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Reference Guide

Rolex Nicknames

Rolex collectors have always been a vocabulary unto themselves. Over decades, particular references and dial variants picked up nicknames — sometimes from Rolex's own marketing, more often from the watch forums and dealers who fell in love with them. This is the working glossary every serious collector knows.

Submariner Family

NicknameReference / Description
Hulk116610LV · 2010–2020. Green Cerachrom bezel and matching maxi-dial. Discontinued — and rising in value ever since.
Kermit16610LV · 2003–2010. 50th Anniversary Submariner: green aluminum bezel with black dial.
Cermit / Starbucks126610LV · 2020–present. Modern 41mm Submariner with green ceramic bezel and black dial. The green-and-black logo association earned it the Starbucks nickname.
Smurf116619LB · 18k white gold Submariner with blue dial and blue ceramic bezel.
Bluesy16613 / 116613LB · Two-tone steel and yellow gold Submariner with blue dial and bezel.
Big Crown6538, 6200 · Vintage Submariners with oversized winding crowns and no crown guards. The Bond Sub.
Bond Sub6538 · The Submariner Sean Connery wore in Dr. No (1962). Sometimes used for the 6200.
Red Sub1680 · 1969–1975. "Submariner" printed in red on the dial. The first date Submariner.
COMEXSubmariner dials marked "COMEX" for the French commercial diving company. Extremely rare.
MilSubMilitary Submariner — 5513, 5517 issued to the British Royal Navy. Sword hands, fixed lug bars, 60-minute bezel.

GMT-Master Family

NicknameReference / Description
Pepsi1675, 16710, 116719BLRO, 126710BLRO · Red and blue bezel. The original 1955 GMT-Master colorway.
Coke16760, 16710 · Red and black bezel. Introduced in 1983 on the "Fat Lady" 16760.
Fat Lady / Sophia Loren16760 · First GMT-Master II. Thicker case to accommodate the new independent hour-hand movement.
Batman116710BLNR, 126710BLNR (on Oyster) · Blue and black ceramic bezel.
Batgirl126710BLNR on Jubilee bracelet · The Batman colorway with the more dressy Jubilee.
Root Beer1675/3, 16753, 16758 (vintage); 126711CHNR (modern) · Brown and gold or brown and black, two-tone case. Tom Selleck's Magnum P.I. watch.
Bruce Wayne / Sprite / Destro126720VTNR · Green and black ceramic bezel, green GMT hand, left-handed crown. The 2022 release.
Pussy Galore16700, 16710 · GMT-Master with all-black bezel. Refers to the Bond film Goldfinger.

Daytona Family

NicknameReference / Description
Paul Newman6239, 6241, 6262, 6263, 6264, 6265 with exotic "Paul Newman" dial · Art Deco subdial markers, square indices. The grail of vintage Rolex.
Zenith Daytona16520 · 1988–2000. Used a modified Zenith El Primero movement (Cal. 4030) before Rolex's in-house Cal. 4130.
PandaAny Daytona with a white dial and contrasting black sub-registers.
Reverse PandaBlack dial with white sub-registers — the inverse.
John Mayer6263 · Specific configuration of the vintage Daytona popularized by musician John Mayer.
Albino DaytonaExtremely rare all-white-dial Daytonas, including some 6263s with silver sub-registers.
Rainbow Daytona116595 RBOW · Bezel set with graduated sapphires in rainbow order. Modern grail.
Le Mans126529LN · Anniversary Daytona for the Le Mans 24-Hour Race, in white gold.

Explorer Family

NicknameReference / Description
Polar Explorer16570, 216570, 226570 · Explorer II with white dial.
Freccione1655 · Vintage Explorer II with bright orange 24-hour hand. "Arrow" in Italian.
Steve McQueen1655 · Long-rumored nickname for the vintage Explorer II. McQueen himself wore a Submariner; the connection is historically dubious but the name stuck.

Day-Date Family

NicknameReference / Description
President1803, 18038, 118238, 228238, etc. · Day-Date on the President bracelet. Nicknamed for the U.S. presidents who wore it.
StellaDay-Date with colored enamel "Stella" dial — turquoise, oxblood, chartreuse, salmon. 1970s-era and very rare.
KhanjarDay-Date dials commissioned by the Sultanate of Oman, marked with the national Khanjar dagger symbol. Highly collectible.

Sea-Dweller & Deepsea

NicknameReference / Description
Single Red Sea-Dweller (SRSD)1665 · First version, with single red "Sea-Dweller" line on the dial.
Double Red Sea-Dweller (DRSD)1665 · Later production, with two red lines: "Sea-Dweller / Submariner 2000."
Great White / Triple Six16660 · 1978–1989. Successor to the 1665, all-white text on the dial.
James Cameron Deepsea126660 · Blue-to-black gradient dial commemorating Cameron's solo descent to the Mariana Trench.

Datejust Family

NicknameReference / Description
Wimbledon116200, 116234, 126234 with slate dial and Roman numerals · Green text accents echoing Wimbledon's colors. An official Rolex partnership reference.
Buckley1601, 1603 with painted Roman numeral dials · Named for collector Joseph Buckley who championed them.
Sigma DialVintage Datejust dials marked with two σ (sigma) characters near "Swiss Made," indicating solid gold hour markers.
Pie PanVintage multi-faceted dial — the outer edge slopes down like an inverted pie pan. Found on early Datejusts and Day-Dates.
Linen DialTextured vintage dial finish resembling woven linen, found on certain 1960s–1970s Datejusts.

Other Notable Nicknames

NicknameReference / Description
Padellone8171, 6062 · "Big Pan" in Italian. Large vintage Oyster Perpetual with triple calendar and moonphase.
Stelline6062 with star hour markers · "Little Stars" in Italian.
Killy6036, 6236 · Triple-calendar chronograph. Named for Olympic skier Jean-Claude Killy, who wore one.
Texan1019 Milgauss · Anti-magnetic predecessor to the modern Milgauss.
Lightning BoltMilgauss 116400GV / 116400 · The current Milgauss with its distinctive orange lightning-bolt second hand.
RolesiumYacht-Master 16622, 116622 · Steel case with platinum bezel — a Rolex-coined "metal."
Falcon's EyeVintage Day-Date with brown hardstone dial of fibrous tiger's-eye-like mineral.
Khanjar SubSubmariner with Omani Khanjar dial commissioned for the Sultan. Very rare.

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