Rolex Hulk, A Diving Heavyweight

It was 22 years ago when the world saw the birth of the Rolex Hulk that would become a classic, although, of course, it is the result of a long lineage of one of Rolex’s most successful lines, the Submariner.

The Rolex Submariner Hulk is the result of a long lineage, it is a robust, striking, and elegant watch, and like all Rolex Submariner watches it shares certain characteristics such as a waterproof case and an automatic movement of the highest quality in the market.

This particular line, with little more than 50 years of history, is loved by collectors, becoming a modern classic in the world of watchmaking, but how was it born?

The Rolex Submariner’s Story

The reference number of the Rolex Hulk is 116610LV, from the Submariner line, which in 1953 arose from the idea of a member of the Rolex board of directors, René-Paul Jeanneret, who was not only a top executive, but also he was an experienced diver, so he came up with the idea of creating a watch that worked underwater, but at the same time, was sophisticated and could be used daily.

At the time there were already watches against water, but not one truly designed for a dive in deep waters, for this, they analyzed the diving watches of Panerai, which was at that time a subsidiary of Rolex.

To guarantee the quality of this watch, Jacques-Yves Cousteau was consulted, who attached the Rolex Submariner to the hull of his submarine, submerging it to 3,100 meters, returning to the surface intact and fully functional.

That is how it was presented at the Basel fair in 1954. With a matte black dial, luminous hands, and a rotating bezel, with a resistance of up to 100 meters, in addition to other models, one of them, with reference 6200 and with a resistance up to 200 meters underwater.

The Rolex Hulk has arrived

It was not until 2010, that a new model appeared, with reference 116610LV, this one had a green Cerachrom bezel, heavy ear cups, and a new bracelet, it immediately became a favorite of the public, who did not take long to assign it a nickname, as is customary with some Rolex models, baptizing it as the Rolex Submariner Hulk, due to the characteristic green color of the Marvel character.

One of the hallmarks of this watch is that its unidirectional green bezel, depending on the ambient lighting, changes from a bright green color to a dark one, which also allows it to be distinguished from imitations.

But also, honoring his nickname, his case is made of 904L stainless steel, which is used in the aerospace industry, which makes it an extremely durable piece.

As for its level of waterproofing, the Rolex Hulk can be submerged up to 300 meters underwater without losing its functionality, this model became the epitome of its predecessors.

There is no doubt that a Rolex Hulk should not be missing from your collection for this, you would have to make an investment that can range from 31 thousand to 72 thousand dollars.