Sell your Submariner · South Florida · by appointment
Sell your Submariner to someone who knows which one it is.
Six generations of the date line, five of the no-date line, two bezel materials, and a few nicknames that change the number. Send photos and I reply within 1 business day with an offer and the reasons for it.
- Date and no-date Submariners priced on their own comparables
- Faded inserts, service inserts, Kermit, Hulk, and Starbucks read from your photos
- Prepaid insured FedEx label, or an appointment in your county
Who this page is for
The Submariner you own decides how I read it.
This page is for the owner of a Submariner who wants to know which one they have in a dealer's eyes and what that does to the offer. A 16610 with an aluminium insert, a 116610 with a Cerachrom bezel, and a 41 mm 126610 are all black Submariners. They are not priced against each other.
Most Submariners I see were bought new and worn daily, inherited with the reference unknown, or carry a nickname and a marketplace quote that may not apply to that generation.
Serial eras, card versus papers, polishing, and service parts are covered on the Rolex page. Here I cover only what is specific to the Submariner: the generations, the insert, the clasp, the dial, and what must be in your photos.
Selling a Submariner to a private dealer
What a Submariner specialist does differently.
Generation before condition
I place the watch in its generation first, 5513 to 124060 or 1680 to 126610, then judge condition against what that generation should look like.
The insert is read before the number
On aluminium-bezel Submariners the insert can be original, faded, or a service replacement. Each points the offer a different way.
Clasp and end links checked against the era
Hollow end links, solid end links, a stamped clasp code, or a Glidelock each belong to a span of production. When they match the serial, the watch reads as honest.
Vintage quoted after inspection
A 5513 or a 1680 is never priced from a photo alone. I give a working range from the images and a firm number under the loupe.
What I check on a Submariner
Five things that move a Submariner offer.
The Submariner-specific variables. Papers, polish, and service history are on the Rolex page.
Bezel insert: aluminium or Cerachrom
Aluminium inserts through the 16610 fade, scratch, and get replaced. Cerachrom bezels from the 116610 onward do not fade. The material tells me which questions to ask.
Date or no date
The no-date line (14060, 14060M, 114060, 124060) and the date line (16610, 116610, 126610) trade on separate comparables.
Dial text and luminous material
Tritium, Luminova, Super-LumiNova, and Chromalight each belong to a span of years. A Maxi dial belongs to the 16610LV and later. Mismatches lower the offer.
Bracelet, end links, and clasp
Hollow end links, solid end links, the clasp code, and the Glidelock each date the bracelet. A bracelet from the wrong era is priced as a replacement.
Discontinued colours
The green Kermit and Hulk are out of production. They trade above the black Submariner of the same generation, and a full set matters more on them.
How it works
Four steps, Submariner photos in the first.
01
Get an offer
Submit the appraisal form with photos of the dial in daylight, the bezel insert from above, the case back, the rehaut if engraved, the clasp open with the inside of the blade visible, and the warranty card or papers. I reply personally within 1 business day.
02
Ship or meet
Take the prepaid, fully insured FedEx label, or book an appointment in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach. Vintage Submariners are best seen in person.
03
Inspect and confirm
I open the box on camera and check the insert, dial, lume, end links, clasp code, serial, and papers against the generation. If it matches the photos, the offer stands.
04
Get paid
Wire or check within 24 hours of inspection. If we do not agree, the watch goes back to you, insured, at my cost.
Two eras of the Submariner
Aluminium-insert generations against Cerachrom generations.
The split that matters most is the bezel. Everything else on the watch follows it.
| Criteria | Aluminium insert (5513 through 16610 and 14060M) | Cerachrom bezel (116610 and 114060 onward) |
|---|---|---|
| Bezel insert | Painted aluminium; fades, scratches, often replaced at service | Ceramic with engraved numerals; does not fade, chips only under hard impact |
| What moves the offer | Up: an original insert that matches the age. Down: a bright service insert or a service dial | Up: a complete set with the card. Down: chipped ceramic, a polished Super Case, missing links |
| Case | 40 mm, slimmer lugs, drilled lug holes before roughly 2003 | 40 mm Super Case, then 41 mm with slimmer lugs from 2020 |
| Clasp and end links | Hollow end links early, solid on later 16610s, a stamped clasp code | Solid end links and the Glidelock clasp |
| Dial | Tritium, Luminova, or Super-LumiNova by year; Maxi dial on the 16610LV only | Maxi dial with Chromalight that glows blue |
These are directions, not figures. I show which rows moved your number, and by how much, in the reply.
The detail
What moves a Submariner offer, generation by generation.
Date and no-date are two lines, not one
The no-date line has no cyclops: 5513, then 14060, 14060M, 114060, and the current 124060. The date line adds the window and the cyclops: 1680, 16800, 168000, 16610, 116610, and the current 126610. The two lines share a case and bezel in each era but are compared against different sales. In most modern generations the no-date sits a little below the date version; the vintage 5513 has its own following.
The date line: 1680 to 126610
The 1680 was the first Submariner with a date, built from the late 1960s to around 1979 with an acrylic crystal; early dials with red Submariner text are a separate market. The 16800 brought a sapphire crystal and calibre 3035 from roughly 1979 to the late 1980s, and the 168000 was a short transitional reference. These three are vintage, and I quote them after inspection.
The 16610 ran from roughly 1989 to 2010 on calibre 3135 with an aluminium insert. Early cases have drilled lug holes and hollow end links; later cases lose the holes, gain solid end links, and the last ones carry the engraved rehaut. The 116610 arrived in 2010 with the Cerachrom bezel, the broader Super Case, a Maxi dial, Chromalight, and the Glidelock clasp. In 2020 the 126610 moved to 41 mm, slimmer lugs, and calibre 3235.
The no-date line: 5513 to 124060
The 5513 is the vintage no-date, built from roughly 1962 to the late 1980s with an acrylic crystal. Its gilt, matte, and maxi dial variants trade very differently, so I will not price one from a thumbnail. The 14060 brought a sapphire crystal around 1990, the 14060M followed on calibre 3130, the 114060 added the Cerachrom bezel in 2012, and the 124060 moved to 41 mm and calibre 3230 in 2020.
The bezel insert is the biggest Submariner-specific variable
Through the 16610 and 14060M the insert is painted aluminium, and it fades under sun and salt. Collectors call an evenly faded insert a ghost bezel, and on a 5513, 16800, or 16610 an original faded insert can lift the offer. The same watch with a bright insert fitted at a service reads as a replaced part, and the offer moves the other way. From the 116610 onward the bezel is Cerachrom, which does not fade; there I look for a chip at the edge, which cannot be polished out.
Green and blue: Kermit, Hulk, Starbucks, Bluesy, Smurf
The nicknames identify exact combinations. The 16610LV, 2003 to 2010, is the Kermit: green aluminium insert, black Maxi dial. The 116610LV, 2010 to 2020, is the Hulk: green Cerachrom bezel, green dial. The 126610LV, from 2020, is the Starbucks: green Cerachrom bezel, black dial, 41 mm case. The Kermit and Hulk are out of production, so each trades above the black Submariner of its generation, and the card and box matter more on them.
The two-tone Submariner, 16613, 116613, and 126613, is usually blue dial and bezel, which collectors call the Bluesy. The Smurf is a different watch: the white gold 116619LB in blue. People sometimes call a two-tone blue Submariner a Smurf, so I check the reference and the case metal before I quote.
Case, clasp, and end links by era
Cases made before roughly 2003 have drilled lug holes; later cases do not. The 116610 Super Case has wider lugs and crown guards than the 16610, and the 126610 slims them again. A heavy polish softens the shape, so please do not polish. The bracelet dates itself too: hollow end links on earlier 16610 bracelets, solid on later ones, a stamped clasp code that should sit close to the serial, and the Glidelock on the ceramic generation. A Glidelock on a 16610 means the bracelet has been swapped, and I price it as a replacement.
Dial text and luminous material
The text at six o'clock dates the dial. Tritium dials, marked with a T, run through roughly 1998. A short run of Luminova follows, then Super-LumiNova marked Swiss Made, and the ceramic generation uses Chromalight, which glows blue. Tritium on dial and hands should have aged to the same tone; a bright service dial on a tritium-era 16610 lowers what a collector pays.
When selling to me is not the right call
If you own a Kermit or a Hulk and have no need for the money this month, holding is reasonable. If you have a 5513 or a 1680 with an unusual dial, a specialist auction may reach a collector I cannot, and I will say so after inspection. If you want the watch sold this week, insured, inspected by one person, and paid within 24 hours of that inspection, this is the right page.
How to prepare your Submariner submission
- The bezel insert from directly above, in daylight, so fading or a replacement reads correctly.
- The dial straight on, close enough to read the text at six o'clock and the colour of the lume.
- The engraved rehaut, if your watch has one, and the clasp open with the stamped code in focus.
- The end links, the side of a lug, the reference between the lugs, and the card or papers beside the watch.
- Any service record, and the old insert if it came back in a bag.
Questions, answered
Before you send a Submariner
Is my Submariner a Hulk, Kermit, or Starbucks?
Read the reference between the lugs. 16610LV, green aluminium insert, black dial: Kermit. 116610LV, green ceramic bezel, green dial: Hulk. 126610LV, green ceramic bezel, black dial, 41 mm: Starbucks.
Does a faded bezel lower the offer?
Usually not. On an aluminium-insert Submariner an original, evenly faded insert is something collectors look for. A bright service insert is what lowers the number.
My 16610 has a replaced insert. Does that matter?
Yes, it moves the offer down against a 16610 with its original insert, but it does not stop the sale. Send the old insert if you still have it.
Is a no-date Submariner worth less?
In most modern generations the no-date sits a little below the date version. The vintage 5513 has its own market and can sit above a 1680 of the same age, depending on the dial.
Can we meet in Broward or Palm Beach instead of shipping?
Yes. I meet by appointment in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, and for a vintage Submariner I prefer it. Otherwise the FedEx label is prepaid and insured.
Sell your Submariner
A real number on your Submariner, in 1 business day.
Send the bezel, dial, clasp, and card photos listed above. I reply personally with an offer and the generation behind it. Insured shipping is on me. Payout within 24 hours of inspection.