Hands-on The Surprisingly Elegant Rolex Perpetual 1908
A couple of days before the start of Watches and Wonders 2023, we knew that something elegant was cooking at Rolex. Indeed, the brand’s website wasn’t displaying anymore watches from the Cellini collection, a range introduced in 2014 and representing the dressy side of the Crown. Well, the replacement is here, and it takes the shape of a new collection named Perpetual – a name inspired by one of the first Rolex watches fitted with the Perpetual rotor, and in homage to the year Hans Wilsdorf devised the name ‘Rolex’ to sign his creations and registered the brand in Switzerland (Rolex is finally admitting that the past can be relevant…) Let’s have a first look at this new, and surprisingly handsome Rolex Perpetual 1908, the first model of a collection that will surely grow over the years.
Even though Rolex doesn’t really want to talk about it, the new Perpetual collection is there to replace the Cellini range, which has been entirely discontinued right before the Geneva watch fair, including the appealing Cellini Moonphase 50535 – a watch that I’ve always considered to be a hidden gem in the brand’s portfolio. However, if you put the new name aside, the Perpetual collection is certainly the direct descendant, if not a relatively soft evolution of the Cellini. All the design traits of the previous range have been kept, however, some notable changes are to be seen on the other side of the case.
Elegant, understated yet typical Rolex, the Perpetual 1908 has an unmistakable vintage and classic flair that is directly inspired by antique models of the brand. You can see some references to mid-1926 Oyster watches – for instance the kind of early Rolex Oyster watch that has been worn by Mercedes Gleitze when swimming across the Channel – or early Datejust from the mid-1940s. It’s also a watch with contemporary features and sharp edges. Fine and nicely chiselled fluting can be found all around, in a discreet yet signature Rolex style. So yes, it is close to a Cellini, it feels undeniably Rolex but it has a level of refinement that the Cellini didn’t entirely manage to meet.
This Rolex Perpetual 1908 is a straightforward dress watch. Time-only, compact, no complications, no unnecessary decorum. Straight to the point of elegance. For this article, we’ve decided to take a look at the yellow gold version with matte white dial reference 52508, which felt to me the most appealing. The matte black dial also has charm, but the warm colour of gold with this soft white dial is as elegant as you can get. The case of the Perpetual 1908 is compact, at 39mm, with short lugs, and mostly a thin profile of 9.50mm. Not ultra-thin watchmaking, but slender enough to fit under a cuff and to enter the dress watch category.
