Rolex Perpetual Padellone 2026: Proper Horology Is Back

This is not another Submariner colour. It isn’t a new Daytona dial that will immediately get a nickname on Instagram. And it isn’t Rolex simply digging an old design out of the archives, making it 42mm and calling it heritage.

This is Rolex doing horology. A 39mm precious-metal watch. An instantaneous annual calendar. A moonphase. Meteorite moons. A completely new calibre with the Dynapulse escapement. A sapphire caseback. And styling that goes directly back to some of the most beautiful and important complicated Rolex watches ever made.

And I absolutely adore it. Actually, I’ll go a little further: for me, this is the best Rolex release of the last five years. Not necessarily the watch that will sell the most. Not the easiest Rolex to get your money back on. And certainly not the cheapest.

But as a watch? This is Rolex showing what it can really do again.

Meet the Rolex Perpetual Padellone

Released in September 2026, the Rolex Perpetual Padellone is only the second model family within Rolex’s modern Perpetual collection after the Perpetual 1908.

And suddenly, the 1908 makes a lot more sense. When Rolex introduced the Perpetual 1908 in 2023, it felt like the start of something. A more traditional case, precious metals, a display caseback and a movement that Rolex actually wanted you to look at. Then came the Settimo bracelet. We predicted (in 2025) that a moonphase 1908 was probably joining the collection. But this? This is next level.

Now we know where Rolex was going.

The Padellone measures 39mm in diameter, 12.2mm thick and approximately 45.1mm lug-to-lug. It is available in 18k Everose gold with an intense white dial or in 950 platinum with Rolex’s familiar ice-blue dial. Water resistance is 50 metres.

There are three versions at launch.

Those are serious prices, obviously. But this is also a very different proposition from a regular Datejust, Submariner or even a gold Day-Date.

And if I had to choose? Give me the Everose gold version on the Settimo bracelet. No hesitation. It is completely over the top and somehow incredibly elegant at the same time. And it brings back that vintage inspired bracelet which I love. Launch pricing above is the published Swiss pricing; local retail pricing will vary by market and VAT.

The Rolex Padellone name goes back to reference 8171

Here is where things become properly interesting.

“Padellone” is not some new marketing name invented in Geneva. Collectors have used the nickname for the vintage Rolex reference 8171, introduced around 1949.

And the original is a very, very special Rolex.

Reference 8171 combined a triple calendar with a moonphase display in a large-for-the-period 38mm case. You had the day and month displayed through apertures around 12 o’clock, a pointer date around the outside of the dial and the moonphase at six.

Sound familiar?

It was also unusual because the 8171 did not use an Oyster case. It had a more classical case construction with a snap-on caseback, giving it a very different character from most of the watches we now associate with Rolex.

The nickname “Padellone” roughly translates to “large frying pan” in Italian, referring to its unusually large dimensions for the period. Production was short. Phillips dates the reference to roughly 1949–1952, and today good examples are among the most desirable complicated vintage Rolex watches in existence.

Rolex has not copied the 8171 exactly for 2026. Thankfully. Instead, it has taken its proportions, calendar layout and general elegance and translated them into a modern Rolex.

That is exactly how you should do heritage.

And then there was the Rolex 6062

You can’t talk about the Padellone without mentioning reference 6062. Introduced shortly after the 8171, around 1950, the Rolex 6062 offered a similar triple-calendar and moonphase combination but placed everything inside a water-resistant Oyster case.

That makes it one of the most fascinating Rolex watches ever produced. The dial layout is instantly recognisable: day and month underneath 12 o’clock, pointer date around the perimeter and moonphase with running seconds at six. Certain examples also received the famous “Stelline” star-shaped hour markers.

And then there is the legendary Bao Dai 6062, with its black dial and diamond markers, which has become one of the best-known vintage Rolex watches on the planet.

The 8171 and 6062 disappeared from Rolex’s catalogue in the early 1950s. Phillips notes that the arrival of the simpler Day-Date in 1956 effectively marked the end of this brief period in which Rolex experimented so seriously with complicated calendar watches.

Which is what makes the new Padellone so important.

Rolex has had complicated watches since, obviously. The Daytona is a chronograph. The Sky-Dweller has an annual calendar and second time zone. But visually and philosophically, those are very different watches.

The Padellone feels like Rolex picking up a conversation it stopped having more than 70 years ago.

And I love that.

Don’t forget the Cellini Moonphase 50535

There is another important link between vintage Rolex and the new Perpetual Padellone: the Rolex Cellini Moonphase reference 50535.

Rolex introduced the Cellini Moonphase in 2017, bringing a moonphase back into the catalogue after an absence of more than six decades.

That watch already used some ingredients we see today. You get a 39mm Everose-gold case, white dial and a beautiful blue enamel moonphase display incorporating meteorite.

At the time, the 50535 felt like the weird Rolex. In hindsight, maybe it was a preview.

The Cellini eventually disappeared and made way for the Perpetual 1908. And now the Padellone combines that elegant modern Rolex direction with much more obvious inspiration from the 8171 and 6062.

So if you already own a Cellini Moonphase? I’d be feeling pretty good right now. Its place in modern Rolex history just became considerably more interesting. The Cellini 50535 was Rolex’s first moonphase since the 6062 era.

The calibre 7190 is the real story

As good as the Padellone looks, the biggest reason I love this release is underneath the dial.

Inside sits the new Rolex calibre 7190, an automatic 5Hz movement offering approximately 66 hours of power reserve. It uses Rolex’s Dynapulse escapement architecture, first introduced in the Land-Dweller family. Rolex says the movement is associated with 30 patent applications, two specific to the Padellone.

But the calendar is the fun part.

Rolex calls this an instantaneous complete annual calendar. The patented Haplos system can distinguish between months containing 30 and 31 days. That means you only need to manually correct the calendar once a year, when February becomes March.

And at midnight, it doesn’t slowly drag one indication after another into place. The day, date and month jump simultaneously. That is the sort of completely unnecessary mechanical solution that makes mechanical watches brilliant.

Your phone knows the date. Your laptop knows the date. The microwave probably knows the date.

But none of them have an absurdly complicated collection of gears and springs storing energy just so three calendar indications can jump together at midnight.

That is horology. And Rolex doing this makes me very happy.

Meteorite moons, because why not?

Then there is the moonphase.

At six o’clock sits a blue enamel disc completing one rotation every lunar month. Both the full moon and new moon are represented using meteorite. The new moon gets a dark-blue PVD treatment, while silver stars are printed across the disc. Rolex states the lunar cycle represented is 29.53 days.

Is a moonphase useful? Not really. Do I care? Absolutely not.

In fact, that is part of the attraction. Rolex has built much of its reputation around usefulness. Submariner. Explorer. GMT-Master. Sea-Dweller. Daytona.

A moonphase is romantic rather than necessary.

And seeing Rolex embrace a complication simply because traditional watchmaking is beautiful feels surprisingly refreshing.

This is my favourite Rolex release of the last five years

The Land-Dweller was technically fascinating. The titanium Yacht-Master was cool. The Le Mans Daytona was spectacular. But no one will probably ever see one.

The 1908 gave us a welcome new side of the brand. But this beats all of them for me. The Rolex Perpetual Padellone is my favourite Rolex release of the last five years because it combines almost everything I want from modern Rolex.

The proportions are right. The vintage inspiration is serious. The complication is interesting. The movement is genuinely modern. It doesn’t look like Rolex was chasing current hype. And most importantly, there is actual watchmaking substance behind the story.

It feels expensive because of what it is rather than expensive because everybody wants one.

That distinction matters.

I also love that Rolex resisted making it enormous. The original 8171 was around 38mm. The new watch is 39mm. Perfect.

No 42mm “modern interpretation”. No oversized 44mm calendar monster. Thirty-nine. Thank you, Rolex.

Will the Rolex Perpetual Padellone be available at authorized dealers?

And now for the question everybody will ask approximately three seconds after seeing it:

Can you actually buy one? Technically, yes. The Perpetual Padellone is a regular production model rather than a stated limited edition, and launch coverage describes it as available through Rolex boutiques and Official Retailers.

Realistically? I would expect availability to be extremely limited initially. Hodinkee specifically notes that deliveries of the 1908 developed slowly, which is probably a sensible reference point for how Rolex may handle this new Perpetual model.

The Padellone is also a complicated precious-metal watch built around an entirely new movement. It would be surprising to see every Rolex AD suddenly receiving five of them next month.

My expectation is that the first pieces will go to larger Rolex retailers and boutiques, with individual dealers receiving very small allocations. Existing clients with strong purchase histories will probably have the easiest route to an early watch.

But I don’t think this will remain Daytona-level impossible forever.

The retail price naturally limits the buyer pool, and unlike a steel GMT-Master II or Daytona, this isn't the obvious Rolex someone buys purely because it is a Rolex. The design is classical, it is precious-metal only and you’re spending well above CHF 50,000. That makes it much more niche.

So my guess? Expect the first year to be difficult, plenty of exhibition-watch situations and some very enthusiastic secondary-market asking prices. After supply has had time to reach more ADs, I wouldn’t be surprised if the situation becomes considerably easier.

And because Rolex has introduced it as part of the regular Perpetual collection rather than as a limited edition, patience might actually pay off here.

This part is expectation rather than confirmed Rolex allocation data. Rolex does not publicly disclose dealer-by-dealer supply. Wristler’s own Rolex availability guide also notes that Official Retailers control customer allocation and that availability differs materially by reference and retailer.

What happens to Padellone prices on the secondary market?

This one will be fascinating. I fully expect some of the earliest watches offered outside the AD network to carry ambitious premiums. New complicated Rolex plus vintage connection plus low initial supply? You already know how that movie starts.

But longer term, I’d be careful about assuming the Perpetual Padellone will behave like a steel Daytona.

It is expensive, precious metal and relatively dressy. That narrows the audience considerably.

Just look at the broader Rolex catalogue: being difficult to obtain during the first months after launch does not automatically mean a watch will permanently trade above retail. That could eventually make the Padellone extremely interesting on the pre-owned market.

A complicated Rolex with an annual calendar, moonphase, calibre 7190 and direct links to the 8171 and 6062 at some point below retail?

Yes please.

Final thoughts: more of this, Rolex

Rolex could probably survive perfectly well by producing Submariners, Daytonas, GMT-Masters and Datejusts until the end of time. Which is exactly why the Padellone is so refreshing.

They didn’t need to make this watch. They chose to.

And instead of taking the easy route, Rolex brought back one of its strangest historical chapters, developed a new annual-calendar mechanism around it and created something that feels unmistakably Rolex without looking like every other Rolex.

For me, this is what the Perpetual collection should be about.

The 1908 opened the door. The Padellone just kicked it wide open. Is CHF 50K-plus a huge amount of money? Obviously. Will it be difficult to get at first? Almost certainly.

Do I care? Not really.

Because the most important thing about the Rolex Perpetual Padellone is that Rolex is making this kind of watch again.

Proper complications. Proper movement development. Proper vintage Rolex DNA.

Horology at its finest. And I absolutely adore it.