# Rolex brings back the Padellone

> Rolex rarely does vintage revivals, which makes its new Perpetual Padellone a big signal to collectors.
- Title: Rolex brings back the Padellone · Robb Report | Shortify
- Summary: Rolex rarely does vintage revivals, which makes its new Perpetual Padellone a big signal to collectors. Rolex is reviving one of its rarest collector…
- Keywords: rolex, watches, vintage, collecting, auctions, brings, back, Padellone, Robb Report
- Source: Robb Report — https://robbreport.com/style/watch-collector/rolex-pays-homage-to-its-1950s-padellone-with-modern-remake-1238646187
- Author: Carol Besler
- Published: 2026-09-15T22:30:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: rolex, watches, vintage, collecting, auctions
## Rolex breaks pattern
Rolex has mostly avoided vintage-inspired releases, and it rarely adds new collections at all. That makes the Perpetual Padellone feel like a major move.

> Rolex has released very few, if any, vintage-inspired watches.
## A cult name returns
The new watch takes its name from the collector nickname for the Rolex reference 8171, a triple calendar with day, date, month, and moon phase.

> The name of the new Perpetual Padellone, launched today, is taken from the nickname of the watch that inspired it.
## Rare from the start
Rolex made the 8171 only for a few years in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Production was tiny, which helped build its later mystique.

> made by Rolex only for a few years
## Auction prices soared
The original Padellone has become a prize at auction. Depending on metal and condition, examples now sell from the mid-six figures to more than $1 million.

> selling in the mid-six figures to upwards of $1-million
## The frying pan clue
Padellone means large frying pan in Italian, a nod to the 8171's wide 38 mm case, flat profile, and slightly domed dial.

> Padellone means “large frying pan,” in Italian
## Milan closes the loop
Rolex launched the new model in Milan, the city linked to the original nickname. For collectors, the location is part of the message.

> It’s no mistake that the new watch was launched in Milan
## Key takeaway

Rolex is reviving one of its rarest collector favorites, a triple-calendar moon-phase watch tied to 1950s auction lore.