Rolex · Submariner Date
Rolex Submariner Date 126610LN: specifications and what to check
Calibre 3235 at −2/+2 seconds a day, 300 metres, a platinum-coated Cerachrom bezel and a Glidelock clasp. The most traded steel sports watch there is, and the one most worth checking carefully.
Reference 126610LN · specifications read from the manufacturer on 2026-09-22 · listed as current
Specifications
As published by Rolex. A field the manufacturer does not state is left out rather than filled in.
- Case
- Oyster, 41 mm, Oystersteel. Monobloc middle case, screw-down case back and winding crown
- Diameter
- 41 mm
- Water resistance
- Waterproof to 300 metres / 1,000 feet
- Crystal
- Scratch-resistant sapphire, Cyclops lens over the date
- Bezel
- Unidirectional rotatable 60-minute graduated, scratch-resistant Cerachrom insert in black ceramic, numerals and graduations coated in platinum
- Dial
- Black, with highly legible Chromalight display with long-lasting blue luminescence
- Case back
- Screw-down
- Crown
- Screw-down, Triplock triple waterproofness system
- Bracelet
- Oyster, three-piece solid links, Oystersteel
- Clasp
- Folding Oysterlock safety clasp with Rolex Glidelock extension system
Movement
- Calibre
- Calibre 3235, Manufacture Rolex
- Type
- Perpetual, mechanical, self-winding; bidirectional self-winding via Perpetual rotor
- Power reserve
- Approximately 70 hours
- Certification
- Superlative Chronometer (official chronometer certification + Rolex certification after casing)
- Notes
- Precision −2/+2 sec/day after casing. Paramagnetic blue Parachrom hairspring with high-performance Paraflex shock absorbers. Instantaneous date with rapid setting and stop-seconds.
What to check before you buy
- Check the platinum coating in the bezel numerals under magnification. Rolex coats the graduations in platinum, and wear or inconsistency there is a strong signal the insert is not original.
- Work the Glidelock extension through its full range of settings and confirm each position locks positively. It is a mechanism, it is used constantly, and a worn one is immediately obvious to a buyer.
- Verify the crown screws down cleanly onto the Triplock system. A crown that binds or will not seat is the single most consequential fault on a 300-metre case.
- Confirm the calibre is 3235 rather than the earlier 3135. The reference changed with the movement, and papers, caseback and reference should all agree — this is the most commonly misdescribed thing about a modern Submariner.
- Time it over 24 hours against the stated −2/+2 seconds. A watch running well outside that is either due a service or not what it claims to be, and both are worth knowing before you own it.
A specification with a tolerance attached
Most manufacturers state a power reserve and leave accuracy to a certification body. Rolex publishes a number: −2/+2 seconds a day, after casing, as part of its Superlative Chronometer certification — which it applies to the finished watch rather than to the bare movement.
That gives a dealer something unusually concrete. You can test this specification yourself in a day with nothing but a phone and a note of the time. A used example running well outside that window is telling you it needs a service, has been serviced badly, or is not what the seller believes it is.
It is the rare published figure that doubles as an authentication step.
Platinum in the bezel numerals
The Cerachrom insert is black ceramic, and Rolex states the numerals and graduations are coated in platinum. That is not decorative language — it is how the engraved markings get their colour, and it is a detail that is difficult and expensive to replicate convincingly.
Look at the numerals under magnification and strong light. Even, bright, consistent fill across every graduation is what a correct insert looks like. Patchiness, dullness, or variation between numerals is worth stopping on.
Glidelock is the part that wears
The clasp is a folding Oysterlock with the Glidelock extension system, which lets the bracelet be adjusted in small increments without tools. It is also the component the owner touches most, and it is a mechanism rather than a static fitting.
Run it out and back through every position. Each stop should engage positively and hold under a firm pull. Slop, a position that will not catch, or an extension that creeps under load is real wear — obvious to any buyer who knows the watch, and an expensive thing to put right.
The calibre question is the important one
Rolex changed the Submariner Date's reference when it changed the movement, so the reference number and the calibre should agree. This reference is specified with the 3235: seventy hours of reserve, a paramagnetic blue Parachrom hairspring, and Paraflex shock absorbers.
Listings routinely describe an older watch in current language, or a current watch with an older movement's specifications. Make the papers, the reference and the stated calibre line up before you agree a price. It is the single most common misdescription on the most traded steel sports watch in the world.
Three hundred metres, and a Triplock crown
300 metres with a Triplock screw-down crown and a screw-down case back. This is a genuine dive watch specification, and the crown is the seal.
Screw it down and feel it seat. A crown that catches, binds, or will not run home on the threads compromises the one thing the whole case architecture exists to deliver — and on a watch this valuable, that is not a fault to discover later.
Price references like this, faster
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Sources
Not affiliated with Rolex. Specifications are read from the manufacturer's own published documentation on the date shown and may change; the manufacturer's current documentation governs.