A moonphase is a wonderfully unnecessary thing to put on a wristwatch. Your phone can tell you what the Moon is doing. It can probably explain why, too. Yet a small blue disc turning beneath a mechanical dial still gives you a reason to stop and look.
Rolex seems to understand the appeal.
Unveiled in Milan on 15 September 2026, the new Rolex Perpetual Padellone brings a complete annual calendar and moonphase to the Perpetual collection. Its inspiration is the reference 8171, one of the more unusual chapters in Rolex’s history.
For us at LBJ Watches, the interesting part is what Rolex has chosen to do with that history. It has given a collector favourite a modern movement, offered it in precious metals, and made it part of a collection that is steadily developing its own character.
The result suggests a company with rather more on its mind than the next variation on a steel sports watch.
Before the new Padellone, there was the frying pan
“Padellone” means “large frying pan” in Italian. Collectors gave the original Rolex 8171 the nickname because of its broad, relatively flat case. At 38mm, it was generously sized for its era.
The name has considerably more charm than most reference numbers. It also carries a little of the collecting culture that helped turn vintage Rolex into a subject people could spend their lives studying.
Christie’s dates the original reference’s short production period to 1949–1952. Examples were made in stainless steel and precious metals, and the watch combined a complete calendar with a moonphase display.
That combination matters. It is a reminder that Rolex’s history includes watches whose appeal comes from the way they display time, rather than from the environments they can withstand.
The original’s appeal has endured. Phillips recorded a sale of CHF1,028,000 for an exceptionally well-preserved steel 8171. That is a result for a particular watch with a particular history, but it shows the seriousness with which collectors regard the reference.
Reviving its nickname gives the new model an audience before anyone has tried it on. Whether it earns the same affection will take much longer to establish.
A familiar face, with a different calendar behind it
The new Padellone keeps the arrangement that makes the original so recognisable. Day and month sit in two windows at 12 o’clock. A blue central hand, tipped with a crescent moon, points to the date around the dial’s edge.
There is a pleasing rhythm to it. The calendar windows give the upper half of the dial some order, while the moonphase adds a touch of theatre below.
At 6 o’clock, a blue enamelled disc completes a rotation every 29.53 days. Both the full and new moons are made from meteorite, with dark blue PVD coating on the new moon. Silver stars complete the scene.
It is a decorative detail worth lingering over. Meteorite has an obvious connection to the subject, and here its purpose feels more considered than simply making the dial more expensive.
The practical development is the annual calendar. It distinguishes between 30- and 31-day months, leaving one calendar correction each year when February becomes March, provided the watch keeps running. Rolex also says the day, date and month indications change together instantaneously at midnight.
Despite the name, the Perpetual Padellone is not a perpetual calendar. February still needs your attention.
Rolex already has experience with annual calendars through the Sky-Dweller, introduced in 2012 with its Saros mechanism. The Padellone gives the complication a more traditional setting, with the month written out above a moonphase rather than built into a traveller’s display.
Gold, platinum and a deliberate choice of character
The current Rolex Padellone range is offered in 18ct Everose gold and 950 platinum. There is no stainless steel version in the launch collection. The Everose models have an intense white dial, while the platinum watch has an ice blue dial.
Everose buyers can choose a matte brown alligator leather strap or the seven-link “Settimo” bracelet. The platinum version comes on a matte black alligator leather strap.
The case measures 39mm, with a bezel that combines a domed upper section and delicate fluting below. A transparent sapphire back reveals the movement. Rolex rates water resistance to 50 metres.
Taken together, those choices establish a clear identity. This is a Rolex designed to reward close inspection: the edge of the bezel, the texture of the dial, the movement through the back. Its appeal depends on details you might miss across a room.
Calibre 7190 makes the revival more interesting
The new calibre 7190 is based on the design of the Land-Dweller’s calibre 7135. It runs at 5Hz and offers approximately 66 hours of power reserve, using Rolex’s silicon Dynapulse escapement and Syloxi hairspring.
That connection is significant. Rolex is putting recent movement technology into a watch whose appearance draws directly from its archive.
The annual calendar uses a system called Haplos. According to Rolex, it adds just two components to the instantaneous date mechanism: an additional carrier finger and an annual lever. Calendar programming sits on the reverse of the month disc.
You do not need to memorise the components to appreciate the thinking. The attraction is a complex display supported by a mechanism designed to perform its task economically.
This is also where the Padellone earns its place alongside the 1908. It gives the Perpetual collection a more involved mechanical proposition, with a reason to turn the watch over after admiring the dial.
Rolex has been building towards this
The Perpetual collection began in 2023 with the 1908. The name refers to the year Hans Wilsdorf registered the Rolex brand in Switzerland, rather than the age of the collection itself.
A platinum 1908 with an ice blue, rice-grain guilloché dial followed in 2024. The Settimo bracelet arrived on the yellow gold 1908 in 2025. Those releases steadily added substance to Rolex’s renewed interest in traditional dress watches.
Then came the Land-Dweller in 2025, with its integrated Flat Jubilee bracelet and new high-frequency calibre 7135. Its launch range included white Rolesor, Everose gold and platinum. White Rolesor combines Oystersteel with white gold, so describing it as a separate all-steel option would be misleading.
Seen in that sequence, the Padellone feels like a deliberate next step. Rolex has developed a dress-watch collection, introduced a new movement platform, and now brought the two strands closer together.
Our reading is that the company wants collectors to take a broader view of what a modern Rolex can be.
Does this mean Rolex is moving away from sports watches?
We would call it an expansion of priorities.
The Professional watches have earned their place. A Submariner or GMT-Master II remains an entirely persuasive answer to someone who wants one watch to wear most days. But those models also create expectations. Change too much, and people complain. Change very little, and people complain about that instead.
The Perpetual collection gives Rolex more freedom.
A moonphase does not need a sporting justification. A finely linked gold bracelet can be beautiful for its own sake. A display back invites a conversation about movement design and finishing.
Precious metals are part of that approach, although the pattern extends across the wider catalogue. Rolex’s 2026 releases include Jubilee gold on the Day-Date 40 and gold Oyster Perpetual 28 and 34 models with satin-finished bracelets. The new Rolesium Daytona combines Oystersteel and platinum, with a ceramic bezel edged by a platinum band.
These releases support an argument about greater attention to materials and traditional luxury. They do not prove that steel watches are becoming less important, or that Rolex is responding to a particular change in resale premiums.
The more convincing interpretation is that Rolex is comfortable asking its audience to follow its interests. The Padellone offers something collectors already recognise, then uses it to take the current collection somewhere less familiar.
What should buyers expect?
The sensible starting point is the watch itself.
A famous vintage nickname does not guarantee future collectability. Precious metal does not guarantee scarcity. And enthusiasm at launch tells us little about how a model will settle into people’s collections.
For anyone considering a Rolex Perpetual Padellone in the UK, availability should be checked directly with an authorised retailer. We would avoid treating an unofficial waiting-time estimate as a promise. Rolex’s purchasing guidance explains that retailers manage allocations and sales independently, with availability affected by demand.
The more useful question is whether the watch fills a place in your collection. If you already own a steel sports Rolex, the Padellone offers a different wearing experience and a different reason to enjoy the brand.
We have explored the wider buying picture in our article on how Rolex is changing and what it means for buyers.
The LBJ Watches view
The Padellone permits Rolex to be appreciated at a slower pace.
Its appeal lies in reading the calendar, noticing the moon phase, and turning the case over. You can enjoy those things without needing a story about a mountain, a racetrack or the bottom of the sea.
That feels like a worthwhile direction. Rolex has enough history to revisit, and enough engineering ability to make those revisits more than exercises in appearance. The interesting test will be whether buyers give these watches the same attention they give the established favourites.
At LBJ Watches, we think the Padellone deserves that attention. It broadens the conversation around Rolex and gives collectors another reason to look beyond the references they already know.
If it has you reconsidering your next purchase, explore our current watch collection, including Rolex models, or contact LBJ Watches to discuss a particular reference.
And if you are making room for something different, you can also request a valuation for your watch.
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