THE ESSENTIALS

MAKE: ROLEX
MODEL: 16610LV
YEAR: 2003
CASE DIAMETER: 40mm
CASE MATERIAL: STAINLESS STEEL
BRACELET MATERIAL: STAINLESS STEEL
MOVEMENT: AUTOMATIC

In 2003, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the iconic Submariner, Rolex released the 16610LV. The “LV” stands for Lunette Verte, meaning “green bezel.” During its seven-year tenure, the "Kermit" was produced with five bezel variants and five dial variants, plus a service dial, an impressive number of subtle changes for a watch of this era. Bezel-wise, two feature the infamous “flat four” font, with one often fading to a lighter shade of green than the other. The remaining three bezels have slimmer “4s” and progressively darker tones of green, with the final B5 bezel resembling the modern “Starbucks” colour.

The present example is the very first Mk1 version with the earliest bezel type, the serif flat four. This was produced only between Y and F54 serial ranges. In fact, this Y-serial watch was among the very first Kermits to leave the Rolex factory.