Big news from Rolex today as the brand has released a complicated dress watch, their first in recent memory. The Perpetual Padellon is an instantaneous annual calendar with a moonphase complication and sits within the 1908 collection, which launched three years ago. This new watch appears to be a very explicit and direct homage to one of the brand’s most revered vintage references, the 8171 “Padellone”. It shares more than a few visual characteristics with that piece, and of course the name of the new watch is lifted straight from the nickname given to the vintage piece by collectors and dealers.
The Perpetual Padellone is available in 18k Everose gold and 950 platinum, and measures 39mm in diameter, 12.2mm tall, and 45.1mm from lug to lug. It’s worth noting that the original 8171 was a fairly large watch for its day, measuring 38mm in diameter, so the new reference comes surprisingly close to being right on the money in terms of sizing if we’re comparing it to the vintage watch.
The biggest difference between the 8171 and the Perpetual Padellone is likely mechanical. The 8171 was not a true annual or perpetual calendar, but a “simple” triple calendar, which was quite common in the 1950s. Each indicator simply advanced in sequence and not in relation to any other, which means a correction is going to be necessary virtually every month. The Perpetual Padellone is a true annual calendar and only needs to be corrected once per year.
The case, whether platinum or gold, is completely polished, and inherits the established design language of the 1908 collection, which most prominently features a fluted bezel and crown. The case features four correctors on the caseband to adjust the watch’s calendar when needed.
The platinum watch has an ice blue dial with a prominent grained texture (this color is commonly associated with platinum Rolex watches) while the gold watch has a white dial with the same grained texture. Day and month are displayed via apertures diagonal to the 11:00 and 1:00 markers, right under 12:00. There’s an outer date track along the dial’s perimeter with a dedicated corresponding pointer hand, and a moonphase indicator at the 6:00 position.
The Perpetual Padellone runs on a brand new movement, the 7190, which is also the latest watch in the Rolex collection to feature their Dynapulse Escapement system, a Rolex designed direct-impulse escapement system that debuted in the Land-Dweller in 2025. Check out our article from the launch of the Land-Dweller here for a watchmaker’s perspective on the technology behind that movement.
The gold version of the Perpetual Padellon is available on either a strap for $59,000 or on the excellent Rolex Settimo bracelet for $72,800. The platinum version is available on a strap only at a retail price of $66,200. Of course, “available” is kind of an elastic term here, as surely these watches will be extremely tough to come by, particularly in the early going. Rolex
