It was just a couple of weeks ago that we have brought you a closer look at the Rolex Cellini Date and now the time has come to introduce the Cellini Moonphase – the latest and certainly one of the greatest references in the Cellini collection.
Unquestionably the most formal line among all Rolex watches, the Cellini is a blend of traditional watch design values and Rolex's very own take on what makes such an horological exercise special.
Perhaps the most interesting, and also the most challenging to understand and appreciate is how the Cellini Moonphase creates a distinct, unique aesthetic with extremely basic individual design elements. Applied, 18ct Everose gold stick hour markers, Dauphine-style main hands and two additional, simple hands, concentric circles, a white dial and a discreet case. If one provided this list of watch design components to someone who has not yet seen the new Cellini Moonphase, he could imagine the watch to be a safe-looking, not quite so exciting piece. And he couldn't be more wrong.
The Cellini Moonphase shows Rolex's design genius in an entirely new light because to create something as charming, warm, elegant and distinctly unique as this, with the use of the aforementioned, seemingly basic toolset, is indeed an inspired moment.
The round Cellini case is 39 millimeters wide and is crafted from 18ct Everose gold, a proprietary rose gold alloy developed and manufactured in-house by Rolex. This already sets the Cellini apart from other dress and formal-looking watches: whereas white precious metals (white gold or platinum) or yellow gold are the prevailing choice of material for the exterior of such watches, Everose gold allows Rolex to paint a different picture. It's warm, discreetly saturated glow makes for a remarkable match to this aesthetic, further detaching it from the pre-established norms of dress watch design.
The bezel is both fluted and domed – it is a double-lip bezel that is of the most peculiar and unique construction. It merges the intense refinement of the fluted bezel that truly only Rolex can achieve on its gold bezels with the refined restraint of the polished, domed bezel. Intricacy meetsdiscretion – a rare, but highly demanded feat in a formal timepiece.
The crisp white dial has a silvery sheen to it under some lighting conditions; however, the highlight is not the dial itself but rather its 18ct Everose gold hands and indices, its blue, center-mounted date hand and, perhaps most importantly, its phase of the moon indication.
This window, situated at the 6 o'clock position of the dial displays the phase of the moon with the use of a blue enamelled disc, with the full moon indicated by a meteorite applique and the new moon by a silver ring. This design is neatly complemented by the crescent moon design that is at the end of the blue date hand that indicates the date on a 31-track that runs along the very edge of the dial.
Matched to a brown alligator leather strap and an 18ct Everose gold Crownclasp, the Cellini Moonphase is an exceptional – and no less rare – example of a truly classical Rolex watch. Powered by the in-house designed and produced Rolex Manufacture Caliber 3195, the Cellini Moonphase is a Superlative Chronometer that has passed both the independent COSC Chronometer certification tests and Rolex's extremely stringent and comprehensive in-house quality control procedures.
We would be delighted to present you this remarkably intricate and rare piece from Rolex in one of our Petite Geneve Petrovic boutiques in Budapest, Belgrade or Porto Montenegro.