The short answer
A fake Rolex Submariner 16610LV is a counterfeit version of the green-bezel Submariner Date that Rolex made from 2003 to 2010. Collectors call the real one the Kermit. It is a 40mm stainless steel dive watch with a black maxi dial, a green anodized aluminum bezel insert, and a caliber 3135 movement. If someone offers you a "16610LV" for $300 or $600, you are looking at a replica, and it was almost certainly built in China. The reference number on the caseback tells you nothing about what is inside the case.
What the genuine 16610LV actually is
Rolex released it in 2003 for the Submariner's 50th anniversary. LV stands for lunette verte, French for green bezel. It stayed in the catalog until 2010, when the ceramic-bezel 116610LV replaced it.
- 40mm Oyster case, 300m water resistance
- Black dial with larger hour markers and wider hands than the standard 16610, the so-called maxi dial
- Caliber 3135, 28,800 vph, roughly 48 hours of power reserve
- Green aluminum bezel insert that fades and scratches with wear
- Early examples carry the flat-four bezel font, a detail collectors pay extra for
- Lug holes until around 2007, engraved Rolex rehaut on later production
The tells I check first on a replica 16610LV
The bezel insert
Genuine inserts are anodized aluminum in a specific muted green. Most replicas run too yellow or too saturated, and the pearl sits wrong in the triangle. The flat-four font on early replicas is usually off: the numeral is too narrow, or the printing is too crisp and uniform.
The dial
Maxi dials are easy to print badly. Look at the marker surrounds. Genuine ones are thick white gold with sharp edges, while replica markers reflect light in a flat way and the lume plots are uneven. Date font and cyclops magnification are the other giveaway. Genuine is 2.5x with slight distortion at the edges.
Case and bracelet
Crown guard shape is the hardest thing for any factory to get right. Genuine guards taper on a smooth curve. Replicas tend to look blocky or too thin. Solid end link fit is the other one. On a real 16610LV the SELs sit flush against the lugs with no gap and no rattle.
The movement
Open the caseback and you usually find a Chinese clone of the 3135 or an ETA 2824 derivative. A real 3135 has a free-sprung balance and finishing you can spot under a loupe. The clone may run well, but it is not a Rolex movement and no service center will touch it.
Why this reference is hard to copy well
The bezel color shifts with light, and the insert ages. That is a nightmare for mass production. Factories work around it by painting the insert instead of anodizing it, which is why so many replicas look flat under a camera flash. The maxi dial adds a second problem, since the marker proportions have to match the hands, and small errors stand out next to a photo of a real one.
The legal side in the US
Buying a counterfeit watch for personal use is a gray area. Selling, importing, or trafficking in one is not. Trafficking in counterfeit goods is a federal offense under 18 U.S.C. 2320, and Customs and Border Protection seizes counterfeit Rolex watches at the border under 19 U.S.C. 1526. Packages get stopped, and a seizure letter is the usual outcome. If you are in the US and you order from an overseas seller, factor in that the watch may never arrive.
What the replica market really sells you
Modern copies of the 16610LV run from $80 junk to $500 super clones with cloned movements and sapphire crystal. None of them are a Rolex. The good ones fool people at arm's length and fall apart under a loupe, on a timegrapher, or at a service bench. If you want the green Submariner look without five-figure money, there are honest options: a Seiko diver, a Steinhart Ocean, or a used Tudor. If you want a real 16610LV, buy from a dealer with paperwork and have it authenticated before money changes hands.