News · Rolex

Rolex brings an annual calendar to the Perpetual collection

A 39 mm precious-metal case, instantaneous complete annual calendar and 5 Hz calibre 7190 expand Rolex's Perpetual collection.

Hen & Mills Editorial · 4 min read · 16 September 2026

• The Perpetual Padellone is a 39 mm precious-metal calendar watch named after the historic Rolex reference 8171.
• Its new calibre 7190 runs at 5 Hz, stores approximately 66 hours of power and combines the Dynapulse escapement, Syloxi hairspring and Haplos calendar system.
• Rolex offers Everose-gold and platinum versions but has not published list prices on the announcement page.

Rolex has added the Perpetual Padellone to its catalogue, a 39 mm calendar watch that takes its name from the nickname collectors gave historic reference 8171. Announced on 15 September 2026, the new model is built around an instantaneous complete annual calendar.

A calendar display outside the Oyster pattern

The Perpetual Padellone is unusual before its movement enters the discussion. Its 39 mm case has a broad, polished bezel, slim lugs, a domed sapphire front crystal and a transparent sapphire case back. Rolex rates the case to 50 metres.

The dial shows the date, day, month and moon phase alongside the hours, minutes and seconds. Rolex calls the mechanism an instantaneous complete annual calendar. The day, date and month change simultaneously and instantaneously at midnight, and the annual mechanism automatically distinguishes 30-day and 31-day months. Its information matches a complete calendar; the difference lies in how the mechanism handles month lengths.

The display is organised around the dial rather than concentrated in a stack of windows. The day and month apertures sit at 12 o'clock, the moon phase occupies six o'clock and the date scale runs around the dial circumference. The central hands retain a clear path across the dial, and each indication has a distinct position and scale.

Reference 8171 was an earlier Rolex complete-calendar watch that collectors knew by the Padellone nickname, which Rolex now uses as the new model's official name. The 2026 watch does not copy the earlier reference line for line. It borrows the name and builds a contemporary Rolex movement and display inside a rounded case.

Calibre 7190 carries the real news

The new calibre 7190 runs at 5 Hz and provides approximately 66 hours of power reserve. Rolex identifies three important systems within it: the Dynapulse escapement, the Syloxi hairspring and the Haplos annual-calendar mechanism. Together they give the Perpetual Padellone a technical identity distinct from the long-running 32-series movements used across much of the Oyster range.

A 5 Hz rate means the balance completes ten semi-oscillations each second. Rolex pairs that frequency with its Dynapulse sequential-distribution escapement, whose components interact through rolling motion. The Syloxi hairspring uses thicker, more rigid coils for the higher frequency and is resistant to magnetic fields and temperature changes.

Haplos is Rolex's patented two-component annual-calendar system. The oscillator is a separate assembly comprising the Syloxi hairspring, a ceramic balance staff, a brass balance wheel and Paraflex shock absorbers. Both sit beneath a transparent case back, an important choice for a watch whose movement is part of the proposition.

Rolex says calibre 7190 is covered by 30 patent applications, two of them exclusive to this watch. A count alone does not explain how a watch behaves, but it indicates how much of the project lies in the movement and calendar architecture. The combination of a new calibre number, a 5 Hz rate and an annual calendar is more consequential than the return of a historic nickname.

Precious-metal versions take different routes

Rolex offers the Perpetual Padellone in 18 ct Everose gold and 950 platinum. The Everose version can be fitted to the Settimo bracelet or a brown alligator-leather strap. The platinum version is paired with a black alligator-leather strap. A concealed Crownclasp is used where specified, keeping the fastening out of the visual line.

The Settimo bracelet is central to the Everose presentation. Its narrow links give the bracelet a finer rhythm than an Oyster or President bracelet and connect the watch to the more formal side of Rolex design. The leather alternatives reduce the amount of precious metal on the wrist and place greater emphasis on the round case and calendar dial.

Every version uses a domed sapphire crystal and a sapphire display back. The brand guarantees water resistance to 50 metres. The Padellone's precious-metal case, strap and bracelet choices, and calendar complication place it on the formal side of the Rolex catalogue.

Rolex Perpetual Padellone price and availability

Rolex announced the Perpetual Padellone on 15 September 2026 through its official newsroom. The brand has not published a list price on the announcement page. Availability and pricing therefore need to be confirmed through an authorised Rolex retailer, with the final figure depending on the chosen metal, bracelet or leather strap.

The lack of a public price does not obscure the model's place in the range. Both case materials are precious metals, the movement is newly developed and its instantaneous complete annual calendar adds day and moon-phase indications beyond Rolex's existing Saros annual calendar. The Perpetual Padellone is a distinct new model within the existing Perpetual collection.