- The Rolex Cellini Moonphase (Ref. 50535) offers a rare combination of classical elegance and modern innovation.
- First released in 2017, it marked Rolex’s return to moonphase complications after nearly seven decades.
- Unlike Rolex’s sports icons, the Cellini Moonphase channels understated confidence.
For the longest time, I assumed Rolex was stuck in the ‘70s. And to be clear, that’s not a criticism. The 1970s were a defining era in modern watch design; the decade that gave us integrated bracelets, angular steel cases, and a new understanding of what a luxury sportswatch could look like. A watch didn’t need to be gold and dainty to be expensive. It could be tough, industrial, and ready for anything.
At the time, Rolex was competing directly with Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet for the metaphorical horological crown during an era shaped by the enduring impact of Gerald Genta; first with the Royal Oak in 1972, and later with the Nautilus in 1976. The continued success of these iconic models spawned a wave of luxury sports watches which were ridiculously high-end, impressively water-resistant, and proudly built from stainless steel; materials once considered too common for haute horlogerie.
The Submariner. The GMT-Master. The Daytona. Rolex’s best watches today boasts variations on a very familiar theme: rugged, shiny, unmistakably Rolex. But then I saw the Cellini Moonphase (Ref. 50535) — and my entire opinion was reset.
A Rolex That Doesn’t Feel Like a Rolex
First released in 2017, the Rolex Cellini Moonphase was 39mm of Everose gold elegance. No hard edges. No rotating bezel. Just a finely fluted frame around a lacquered white dial, anchored by a rich blue enamel moonphase at 6 o’clock.
The full moon itself, embedded into the watch’s dial, is made of meteorite, a subtle nod to Rolex’s obsessive material science. There’s also a pointer date circling the outer dial and baton hour markers that recall classical watchmaking far more than contemporary trends.
Strap it on and suddenly you’re not thinking about your wrist or your next airport lounge. You’re thinking about the craft of this world-leading manufacture. About design. About time, quite literally, in its most celestial sense.
High Complication Meets Rolex Precision
Rolex hadn’t made a moonphase since the 50s, so when they finally decided to do it again, they didn’t phone it in.
It’s powered by the Calibre 3195, a self-winding movement that meets Rolex’s in-house Superlative Chronometer standards: a tolerance of -2/+2 seconds per day, which is, arguably, well above COSC certification that continues to set today’s horological standards. The moonphase module in the 50535 is accurate to 122 years, without any adjustment required.
The Rolex Cellini Boasts A Quiet Confidence
What I love most about this watch is that it fits under the cuff of your jacket, but it will still be noticed from across the room. This isn’t your average Rolex. It’s not a dive watch. Not a pilot’s watch. Not designed for the kind of person who wants to flash a fluted bezel at brunch. This is something different. It’s refined, nuanced, and deliberately, gloriously understated.
Instead of competing with the usual suspects in the Swiss luxury space, the Nautilus, the Royal Oak, or even Rolex’s own Day-Date, the Rolex Cellini Moonphase sits in its own category: quiet confidence. It’s for someone who doesn’t need to be seen to be known. Someone who values timeless elegance over market hype.
Rolex Before It Was Cool
Before Rolex became the poster child for sports watches and secondary market chaos, it was a maker of refined, often delicate, dress watches. Back when men wore suits daily, and the idea of a luxury tool watch was still novel, this was the language Rolex spoke: slim, discreet, beautifully built timepieces for people who didn’t need to prove anything.
The Cellini Moonphase taps directly into that enduring legacy, but with the precision, quality, and innovation we’ve come to expect from the modern Rolex era. If you were like me, and thought that all Rolex watches look the same, there are exceptions. And the Cellini Moonphase is perhaps the most impressive of them all.
