Rolex being Rolex, it doesn’t make it fair when choosing the most aesthetically appealing version of the Rolex Cellini Time because each of the available models has various pluses. I suppose I am specifically referring to the dial variations which have no clear winner, all being quite nice. On this Rolex Cellini 50709RBR we have all baton-style hour markers which are cut up to create an inner and outer dial. I do admit to missing the thin Roman numerals on the Rolex Cellini Time 50509 model (similar 18k white gold case with silver ruthenium dial but no diamonds).

Easily the hardest part of the new Rolex Cellini to design was the dial. Rolex was faced with the challenge of creating a minimalized look common for dress watches but with some elegant flare that people have come to expect from Rolex. Part of this design challenge was to present a minimalized watch face but one that doesn’t look empty. The result was a sort of dial within a dial, where the hands do not reach the edge of the main dial because the actual indication for the time is the inner one. This is an acceptable solution, and I agree that Rolex did succeed in making dials which have the right mixture of white space and details. With that said, I also find myself repeatedly asking, “are these hands too short?” even though I’ve responded to myself a number of times. The answer is actually no, the hands aren’t too short, but it really depends on where you draw the line of where the dial starts and stops.

Water resistant to 50 meters (don’t forget that Rolex Cellini models aren’t Rolex Oyster watches), the new Rolex Cellini timepieces have a lot more case durability than previous generation models – even if they aren’t Rolex sport watches. Inside the Rolex Cellini Time pieces are in-house made Rolex (and COSC Chronometer certified) calibre 3135 4Hz automatic movements which you will actually find in some Rolex sport watches including the Rolex Submariner. The caseback has a polished and domed center which reminds me of old pocket watches and helps give the Rolex Cellini collection a personality slightly different than that of many other Rolex watch families.

It can be said that the Rolex Cellini 50706BRB in 18k white gold and its sibling watch the Rolex Cellini 50705RBR in 18k Everose with a matching dial are very much “last-century watches,” recalling a time when formal galas and balls where perhaps more common (and that, therein, watches were an incredibly important part of a man’s attire). Today, this fact is perhaps still the case, although such events have been anything but democratized, existing almost exclusively for society’s elite. Rolex has always been a maker of luxury watches for the successful and inspired, but are Rolex timepieces for the most part “elite?” I would say “no” because Rolex has actually done an admirable job of being inclusive as a luxury brand versus exclusive, preferring not to segregate their consumer base.

With that said, I think the Rolex of today does have its status products for people of different groups depending on their station in life and interests. That is really where the Rolex Cellini comes in because it fills a void Rolex had that other models such as the Datejust could not precisely fill. The Rolex Cellini really is the niche Rolex because, while it is great at what it does, there is simply an arguably small demographic of people out there who have much opportunity to wear it. That is the truest with those models such as this diamond-decorated Rolex Cellini ref. 50709RBR that comes with a retail price of 19,850 Euros. rolex.com