Rolex 8171 Padellone

The Rolex 8171 is an automatic wristwatch with day and month windows, a pointer date and a moonphase display. It was made around 1949–1952/1953 in steel, yellow gold and pink gold. Its 38 mm case has a snap-on back. Collectors call it Padellone, Italian for “big frying pan.” Fratello, 2024; Phillips, lot 72

Core facts

Detail	Value
Reference	8171, collector nickname Padellone
Production	Approximately 1949–1952/1953; published estimates
Case	Usually catalogued as 38 mm; three-piece, non-Oyster, snap-on back
Materials	Stainless steel, 18K yellow gold, 18K pink gold
Movement	Automatic A.295 CPL; 10½ lignes, 18 jewels in cited examples
Displays	Hours and minutes; subsidiary seconds and moonphase at 6; day and month below 12; outer pointer date
Calendar adjustment	Four recessed correctors
Crystal	Acrylic
Dial signature	Rolex Perpetual; Precision or Officially Certified Chronometer, depending on the dial

Where it sits in the line

The contemporary 6062 has the same calendar displays in a smaller Oyster case with a screw back. The movements differ: the 8171 uses the 10½-ligne A.295 CPL; Christie's identifies caliber 655 in its 6062 case 916321. Similar dials do not establish interchangeable movements. Mondani, 2020; Christie's, 6062 case 916321

Rolex later used a moonphase display in the Cellini 50535. Its pointer date accompanies the moonphase; it has no day or month windows. Rolex, Cellini brochure

In 2026, Rolex used the name “Perpetual Padellone” for a modern annual-calendar moonphase watch and identified the historic 8171 as its inspiration. That current model is a different watch with a different movement and calendar mechanism. Rolex, Perpetual Padellone

Production outline

Published estimates usually start in 1949 and end in 1952 or 1953. Individual catalogue dates can conflict with that range. Bonhams dated a gold example to about 1955 while describing production as 1949–1952. Sotheby's dated steel case 686356 to about 1963 but described an early-1950s production run in the same entry. These inconsistencies do not establish continued manufacture. Bonhams, lot 115; Sotheby's, lot 2143

Steel case 1977074 is a separate problem. Phillips catalogued it as circa 1950; its unusually high number prompted discussion of a later case or later assembly. Neither Phillips nor SJX supplied a factory record resolving the discrepancy. Use the individual watch's documents and construction alongside its numbers; a general serial chart cannot settle this case. Phillips, lot 175; SJX, 2019

Production totals are estimates. Clymer gives about 600 steel watches; Christie's gives about 800. Older Christie's essays say production was mostly yellow gold, whereas Phillips' 2025 account calls steel the material most commonly seen. Those statements describe different populations and do not support a fixed rarity ranking by metal. Clymer, 2023; Christie's, lot 22; Christie's, lot 186; Phillips, lot 72

Movement notes

Dial-side calendar mechanism of a Rolex 8171 — Dial-side calendar mechanism, with the day, month and moonphase discs exposed.

The automatic movement is usually described as A.295 CPL, sometimes shortened to A295 or recorded by its 10½-ligne size. The cited Christie's examples have 18 jewels. Running seconds share the subdial at 6 with the moonphase. The long central pointer reads the date scale. Christie's, lot 186; lot 52

Four recessed correctors sit in the case band. Giorgia Mondani gives this arrangement. Mondani, 2020

Position	Function
Near 2	Month
Near 4	Date
Near 8	Moonphase
Near 10	Weekday

The recessed date corrector advances the pointer independently of the time-setting hands. Dial wording varies: “Precision” and “Officially Certified Chronometer” are both documented. A Precision dial alone does not establish chronometer certification. Sotheby's, lot 2143; Phillips, lot 68

Dial map

8171 dial, front
8171 dial, reverse — day, month, and moonphase disc apertures

The usual layout places a coronet above the calendar windows and “Rolex Perpetual” below them, with the lower designation in the seconds subdial. The early pink-gold arrangement moves the brand name above the windows and the chronometer wording below them. “Oyster Perpetual” is not the signature shown on these 8171 dials. Phillips, lot 72; Christie's, case 667009

Configuration	Documented example and limits
Silvered, grained or two-tone	Phillips describes a lacquered two-tone dial on steel case 1977074 and contrasts it with the more usual grained steel dials. Yellow-gold case 762159 has a two-tone dial. Phillips, lot 175; lot 68
Steel case with gold- or silver-colored furniture	Clymer illustrates steel watches with both colors of markers and hands. Gold-colored furniture is not restricted to a gold case. Clymer, illustrated comparison
Early pink-gold printing	Cases 667005 and 667009 have the crown and Rolex Perpetual above the windows, with the chronometer wording below. Phillips, lot 72
French-market dial	Pink-gold case 667009 combines FAB. SUISSE and SWISS MADE. Le Monde Edmond also describes French calendar discs. Christie's, case 667009; Le Monde Edmond
Luminous Arabic 12	Steel case 685878 has a silvered grained dial, Arabic 12, luminous accents and luminous spade hands. Christie's, lot 52
Diamond markers	Steel case 902514 has diamonds at 3, 6, 9 and 12 on a two-tone silvered dial. Christie's, lot 186
Black and gilt, restored	Steel case 901479 has a black dial and gilt printing. Sotheby's considered it a factory black dial restored decades earlier, probably by Rolex. The factory attribution is the house's opinion; the restoration is explicit in its condition report. Sotheby's, lot 309

Christie's uses “Type A” or “Arabic” for dials attributed to Beyeler, and “Type B” or “Bullet” for those attributed to Stern Frères. Its essay also credits Stern Frères with the enamelled moonphase and calendar discs. These are supplier and design labels, not a dated Mk sequence. Christie's, lot 22

Dial condition needs its own description. Bonhams explicitly calls its 2017 gold example's dial refinished; Antiquorum grades the dial of steel case 820642 as restored. Neither is a reliable untouched-dial template. Bonhams, lot 115; Antiquorum, lot 469

Case, bezel, crystal and crown

The case has three parts: bezel, middle and snap-on back. The smooth bezel leaves much of the 38 mm diameter to the dial. An acrylic crystal covers it. This is a non-Oyster case; the presence of a Super Oyster crown on an example does not change the case-back construction. Mondani, 2020; Fratello, 2024

Clymer describes polished lug faces, satin-finished sides and a vertically grained back. The serial number and coronet on the outside of the back are shallow and easily lost through wear or polishing. Sharp engraving needs comparison with the rest of the case, rather than being treated as proof of an untouched watch. Clymer, 2023

Steel, 18K yellow gold and 18K pink gold are represented by identified lots below. Phillips attributes hammer mark 115 to case maker Favre-Perret in its pink-gold catalogue entry. Christie's also mentions steel-and-gold examples, but its essay supplies no individual case number for that material combination. Phillips, lot 72; Christie's, lot 22

Clymer reports unsigned flat crowns, flat crowns with a coronet and Super Oyster crowns on watches described as original-owner examples. This supports more than one possible period configuration. It does not prove the crown on a particular watch is original: Sotheby's expressly calls the Super Oyster crown on black-dial case 901479 a later replacement. Clymer, 2023; Sotheby's, lot 309 condition report

Straps, bracelets and papers

Leather straps and Rolex buckles appear in auction sets. Phillips describes the strap and 18K buckle on yellow-gold case 762159 as original. Pink-gold case 667005 was offered with a gold-plated Rolex buckle. The catalogues document both solid-gold and gold-plated buckles; original delivery needs evidence for the individual set. Phillips, lot 68; lot 72

The steel 8171 sold from Ben Clymer's collection in 2024 wore a Gay Frères riveted bracelet. Clymer states that he added it after buying the watch. Its 3.53 clasp stamp dates the bracelet component, not the watch head. Christie's likewise describes the bracelet on case 820757 as period-correct; that wording does not establish delivery with the watch. Phillips, lot 33; Christie's, lot 22

Case 762159 came with a numbered tag and presentation box. The tag reads “Rolex Oyster” even though the watch has a non-Oyster case. Case 667005 came with an Avolio guarantee from Catania, a timing certificate dated 13 April 1950, literature and a fitted box. These are documented sets for those watches, not a universal 8171 packaging specification. Phillips, lot 68; lot 72

Auction record

The results below belong to identified watches. They do not establish a price band for every example in the same metal.

Sale	Case / material	Configuration or accompanying items	Published result
Christie's New York, 17 Dec 2013, lot 186	902514 / steel	Diamond markers; two-tone dial	USD 1,145,000
Phillips Geneva IX, May 2019, lot 68	762159 / yellow gold	Two-tone dial; numbered tag and box	CHF 980,000
Phillips Geneva X, Nov 2019, lot 175	1977074 / steel	Lacquered two-tone dial; anomalous serial number	CHF 1,028,000
Phillips New York XI, 7 Dec 2024, lot 33	820744 / steel	Ben Clymer collection; later-added Gay Frères bracelet	USD 203,200
Phillips Geneva XXI, May 2025, lot 72	667005 / pink gold	Early dial layout; guarantee and dated certificate	CHF 508,000

Christie's result sheet lists the 2013 price including buyer's premium and describes it as a record for reference 8171 at that sale. The Phillips amounts are the houses' published sold results. Christie's 2013 results

Collecting considerations

Start with the case number, dial layout and a clear movement photograph. Compare the date-track printing and the edges of the calendar windows with a documented example of the same layout. Record refinishing, replacement crowns and later-added bracelets separately from original-delivery claims. Sotheby's black-dial watch has a documented restoration, while Clymer's watch has a later-added bracelet. Sotheby's, lot 309; Phillips, lot 33

Gallery

Rolex 8171 Padellone, yellow gold, triple-calendar moonphase
8171 dial, front
8171 dial, reverse — day, month, and moonphase disc apertures
Dial-side calendar mechanism, with the day, month and moonphase discs exposed.

Sources