Rolex doesn’t typically bring back old references. But they did on the 15th of September 2026 here in Milan. The Perpetual Padellone which is based off of reference 8171. Which Rolex only made a limited amount of from 1949-~1953. It’s an annual calendar and moonphase.
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Why “Padellone”
The nickname isn’t official Rolex vocabulary — it’s Italian dealer slang for “big frying pan,” coined because the original 8171’s 38mm case looked oversized next to the dress watches of its era. Rolex made somewhere between 1,200 and 1,400 examples across steel, gold, and platinum. Well-documented survivors are scarce today — only a couple hundred are known — and clean examples now trade for well into six figures at auction.
What’s actually new
The 2026 Perpetual Padellone keeps the format that made the original collectible — day, date, month, and moonphase on one dial — but rebuilds it around a new in-house movement, caliber 7190, developed exclusively for this watch and covered by 30 patent applications. It runs at 36,000 vph (5Hz) with a 66-hour power reserve.
One nuance worth getting right, since even trade press has flagged it: despite the name, this is not a perpetual calendar in the horological sense (it doesn’t track the length of every month automatically for four years). It’s a complete calendar with an annual mechanism — meaning it needs one manual correction a year, at the end of February. That’s consistent with how the original 8171 worked, and it’s part of what makes the revival faithful rather than just nostalgic.
The moonphase disc is the standout detail: a blue enamel disc making one full rotation every 29.53 days, with both the full moon and new moon cut from meteorite — the new moon darkened with a dark blue PVD coating so it reads correctly against the enamel.
Case and dial
The case measures 39mm by 12.20mm — closer to modern proportions than the original’s 38mm, with a domed and fluted bezel, a domed sapphire crystal, and a transparent caseback showing off caliber 7190. Water resistance is rated to 50m, in keeping with the dress-watch nature of the piece rather than a tool watch.
The three references and pricing
Rolex launched the Perpetual Padellone in three configurations:
- Ref. M53506-0002 — platinum case, ice-blue grained dial, black alligator leather strap. USD $66,200 / CHF 59,000 / EUR 65,500.
- Ref. M53505-0002 — Everose gold case, white grained dial, brown alligator leather strap. USD $59,000 / CHF 48,500 / £49,150.
- Ref. M53505-0003 — Everose gold case, white grained dial, on Rolex’s Everose gold Settimo bracelet. USD $72,800 / CHF 60,800 / £60,700.
There is no yellow gold or steel version at launch — platinum and Everose gold only, positioning the Perpetual Padellone firmly as a top-tier complication rather than an entry point.
Why it matters
These types of complications are few and far between when it comes to Rolex. As most know their line consists of mostly just time and Gmt’s. With this new patent ridden full calendar moon phase over a meteorite dial being linked to an already sought after vintage piece we have something interesting going on. Not only for this model at retail but for the value of the 8171 in the secondary market.
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