Quick answer
A fake Rolex Submariner 16610 is a counterfeit of the steel dive watch Rolex built from 1988 to 2010. Copies sell from $30 to $700. Fakes miss details that are hard to reproduce: the aluminum bezel insert, the 2.5x date magnification, the rehaut engraving, and the caliber 3135 movement. Selling one in the US is a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. 2320.
What the real 16610 is
- Production: 1988 to 2010. Replaced by reference 116610.
- Case: 40 mm stainless steel, drilled lugs on early examples, solid end links after about 2001.
- Bezel: unidirectional, aluminum insert, lume pip at 12.
- Crystal: sapphire with a Cyclops lens over the date at 3.
- Movement: caliber 3135, 31 jewels, 28,800 vibrations per hour, about 48 hours of power reserve.
- Water resistance: 300 m.
Rolex also made a no-date Submariner, the 14060 and 14060M. Those are not 16610s, and some sellers mix the two references in one listing.
Checks that catch most fakes
- Bezel insert. Real inserts are aluminum with a matte finish and a lume pip set into a recess. Fakes use printed inserts with a raised or painted pip.
- Date magnification. Rolex uses about 2.5x. Most fakes sit near 1.5x. The date font and the shape of the 2 and the 4 differ.
- Rehaut. The ROLEX ROLEX engraving on the inner ring started on the 16610 around 2005. Copies cut it too deep or let it drift out of line with the minute track.
- Crown guards. Real guards are asymmetric and blended into the case. Fakes leave them thin, square, or uneven.
- Caseback. A 16610 caseback is plain polished steel. Engraved text or a laser logo on the back points to a fake.
- Dial. Tritium dials ran to about 1998, then Super-LumiNova. Copies print text with the wrong weight and the wrong spacing between the lines.
- Beat rate. Put the watch on a timegrapher. A 3135 runs at 28,800 vph. A reading of 21,600 vph means a DG2813 or a similar Chinese movement.
What sits inside the copies
Three movements show up in fakes: the DG2813, an ETA 2824 copy, and a Chinese-made 3135 clone. The clone copies the plate layout but not the free-sprung balance or the finishing. Cases come from a small number of workshops in Guangzhou and are sold under many brand names.
Legal status in the US
Trafficking in counterfeit goods is a federal crime. Penalties reach 10 years in prison for a first offense involving a counterfeit mark, per 18 U.S.C. 2320. Customs and Border Protection seizes counterfeit watches shipped by mail. CBP rules allow a single counterfeit article in personal baggage for personal use, and no more.