About Rolex Cellini Watches

With a taste of elegance and timeless sophistication, the Rolex Cellini offers an uncommon design that is less well-known than its sibling collections from Rolex. Even so, the line offers a unique take that varies significantly between pieces, often considered as a general bucket in which Rolex would place the pieces that don’t exactly fit anywhere else within the brand. Rather than forming a collection around function, this grouping was created simply around style and aesthetics. That doesn’t make it less valuable—just different and often rarer.

Named for the Italian Renaissance sculptor and goldsmith, Benvenuto Cellini, the watch collection includes a somewhat refined look with elegant lines that are meant to be reminiscent of Cellini’s art. These luxury dress watches might look more delicate, some are even peppered with gemstones, but Cellini watches continue to be made with the quality assurance that comes with the Rolex brand.

The Original: Cellini Prince

A wide departure from the brand’s sportier styles, the release of the Cellini line in 1928 featured a rectangular case with an extravagant design. The Cellini Prince showed one main dial for the hour and minute, and a smaller sub-dial below for seconds. Produced for over a decade, the Prince was discontinued early in the 1950s.

Cellini Moves Forward

As the 1960s and 70s brought freedom of design into the watchmaking world, the Cellini collection embodied this liberty. During this era, a significant amount of styling went into bejeweled watch dials, yellow gold bands and generally bling-filled timepieces. While originally not part of the Cellini line, the asymmetrical, brushed yellow gold King Midas, famously worn by Elvis Presley, eventually made its way into the collection as well. During the 1980s, the Cellini line again settled into some semblance of order, featuring models such as the Cellini Danaos and Cestello. Both of these were made with smaller cases and gentle curves. The Danaos was notably worn by golfer Phil Mickelson.

The Prince Returns

Brought back in 2006, the returned Prince maintains similar characteristics and now has five models which fit under the basic design principles with a vibe of Art Deco style. The hand-wound Prince can hold a power reserve for more than two days and is exclusively made from yellow gold, white gold or Everose gold. The addition of a transparent case back allows the innerworkings to be viewed.

2014 Releases

This year brought three more additions to the Cellini family: Time, Date and Dual Times. All made with 39mm cases, the similar watches each have unique details and functionalities.

Cellini Time. Reserved and elegant, the Cellini Time gently appeared in 2014 with a round 39mm diameter case, either a black or white dial, in either white gold or Everose gold and with a fitted brown or black alligator leather strap. Fashioned sword-shaped hands that point toward thin Roman numerals, the Cellini Time is made with a self-winding mechanical movement with approximately 48-hours of power reserve.

Cellini Date. As expected, the Date looks similar to the Time but includes a small sub-dial, located in the 3 o’clock position, with a date function. Its availability includes a black or silver dial set in a 39 mm white gold or Everose gold case with a brown or black alligator leather strap.

Cellini Dual Time. This one takes the time/date workings a bit further by allowing the watch to function in two time zones at the same time. A small sub-dial at the 6 o’clock marker indicates the time in the second zone, as well as a day/night indicator.

Cellini Moonphase

The most recent release, the Moonphase is the first of Rolex Cellini collection to include the moonphase complication, and the first of the Rolex brand to include this feature in at least half a century. The Moonphase is available in Everose gold with a white dial with the lunar cycle representation at the 6 o’clock marking.