Comparing Submariner generations usually comes down to bezel material and case width. For this comparison we used two measurable signals instead: how many of each reference changed hands in the past year, and what buyers paid relative to the list price. We took the 34 Submariner references in our August 2026 WatchCharts dataset and ranked them on the first of those. A reference Rolex stopped making in 2010 finished second. Not one steel Submariner in the top ten traded below its list price. The two that did are both steel-and-gold.
How this ranking works
Every reference is scored on a WatchCharts snapshot taken in August 2026. The ranking key is WatchCharts' twelve-month sales volume — the number of secondary-market sales it recorded for each reference over the preceding year. Market prices are WatchCharts' price estimates in EUR, produced under its published pricing methodology. For current models, list price is the Rolex European list price recorded in our August 2026 snapshot; for discontinued models it is the last published list price before discontinuation, marked with a tilde (~). A premium on a discontinued reference is therefore measured against a price that may be ten or fifteen years old — a historical comparison, not the same measure as the premium on a watch you can still buy at an authorised dealer today.
The ten most-traded Submariners
| # | Reference | Model | Market price | List price | vs list | 1Y sales (WatchCharts) | 1Y trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 126610LN | Submariner Date 41, current | €11,822 | €10,950 | +8% | 4,866 | +6.5% |
| 2 | 16610 | Submariner Date 40, late 1980s–2010 | €7,979 | ~€6,200 | +29% | 4,249 | +7.9% |
| 3 | 126610LV | Submariner Date 41, green bezel, current | €12,430 | €11,500 | +8% | 3,790 | +2.2% |
| 4 | 124060 | Submariner 41 no-date, current | €10,657 | €9,750 | +9% | 3,131 | +6.6% |
| 5 | 116610LN | Submariner Date 40, ceramic, 2010–2020 | €9,692 | ~€7,600 | +28% | 3,052 | +5.2% |
| 6 | 116610LV | Submariner Date 40 "Hulk", 2010–2020 | €16,071 | ~€7,700 | +109% | 2,382 | +5.0% |
| 7 | 16613 | Submariner Date 40, steel & gold, five-digit generation to 2009 | €9,246 | ~€7,900 | +17% | 2,337 | +4.4% |
| 8 | 126613LB | Submariner Date 41, steel & gold, blue, current | €14,440 | €18,700 | −23% | 2,111 | +3.2% |
| 9 | 114060 | Submariner 40 no-date, 2012–2020 | €9,221 | ~€6,700 | +38% | 1,812 | +9.4% |
| 10 | 116613LB | Submariner Date 40, steel & gold, blue, 2009–2020 | €12,111 | ~€14,100 | −14% | 1,401 | +3.2% |
~ Final list price at discontinuation; premiums for these references are measured against that historical price. Source: WatchCharts, August 2026.
Key takeaway: the discontinued 16610 recorded 4,249 trades — 87% of the current 126610LN — and every current-production steel Submariner in the top ten trades above its list price.
Reference by reference
1. Submariner Date 126610LN — 4,866 trades, the most-traded Submariner
Rolex replaced the 40 mm Submariner with this 41 mm case in 2020, fitting the calibre 3235 with its 70-hour power reserve and slimming the lugs so the larger number on paper wears close to the old watch on the wrist. At €11,822 it trades 8% above the €10,950 Rolex list price recorded in our August 2026 snapshot. With 4,866 completed trades in twelve months it is the highest-volume reference in the ranking. Available in our Submariner collection.
2. Submariner Date 16610 — 4,249 trades for a reference discontinued in 2010
Produced from the late 1980s until 2010, always with the calibre 3135, an aluminium bezel insert and a 40 mm case with holes drilled through the lugs on earlier examples. Yet it recorded 4,249 trades in twelve months — 87% of the 126610LN's total — and its median price of €7,979 sits 29% above the roughly €6,200 Rolex was asking when the reference was retired. The last aluminium-bezel Date Submariner is, on this evidence, the second most-traded reference in our 34-reference dataset. In stock.
3. Submariner Date 126610LV — the green bezel on a black dial
Launched in 2020 alongside the 126610LN, the LV pairs a green Cerachrom bezel with a black dial — a step back from the all-green Hulk it replaced and closer to the 2003 anniversary 16610LV in spirit. Same calibre 3235, same 41 mm case. It trades at €12,430, 8% above the €11,500 list, exactly the premium of the black-bezel version despite a €550 higher list price. Its 2.2% one-year price change is the smallest of any current reference in the top ten. Available among our Submariner models.
4. Submariner 124060 — no date, +9%
The no-date Submariner is the purist's configuration: calibre 3230, no cyclops, the same 41 mm case introduced in 2020. At €10,657 against a €9,750 list price it carries a 9% premium — within a point of both Date versions. All three current steel Submariners sit within a one-point range: 8%, 8% and 9% above list. In stock.
5. Submariner Date 116610LN — the ceramic-generation Submariner Date
The 2010 to 2020 generation brought the Cerachrom bezel, the broader "maxi" case with wider lugs and a heavier bracelet, and Chromalight lume, still on the calibre 3135 and still 40 mm. It recorded 3,052 trades, a median of €9,692, and a 28% premium over the ~€7,600 final list price — the same order of premium as the 16610 it succeeded. In stock.
6. Submariner Date 116610LV "Hulk" — €16,071, 109% above its final list price
Green dial, green Cerachrom bezel, 40 mm maxi case, calibre 3135, produced from 2010 until Rolex discontinued it in 2020. Its final list price was about €7,700. At €16,071 it sits 109% above that final list price — nearly three times the premium of the next-highest discontinued steel reference in this ranking — while recording 2,382 sales over the twelve months. Available in our Submariner range.
7. Submariner Date 16613 — the two-tone that still moves
The steel-and-yellow-gold Date Submariner of the five-digit generation, produced until 2009 with the calibre 3135 in a 40 mm case and offered with blue, black and champagne dials, some set with diamond or sapphire markers. It recorded 2,337 trades and a median of €9,246, 17% above its ~€7,900 final list price. It is the only steel-and-gold reference in the top ten trading above list — a contrast with the two blue two-tone models below. In stock.
8. Submariner Date 126613LB — the only current reference below list
The current steel-and-gold Submariner with blue dial and blue bezel: 41 mm, calibre 3235, launched in 2020. Its list price is €18,700. Its median trade price is €14,440, a 23% discount, and it is the only current-production reference in the top ten trading below list. It nevertheless recorded 2,111 trades in the twelve-month period. In stock.
9. Submariner 114060 — +38%, the strongest premium among steel no-dates
The 2012 to 2020 no-date Submariner: calibre 3130, ceramic bezel, 40 mm maxi case, no date window. Its median of €9,221 sits 38% above the ~€6,700 final list price, and its 9.4% one-year price rise is the largest of any reference in the top ten. It recorded 1,812 sales, ninth in this dataset. In stock.
10. Submariner Date 116613LB — the previous two-tone blue
Produced from 2009 to 2020, this two-tone Submariner carries a 40 mm case, the calibre 3135 and a blue ceramic bezel. It trades at €12,111 against a final list price of roughly €14,100, a 14% discount, with 1,401 trades in the year. Together with the 126613LB it shows that the discount on the blue steel-and-gold Date is not a quirk of the newest model: both generations sit below their respective list prices. In stock.
What the numbers say
The clearest split in this top ten is by case material. Seven of the ten most-traded Submariners are steel, and all seven trade above list. Three are steel and gold: the discontinued 16613 trades 17% above its final list price, while both blue two-tone Date references — the current 126613LB and the 2009–2020 116613LB — trade below. Two of the three two-tone references sit below list; none of the seven steel references does.
Within steel, the split is between current and discontinued. The three current steel references sit 8–9% above today's list prices. The four discontinued steel references sit 28–109% above their respective final list prices. That second range is a historical comparison, not a like-for-like measure of today's retail premium: the 16610's 29% is measured against a 2010 price, the Hulk's 109% against a 2020 one. The contrast is clearest in the 16610 and the 116610LV. The 16610 pairs the highest volume of any discontinued reference with a mid-range premium; the Hulk pairs a mid-range volume with a premium nearly three times that of the next-highest discontinued steel reference here. The ranking also spans both generations of case: four of the top ten are current 41 mm references, while six 40 mm predecessors remain heavily traded.
Just outside the top ten
Three references below the cut are worth a line. The 1680 — the first Submariner with a date — posted the largest one-year price rise in the dataset at +62.5% on 706 trades. The no-date 5513 recorded 965 trades at a median of €11,837. And the 14060M, the last aluminium-bezel no-date, rose 9.1% on 1,363 trades. These three vintage and neo-vintage references recorded meaningful activity but remained outside the top ten by trades.
Frequently asked questions
Which Submariner trades furthest above list price?
In this August 2026 snapshot, the discontinued 116610LV Hulk has the largest premium relative to its final list price, at 109%. Among current-production steel models the premiums are far narrower, 8–9% above today's list.
Is the 16610 still worth buying in 2026?
That depends on what you want from a Submariner. What the data shows is unusually high secondary-market activity for a discontinued reference: 4,249 trades in twelve months, second only to the current 126610LN, at a median of €7,979 — 29% above its 2010 list price. Compared with the current 126610LN, it has the 40 mm case, the calibre 3135 and an aluminium bezel insert that will scratch and fade where Cerachrom will not.
Why do two-tone Submariners trade below list price?
The dataset establishes the discount, not its cause. Both blue steel-and-gold Date references sit below their list prices, current and discontinued alike, while the older 16613 does not. One possible factor is the higher retail price that precious-metal content carries, but this dataset alone cannot establish why buyers price two-tone references differently from steel.
Do you offer these references?
All ten are represented in our Submariner collection, with options starting from €199. The full Rolex range covers GMT-Master II, Daytona, Datejust and Day-Date as well.
Methodology and reuse
Dataset: WatchCharts snapshot taken in August 2026, covering the 34 Submariner references listed at that time. Ranking metric: WatchCharts' twelve-month sales volume per reference. Market prices are WatchCharts price estimates in EUR under its published methodology; list prices are Rolex European list prices as recorded in the snapshot, with discontinued references showing the last published list price. Figures reflect the dataset captured for this analysis and may differ from current live values. The two charts were produced by WatchesOrbit from this dataset. Editors and publishers may reproduce them with attribution and a link to this analysis.
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