Size
- 41mm
- Case Material
- Oystersteel (904L stainless steel)
- Lug Width
- 21mm (increased from 20mm on the prior 116610 generation)
- Bezel
- Unidirectional rotatable 60-minute graduated bezel with green Cerachrom ceramic insert, platinum-coated numerals and graduations
- Dial
- Black with Chromalight display, large lume-filled hour markers, date at 3 o'clock
- Crystal
- Scratch-resistant sapphire with Cyclops lens over the date
- Movement
- Automatic, self-winding
- Caliber
- Rolex caliber 3235
- Power Reserve
- Approximately 70 hours
- Accuracy
- Officially certified Superlative Chronometer, minus 2 / plus 2 seconds per day after casing
- Balance Spring
- Paramagnetic blue Parachrom hairspring with Chronergy escapement
- Water Resistance
- 300 meters / 1,000 feet
- Crown
- Triplock triple-waterproofness screw-down crown with three-dot seal system
- Bracelet
- Oystersteel Oyster bracelet, three-piece links
- Clasp
- Oysterlock folding safety clasp with Glidelock extension (approximately 2mm incremental adjustment up to about 20mm) and Fliplock extension link for wetsuit wear
- Year Introduced
- 2020
Market & Value
Rolex US list is roughly 10,950 to 11,900 dollars depending on the price sheet you are reading after the January 2026 adjustment, and almost nobody buys this one at list. It trades on the secondary market. As of mid-2026 clean pre-owned and unworn examples run about 13,000 to 17,000 dollars, with WatchCharts putting the market value around 14,000 to 14,500 and unworn 2025 to 2026 full-set pieces sitting at the top of that band. That is a premium of roughly 20 to 45 percent over list, which is healthier than most steel sports Rolex premiums looked at the 2022 peak but still real money above retail. The green bezel is the entire story on value: a black-bezel 126610LN in the same condition trades for meaningfully less, so the color is what you are paying up for. Full box and papers matter here. On this reference a complete set with the card typically adds 700 to 1,500 dollars over a watch-only example, and buyers care about it because the LV designation and the green ceramic are exactly the details a counterfeit or a swapped bezel would target.
What to Know Before You Buy
Know which green Sub you are looking at before you talk price. Three green references get confused constantly: the 16610LV (2003 to 2010, aluminum green bezel, black dial, 40mm, the original Kermit, aluminum insert so it fades and scratches differently), the 116610LV (2010 to 2020, all-green ceramic bezel and green dial, 40mm, the Hulk), and this 126610LV (2020 to present, green ceramic bezel with black dial, 41mm). People say Kermit and Starbucks for the 126610LV interchangeably, but the money numbers are completely different across the three, so pin down the reference and the dial color first. On the 126610LV itself, check the bezel insert tone against known reference photos, confirm the caliber 3235 movement, look for a crisp laser-etched crown coronet in the crystal at six, and make sure the Glidelock and Fliplock clasp functions both work since that clasp is a wear point people ignore. Lug width is 21mm on this generation, an odd size, so aftermarket strap options are thinner than you would expect and most owners leave it on the Oyster bracelet. The 41mm case wears close to the old 40mm because of the reworked lugs, so do not assume it is a big watch until it is on your wrist.
Buying or selling a 126610LV?
We buy and sell the 126610LV every week at Ultimate Diamond, 19 West 47th Street in New York, family-owned since 1959. Green-bezel Subs are one of the steadiest steel sports Rolexes we move, so we know what a clean one is worth to the dollar and we write real checks against it. If you are selling, bring the watch in with whatever box, card, and links you still have and we will authenticate the bezel, the caliber 3235, and the clasp on the spot and make you a firm cash offer, no mailing your watch to a stranger and waiting a week. If you are buying, tell us the exact spec you want, MK1 versus current production, full set or watch-only, and we will source it. Stop by the counter on 47th Street, call us, or request an offer and we will get you a number the same day.