PRECISION INSTRUMENTS
the largest yet in the Cellini line. This move suggests a desire to recognise that the modern classic size, which is likely to bottom out at 38mm or 39mm as opposed to 34mm or 35mm a few decades ago, is perhaps here to stay.
The new Cellini range made its debut in 2014 with three models: a time-only automatic watch, an automatic with a date display, and a model outfitted with a second time zone and day/night indication. These are all housed in 39mm cases available in 18K white gold or the brand’s proprietary Everose gold, and each is available in two different dial executions, making for a total of 12 references in all. The white lacquered dial sports elongated, stylised Roman numerals at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock as well as two-part applied baton markers that are interrupted by a freshly designed minute scale. The black lacquered dial sports a guilloché pattern and dispenses with the Roman numerals, preferring to stick with rose goldapplied elements.
Perhaps most interesting of the three is the date model, thanks to the unusual placement of its display at 3 o’clock, which is a more than atypical choice thanks to the general technical difficulty of the winding stem being placed in the same general vicinity. Additionally, the form of the executed date is more than unusual for Rolex, a brand famous for the unchanging quality of its date windows. Executed as a subdial, it lends the timepiece a jazzed-up, differentiated look.
Then, of course, there are the exquisite case elements, which take what is inherently “Rolex” and refine them—such as the screwdown crown, which is easy to grip and beautiful to look at, and the fluted bezel, which is much different and far less in-yourface than the diamond-cut fluting of, say, the Sky-dweller. The double-level combination of smooth dome and delicate fluting is also repeated on the screw-down bezel on the
THE LINE WILL APPEAL TO ROLEX FANATICS WITH A YEARNING FOR A DRESS WATCH AND TO MEN WHO SIMPLY WANT A BEAUTIFUL, RELIABLE TIMEPIECE