The new Rolex Perpetual Padellone, bringing an instantaneous calendar, a moonphase display, and an all-new movement together in a 39mm case built in the language of a classic dress watch. Inspired by the historic Ref. 8171 “Padellone,” the new model pays tribute to the brand’s tradition of complicated watchmaking while showcasing Rolex’s latest achievements in calendar mechanisms and high-frequency movements.
A Tribute to Ref. 8171
“Padellone” is the nickname Italian collectors gave to the Rolex Ref. 8171. Launched in 1949, the watch featured date, day, month, and moonphase displays, and its case was notably larger than watches of its era — earning it the name Padellone, Italian for “big pan.” Over the decades, Ref. 8171 has remained one of the most prized complicated watches in Rolex’s history, commanding high prices at auction.
The new Rolex Perpetual Padellone carries forward that classic layout: day and month are displayed at 12 o’clock, the date is read by a central hand, and a moonphase display sits at 6 o’clock. Yet this is no simple reissue — Rolex has reimagined the historic watch with an entirely new movement, an instantaneous complete calendar system, and a modernized construction.
Instantaneous Calendar
The heart of the Perpetual Padellone is its “instantaneous calendar” system: at midnight, the day, date, and month all jump forward simultaneously in an instant, rather than advancing one after another. This function is driven by Rolex’s patented Haplos system. The calendar also automatically distinguishes between 30- and 31-day months, so there is no need to manually adjust the date after a short month — the only correction required is once a year, at the end of February. The date is read from a central blue hand tipped with a crescent-moon pointer, while the day and month appear in English at 12 o’clock. This clean layout allows the watch to display multiple pieces of calendar information while maintaining a simple, balanced dial aesthetic.
A Meteorite Moonphase
against a blue enamel disc, it completes one full cycle every 29.53 days, tracing the moon’s journey from new moon to full moon and back again. Both the full moon and new moon are crafted from meteorite, with the new moon coated in a deep blue PVD finish, while the silver stars on the dial are applied by pad printing. Because meteorite carries its own natural texture, no two watches share exactly the same pattern, making this feature a decorative highlight in its own right.
The New Calibre 7190
The Rolex Perpetual Padellone is powered by the new automatic Calibre 7190, which builds on the technical direction of the Calibre 7135 found in the Land-Dweller. It operates at a frequency of 5Hz, or 36,000 vibrations per hour, and is equipped with the high-performance Dynapulse escapement, a Syloxi silicon hairspring, a ceramic balance staff, an optimized brass balance wheel, and the Paraflex shock-absorption system — all working together to improve the movement’s resistance to magnetism and shocks, as well as its timekeeping stability. Power reserve stands at approximately 66 hours. Through the sapphire caseback, wearers can admire bridges finished with Côtes de Genève and a skeletonized gold rotor — a level of movement decoration rarely seen in a Rolex, lending the Perpetual Padellone a more refined, high-end character alongside its dress-watch elegance. Calibre 7190 is covered by 30 patent applications in total, two of which are exclusive to the Perpetual Padellone, underscoring that this is not simply an existing movement repurposed, but one developed specifically for the instantaneous complete calendar function.
A Classic Dress-Watch Character
The Rolex Perpetual Padellone is built in a 39mm case, available in either 18k Everose gold or 950 platinum, with a domed bezel, slender lugs, and a grained dial that together give it the bearing of a classic dress watch. The bezel is constructed in two sections — the lower half finished with fine fluting, the upper half rendered as a smooth dome — reinforcing its firmly dress-watch orientation. The collection comprises three configurations: the 18k Everose gold model is offered with either a brown alligator strap or a Settimo bracelet, while the 950 platinum version is paired with a grained ice-blue dial and a black alligator strap.
Editor's Take
The appeal of the Perpetual Padellone lies not only in its complete calendar and moonphase functions, but in the fact that it is one of the rare modern Rolex watches built with a genuine complication at its center. Rather than chasing sportiness or bold visual identity, it focuses on the harmonious arrangement of date, month, day, and moonphase across the dial. The history behind Ref. 8171 adds a further layer of collectability and narrative to the new release. If the 1908 collection represents Rolex’s reinterpretation of the classic dress watch, then the Perpetual Padellone takes that direction one step further — distilling the brand’s heritage, its complications, and its latest mechanical technology into a single understated, refined timepiece.
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