Rolex. Probably only members of remote Amazonian tribes have never heard of this name. Bad hyperbole aside, Rolex is a name marked with fire into the modern collective culture. It’s become a symbol, and it’s everywhere; from movies to songs, to political discourse. It’s loved, it’s hated; it’s snubbed, it’s sought after. And in the last years it’s become as highly controversial as ever, which has only fuelled its global recognition and the amount of media content around it even further.
All this to say that one could write a whole series of books about Rolex, covering all sorts of topics, from its inception to the modern day. And to say that I’m well aware that, in the last years, every Rolex Boutique has been invaded by a whole herd of elephants: availability, the grey market, disgusting dirty practises of some ADs, flippers, and so on. So yes, there’s a lot to talk about, if you want to talk about Rolex. That’s why, when you can only afford a finite number of words, you ought to make it very clear what you are going to cover and what not. As the title suggests, in this particular article I am mostly focusing on a personal review of the 2010 116610LN Submariner Date, and will not address any of the more controversial topics related to the brand. That, as they say, is a story for another day. If, on the other hand, you wish to dig deeper into the history of the Submariner itself, you will find plenty of resources online, with this Hodinkee article being a good place to start.
A brief history of my Submariner
So, let’s begin. As with the Nomos Metro that I reviewed last time, also this Rolex is part of my (small) collection, and, as all the watches in the collection, it possesses a very specific meaning and sentimental value for me. More than that, I can safely say that this Submariner is the most special watch in the collection, yet.
My parents gifted it to me for my 18th birthday, when the world was a bit happier, and when it was still possible to just walk into a Rolex AD and buy most of the models. Back then I didn’t know basically anything about watches; I just enjoyed wearing my Swatches and thought that a Rolex was the ultimate watch, on par with the more overpriced likes of Patek Philippe (“Beata ignoranza!”, would people say in Italy). So you can imagine my surprise and my joy when I unwrapped the present and was greeted by the iconic green box and its even more iconic crown. I was euphoric. And for the following year and a half that watch never left my wrist: not for doing sport, not for taking a shower, not for sleeping. That until one day I noticed that it wasn’t running properly, and, after diagnosing a problem with the rotor, the watchmaker at the store suggested that I might have violently hit the wall with the watch while sleeping — which, knowing myself, I knew was more than likely. So I stopped wearing it at least at night, and never had another problem with it ever since.
But I’m digressing. The point is that I became obsessed with that watch, and in the weeks following my birthday I spent hours on the Rolex website, reading everything I could find about my new watch. And from there I moved to learning about mechanical movements in general, and the difference with quartz watches, then the various brands, their heritages, the complications… and, as they say, the rest is history. So, to summarize this section, not only was this Submariner a very special present from my parents for a special occasion, but it was also the spark that ignited my latent passion for watches, and that propelled me down the rabbit hole. Since the day that I unwrapped my Submariner, I learned a great deal of things about watches and their world. And, although I still have a lot to learn, I now know that there’s a whole universe that separates Rolex from the likes of Patek, but I’m sure that even when my collection will include one of those watches, this Submariner will still be the most important one for me.
The watch
Let’s now finally move to the watch itself. The Submariner 116610LN was presented at good old Baselworld back in 2010, and it represented a big update with respect to its predecessor, the 16610. First of all, it was the first Submariner to feature a ceramic (Cerachrom) bezel, rather than an aluminum one, and, secondly, the movement — cal. 3135 — was now equipped with a paramagnetic Parachrom Blue hairspring, one of the many creations of Rolex R&D department. The bracelet also received an update, being this the first time that the Glidelock mechanism appeared on a Submariner. All in all, compared to its predecessor, the 116610LN feels like a completely new watch, one of a far greater built quality (as a little disclaimer, I should note here that I’m not yet in the vintage love affair phase that many watch enthusiasts seem to go through at some point, and that I still rather enjoy new watches and their technological improvements). Sure, Rolex has been producing high quality timepieces for a long time now, but in recent years, thanks to innovations in materials and engineering, they have become even better, and this is a difference that you can see and feel. Going back to the 116610LN, after more than ten years of almost daily wear, it still looks pretty immaculate, modulo some unavoidable scratches, mostly on the clasp. The steel is shiny and — probably thanks to the combination of the nature of the 904L alloy and of the way Rolex finishes it — it just looks and feels better than the steel that other brands use. The ceramic bezel is as scratchless as it was the day I first put it on, and the same, of course, can be said for the sapphire crystal. And also the dial, the hands, and the markers have not aged a single day. You can say whatever you want about Rolex, but, for a brand that makes in a rather industrial fashion a million watches per year, you have to admit that they have figured out a way to produce very high quality timepieces.
The movement
As mentioned above, this Submariner is powered by the caliber 3135, designed and produced by Rolex. Although it comes from before Rolex implemented their own certification at +/-2 seconds per day, during the last servicing the watch was regulated within this range, and it now runs at around +2 seconds per day. Its balance spring oscillates at 4Hz, and it’s made of a paramagnetic alloy, which is insensitive to magnetic fields and which offers greater stability with respect to temperature variations and shocks than traditional hairsprings.
The only downside of this movement, especially if you rotate watches on a regular basis, is the power reserve, which, at 48 hours, won’t last a full weekend. If you buy a new Submariner today, however, you don’t have to worry about this anymore, as, since 2020, the Submariners are equipped with the new caliber 3235, which, thanks to the Chronergy escapement, has a power reserve of 70 hours. Power reserve aside, the caliber 3135 is a robust, reliable and accurate movement, which perfectly fits the ethos of the Submariner.
On the wrist
When it comes to its presence on the wrist, probably only few other things are as iconic and recognisable as the look of a Rolex Submariner (although its design was heavily influenced by Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms). It’s not without reason that so many homage watches (more or less properly speaking) exist. Depending to whom you ask, this could be a good or bad thing. For some it’s the only reason why they want one, for others it’s a deal breaker. In my case, having this watch the meaning it has for me, I don’t really care; I find it an handsome watch, and I always enjoy wearing it. At 40mm diameter and 47mm lug-to-lug, the size is just perfect for my relatively small 17cm wrist, as just a couple millimetres more would make it almost unwearable.
The wearing experience is also close to perfect: it weighs enough for you to know that it’s there, but not to be uncomfortable, it’s slim enough not to get in the way of most shirts or t-shirts cuffs, and the bracelet only gets slightly uncomfortable in case of extreme heat, but then the Glidelock mechanism can come to the rescue — to a certain extent, at least. And while we’re talking about the bracelet, I’d like you to take a moment to look around, up and down. Look at the Omega Moonwatch (at least the previous iteration, as I wasn’t able to put my hands on the newest one yet), look at the Tudor Black Bay, look at Grand Seiko, look at the steel Aquanaut with bracelet. And then look back at the Submariner. Its bracelet is just on another level, both for its look and its feel. It looks solid and high quality; it is very solid and very high quality. It looks comfortable; it is very comfortable. It’s just like a bracelet on a steel sports watch should be, period.
All in all, this Submariner is a perfect everyday watch, that looks great in both casual and formal occasions. I myself have worn it multiple times with a suit and tie (although that’s also because it was my only serious watch until very recently, and because I still don’t own any proper dress watch).
Conclusions
Summarizing, if we go back to 2010, when it was still easily obtainable at retail, the Submariner 116610LN is one of those rare luxury goods whose price, I think, is completely justified, once you factor in the margins for Rolex and for the AD. Sure, it’s not cheap, and it’s not high horology, far from it; but it delivers on all its promises of quality, durability, and performance. It looks great and feels great. It runs at a an extremely good precision (at the modern Rolex standard of +2/-2 seconds per day, it is even better than what the Patek Philippe seal promises on paper). And, with a little bit of care, it will continue to look and feel great and to run at great precision for decades to come.
