Nouvelle Arrivée: Mon Rolex Submariner 116610 Lunette Verte...
...also known as the Bruce Banner Edition: The Hulk.
http://i.imgur.com/kaikexV.jpg
Following the first, and second purchase of my previous Rolex Submariners, I quickly realised I had found, not only my perfect diver, but a brand that I had grown to enjoy and respect more and more. The previous generation Submariners were superb, but with the improvements made to the latest SubC models, I believe that the 116610 Submariner Date, or the 114060 Submariner are the ultimate in black dialled watches. Faced with the question of the perfect all-rounder, I don’t see how anyone could discount the hugely versatile and ubiquitous Sub.
So why have I ended up with a green one? Like many of us, I don’t need to be a one watch man. I craved the versatility, dependability and superb build quality, but wanted something a little more... interesting.
I deliberated over this choice for a long time. Green may be the iconic colour of the Rolex brand, but it is far from my favourite colour. To add a little more doubt in my mind, growing up in Scotland, particularly the central belt, during childhood, on an almost daily basis you were faced with the constant Rangers/Celtic divide. Sometimes light hearted banter, sometimes determined passion for the sport, sometimes sectarianism that casts a shadow over the ‘beautiful game’. I consciously distanced myself from Football because of it, but it’s amazing how it still dominates to this day. A little part of me thought, "buying a green and white watch? You could really do without the constant assumption that you’re a Celtic supporter."
But much like my initial negative perceptions on Rolex a few years ago, coupled with the fact I now live in the Highlands, where young foreign footballers driving white Bentley Continental GT’s and orange Range Rover Sport’s have been replaced by angry Highlanders with no teeth and armed with sticks as Shinty is the preferred ball game, that thought was quickly put aside in order to continue enjoying my passion for horology.
http://i.imgur.com/4PexARY.jpg
Lunette Verte directly translated means Green Bezel, and what a bezel it is. Gone is the aluminium insert of old in favour of what Rolex label the Cerachrom Bezel. Made from an extremely strong ceramic material, it is designed to be scratchproof, not to deteriorate or fade in years to come. In order to create the numbers and minute markers, engraving/moulding is carried out before the 1500°C hardening process of the ceramic begins. Then the bezel is completely covered in platinum, and polished until only the precious metal in the numerals and graduations remain - a 40 hour process in order to create one bezel.
The dial follows a further surprising process. While you may think that Rolex label the dial colour as ‘Green Gold’ for reasons of vanity, the aluminum disc is painted using a process similar to PVD, the difference being the use of Gold to produce a unique lustre and sunburst look. This produces a watch that rarely looks the same. If there is likely to be any critics of the 116610LV, I would imagine the headline would be that it is “too green”. Perhaps it may look that way under the lighting of a jewellers display cabinet, but not so in real life. The Hulk is a watch that rarely looks the same. In low light conditions it can look almost black, in direct sunlight, it can look as green as you might imagine, somewhere in between you get this beautiful shimmer as the dial transitions between black and green with a contrasting flash separating the colours. I’ve tried to illustrate the colour changing properties using two separate pictures below, combined in a GIF file. I have not manipulated the colours in any way, other than simply changing the lighting while taking each photo - one had a white background and the other a black background. It’s amazing how the dial and bezel colours can come to life.
http://i.imgur.com/qaMHpoD.gif
This is my first Rolex equipped with an anti-reflective cyclops. The 2.5x date magnifier is always going to polarise opinion among enthusiasts, and while the symmetry found on the no-date Submariner is pleasing to the eye, the function of the date is a welcome and convenient complication coupled with the iconic and traditional Rolex cyclops. The anti-reflective properties further aid the modern improvements over previous generation models.
Whether it’s the 114060, the 116610, or this LV, all the small and seemingly insignificant improvements found across the range, quickly add up to make a sizeable difference. The ceramic bezel, the solid end links, the larger indices found on the maxi dial, improved blue lume, the “RolexRolexRolex” rehaut, the movement’s blue parachrom hairspring, the significantly stronger and more solid feeling bracelet, all perfectly matched with the superb glide-lock clasp.
http://i.imgur.com/hYZTCy7.jpg
Remaining in size at 40mm, the SubC’s wear much larger than the size suggests. The oversized case, for someone like me with a 7.5inch wrist is a welcome improvement over the earlier models. Yes, with the fatter lugs and thicker crown guards the design has lost a certain elegance, with proportions that are a little more awkward than before. I feel this is accentuated more in photos than in the flesh. Much like the criticism of the new Sea-Dweller 4000’s protruding endlinks, or the Green writing found on the latest Blue/Black Deepsea, while pictures may bring these design quirks to the forefront of your mind, in-hand, it really is a non-issue.
The white gold surrounded larger indices/lume plots/hand set simply adds to the perceived feel of extra size and has a totally different feel from the comparatively small indices of the 14060M/16610 generation. From a vain point of view, I’ve always preferred blue lume to the green of old and the chromalight luminescence found here is the best I’ve come across. While photos may highlight it, the rehaut engraving is surprisingly subtle with a nice touch of the serial number at 6 o’clock.
http://i.imgur.com/IFZSwWh.jpg
All cases being equal between the LN and the LV, the 116610 model designation is unchanged between the lugs of the 904L Superalloy Stainless Steel head. Rolex remain one of the few watch companies to use the extremely corrosion resistant metal, yet it remains highly polishable matching well with the precious metals often used elsewhere on the case.
The Chronometer Certified Rolex 3135 in-house movement is a true workhorse and in my experience, incredibly accurate. The blue parachrom hairspring is designed to have greater resistance to shocks and temperature variations, while something as basic as an instantaneous date change with rapid setting tidies up the slow process found on many movements towards midnight.
http://i.imgur.com/bTWk8fR.jpg
The three link oyster bracelet really has come on leaps and bounds. No more rattles, no more stamped metal work, just solid reassuring links along with something as basic as half links for the perfect fit - painfully omitted from the older models, usually leading to a clasp that rarely centred on the wrist. I always carried the opinion that the glide-lock clasp was over engineering for the sake of it, after all, what was wrong with standard micro adjustment? How wrong I was! Glide-lock is incredible. A 20mm extension, adjustable in 2mm increments, I thought I’d use it once for the perfect fit and forget about it, but the truth is, I use it every time I wear the watch. I now notice more than ever how your wrist swells or contracts with the temperature, but the perfect fit is only a few clicks away.
http://i.imgur.com/wFV3KK8.jpg
Strictly speaking, this isn’t a new arrival. This thread has been a long time coming. Up until now, I simply haven’t had the chance to take photos and create a write up, but that in itself can only be a good thing. All too often, it’s easy to fall in to the trap of writing a gushing new arrival thread while you’re still in the honeymoon period, learning a few weeks down the line that you’ve grown tired of your new purchase and it’s retreated to the back of the drawer or flipped on sales corner. I’ve lived with the Hulk for a matter of months now, and my enthusiasm hasn’t waned in the slightest. If anything, I’ve grown to love it more. Labelling it as the Green Submariner does it no justice. It is anything but just green. It’s a true chameleon of the watch world, it remains versatile, it remains interesting, only further proved by the fact I haven’t worn anything else since purchase. This might just be the watch that makes this hobby boring for me, because at this time it’s my perfect daily wearer that doesn’t look out of place dressed up for the evening, so where does that leave the rest of my collection..?
It’s been 60 years since the introduction of the Rolex Submariner, and for Rolex, it was always going to be a hard act to follow. With the LV, I can't think of a better way to celebrate and compliment the original design. I’m pleased to own a piece of that history and iconic status, suitably remixed for the modern day.
