The Dalai Lama reportedly owned an original. Grammy-winning singer and Rolex Testimonee Michael Bublé has already been photographed wearing the new version. The Rolex Padellone, one of the Swiss watchmaker’s rarest and most unusual pieces, debuted in 1949 and has now been revived as a 39mm annual-calendar moonphase in Everose gold and platinum.
The surprise new release, unveiled this month in Milan, also fits neatly into a direction Rolex has been developing over the past several years. They launched the Perpetual collection with the 1908 in 2023, added the seven-link Settimo bracelet in 2025, and that same year introduced the 5Hz movement architecture that now underpins the Padellone’s caliber 7190. The Padellone brings those developments together in a watch centered on calendar and moonphase complications. It is one of the most mechanically ambitious watches in Rolex’s current collection.
“In my view, that is what makes the Padellone more interesting than simply another new Rolex: it signals that the brand is becoming increasingly serious about the kind of complicated watchmaking it has historically left to other Swiss maisons.”
Paul Altieri, Founder & CEO of Bob’s Watches
Rolex Perpetual Padellone: Key Specifications
| Specification | Details |
| Model | Rolex Perpetual Padellone |
| Case size | 39mm |
| Case thickness | 12.2mm |
| Case materials | 18ct Everose gold or 950 platinum |
| Movement | Rolex caliber 7190 |
| Frequency | 5Hz |
| Power reserve | Approximately 66 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds, day, date, month and moonphase |
| Calendar | Instantaneous complete annual calendar |
| Water resistance | 50 meters |
| Everose gold | $59,000 on alligator strap; $72,800 on Settimo bracelet |
| Platinum | $66,200 on black alligator strap |
The new Padellone ref. 53505/53506 is a revival, not a replica. I think this is the right approach. Rather than trying to recreate a 1949 watch piece for piece, Rolex has used the 8171 as a starting point for a thoroughly modern interpretation. Its case is 39mm across and 12.2mm thick, just a millimeter wider than the original, with sapphire front and back, and 50 meters of water resistance. Unlike the original Rolex 8171, which was made in stainless steel and gold, the new watch comes only in 18ct Everose gold or 950 platinum. The bezel combines a domed upper section with fine fluting below, tying it to the modern Perpetual family. Both moons are now made from meteorite, with the new moon given a dark-blue PVD coating.
The annual calendar is the bigger mechanical advance. An ordinary calendar cannot distinguish 30- and 31-day months and periodically needs correcting, though the Padellone overcomes this limitation. Once set, it handles every 30- and 31-day month correctly and needs manual adjustment only once a year, when February ends. The day, date and month also jump simultaneously and instantaneously at midnight. Rolex calls the mechanism Haplos. It adds only two principal parts to the instantaneous date mechanism: an additional carrier finger and an annual lever. The programming sits on the reverse of the month disc, telling the lever which month is displayed.
Rolex 8171 Padellone vs. the New Perpetual Padellone
| Ref. 8171 | Perpetual Padellone | |
| Era | 1949–1952 | 2026 |
| Case | 38mm | 39mm |
| Calendar | Complete/triple calendar | Annual calendar |
| Moonphase | Yes | Yes |
| Movement | Automatic caliber A295 CPL | Automatic caliber 7190 |
| Caseback | Snap-on | Sapphire display back |
| Materials | Stainless steel, yellow gold and pink gold | 18ct Everose gold or 950 platinum |
| Water resistance | Vintage construction | 50 meters |
The name is Italian for “large frying pan,” coined by Italian collectors in the 1980s for the original watch’s broad, relatively flat case. At 38mm, it is hardly oversized by modern standards, but in 1949 it was unusually large, particularly for a dress watch. An exceptional steel example with a diamond-set dial sold for $1.145 million at Christie’s New York in 2013, setting a world auction record for the reference.
Produced for only a few years beginning in 1949, the ref. 8171 is generally dated to roughly 1949–1952/53, with estimates putting total production at around 1,000 to 1,200 examples. The watches were made in steel, yellow gold and rarer pink gold, and the inside housed the automatic caliber A295 CPL. Day and month appeared at 12, a central hand indicated the date, and running seconds shared the six o’clock subdial with the moonphase. Its 36mm contemporary, ref. 6062, offered a similar layout in an Oyster case. A moonphase would not return to the regular Rolex catalog until the Cellini Moonphase in 2017.
Is the Rolex Padellone a Perpetual Calendar?
No. Despite the name Perpetual Padellone, the watch uses an annual calendar, not a perpetual calendar. “Perpetual” refers to Rolex’s Perpetual collection rather than the type of calendar complication.
Powering the watch is the new caliber 7190, developed and manufactured entirely by Rolex and exclusive to the Padellone. Its architecture is based on the caliber 7135 introduced with the Land-Dweller in 2025, including Rolex’s 5Hz Dynapulse escapement, Syloxi hairspring, ceramic balance staff, and optimized Paraflex shock absorbers. Power reserve is about 66 hours. Rolex says the movement incorporates technology covered by 30 patent applications, two exclusive to the Padellone. The display back reveals Rolex Côtes de Genève and a cut-out yellow-gold rotor.
“For me, the movement is arguably the most important part of the Padellone story. Rolex has spent decades building its reputation around robustness and reliability; the 7190 shows the brand increasingly applying that engineering philosophy to watches where the movement itself is meant to be part of the experience.“
Paul Altieri, Founder & CEO of Bob’s Watches
How Much Does the Rolex Padellone Cost?
At launch, there are three versions. Everose gold with an intense-white grained dial and brown alligator strap costs $59,000; the same watch on Rolex’s seven-link Settimo bracelet is $72,800. The platinum model has an ice-blue dial and black alligator strap and costs $66,200.
Rolex has not announced the Padellone as a limited edition, but initial allocations are expected to be extremely small, with the first watches likely going to major clients and Testimonees. A years-long waiting list is likely almost immediately. Collectors who want one sooner will be watching the top secondary-market retailers.
The Padellone also confirms that the Perpetual 1908 was not a one-off experiment. Introduced in 2023, the 1908 established a dressier side of the Rolex catalog, with precious-metal cases, traditional styling, transparent casebacks and greater emphasis on movement finishing. It now takes the Perpetual collection into genuinely complicated watchmaking, positioning Rolex more directly against high-end dress-watch specialists such as Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin.
Whether the Padellone becomes a modern classic remains to be seen, but its importance may ultimately have less to do with sales numbers than with what it says about Rolex’s ambitions. The 1908 opened the door; the Padellone pushes Rolex considerably further through it.
