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The new Rolex Perpetual Padellone reimagines a cult-favourite vintage watch

The new Rolex Perpetual Padellone draws on the rare Ref 8171, adding an annual calendar, moonphase display and an all-new calibre.

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Shatricia Nair

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Watches & Wonders might have concluded almost half a year ago, but Rolex hasn’t packed up for 2026 quite yet. To almost everyone’s surprise, it has announced a brand-new watch, and it’s not a time-only special either. The Rolex Perpetual Padellone is a brilliant work of horological art that just launched in Milan.

This annual calendar timepiece is a rarity for a number of reasons, the first being its off-cycle launch, outside Rolex’s usual Watches and Wonders calendar in April. Secondly, Rolex watches with moonphase displays are rare: The last time the complication appeared was on the Rolex Cellini Moonphase, Ref 50535, launched at Baselworld in 2017.

Lastly, Rolex has officially adopted the collector-given nickname of its historical predecessor, the Ref 8171. Over the decades, Rolex watches have acquired a colourful vocabulary of unofficial names – Paul Newman, Kermit and Pepsi among them – but the new model takes its name directly from the vintage “Padellone”. Italian for “large frying pan”, the nickname referred to the Ref 8171’s unusually wide 38mm case and distinctive profile.

All these are good enough reasons to keep the Rolex Perpetual Padellone high on collectors’ wishlists, but its architecture is a serious pull too. Its 39mm case is only 1mm wider than the Ref 8171 from the early 1950s and, at 12.2mm thick, is also slightly slimmer. The original polished bezel has also been replaced by a fluted bezel, with its upper part domed and lower part fluted to create a graceful silhouette.

Beneath the dressy case is the new calibre 7190, developed exclusively for the Perpetual Padellone, and builds upon the success of the calibre 7135, an automatic movement first introduced to the 2025 Land-Dweller. Like its counterpart, it beats at a high frequency of 5Hz, and is highly resistant to strong magnetic fields. Together with other innovations like the Syloxi hairspring, ceramic balance staff and Dynapulse Escapement, the watch is a powerhouse when it comes to precision, power reserve and reliability.

The complete calendar watch also runs on a new patented system called Haplos which enables the mechanism to distinguish between 30- and 31-day months. This requires its wearer to only make one calendar adjustment a year, when February turns to March. The calendar is also instantaneous, with the day, date and month changing simultaneously at midnight.

Despite the watch’s complexity, its dial is a study in restraint. The day of the week and month are displayed in two apertures right below 12 o’clock, while the date is marked by a blue crescent-tipped hand that travels the circumference. On the (mostly) grained dial is also a moon phase display at 6 o’clock. Set on a blue, starry enamelled disc, the full moon and new moon – crafted with precious meteorite – sees pad-printed faces that are a whimsical nod to the original Padellone.

The Rolex Perpetual Padellone comes in three iterations. Two are in 18 ct Everose gold with a white grained dial – one on the seven-link Settimo bracelet and the other on a matte brown alligator leather strap. The third is in 950 platinum with an ice blue grained dial and matte black alligator leather strap. All three carry Rolex’s Superlative Chronometer certification, which includes independent certification of the movement as a chronometer followed by Rolex’s own testing of the completed watch.

Source: CNA/sn

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