Rolex May Bring Back a Legendary Watch Style from Deep in Its Archives

Rolex does a lot of things very well. The brand’s watches are known to have superior build quality and longevity. It boasts more timeless designs than any other brand. And The Crown is the unquestioned king of marketing.

But one thing Rolex is not is a high horology brand. Though it competes for customers with the likes of Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet, Rolex doesn’t hold a candle to those brands when it comes to things like complications and movement finishing. Virtually all Rolex watches are simple three-hand affairs.

Outside of the occasional GMT, chronograph and the Sky-Dweller’s annual calendar, the brand currently offers no complicated watches. There are no Rolex tourbillons, perpetual calendars or chiming watches.

Phillips

But once upon a time, Rolex was more adventurous with its complications, and Rolex triple-calendar watches like the references 6062 and 8171 — both complete with a moonphase — are some of the most sought-after mid-century watches from the brand. In fact, just this past weekend, a solid gold ref. 6062 sold at auction for $6.2 million, making it the third most expensive Rolex ever sold.

Clearly, there is an appetite for Rolex triple calendars, which is why a recent patent filing by the brand has collectors salivating.

Triple threat

First noticed by watch writer Nick Gould (@niccoloy on Instagram) and then reported on more extensively by our friends over at Time & Tide, Rolex filed a patent earlier this month for a complication featuring side-by-side instantaneous day and month discs.

This setup would essentially mimic the side-by-side windows displaying the day and month that appeared below 12:00 on Rolex’s legendary vintage triple calendar watches, which also incorporated a center-mounted pointer date and a 6:00 moonphase display.

While the complication seen in this patent is not a triple calendar on its own, it’s hard to imagine anyone producing a watch displaying the day and month without also finding room for the date, so I think it’s safe to say that if this patent gets put to use, we’ll be looking at a new triple calendar at least, if not an annual or perpetual calendar.

But there’s another reason to believe that Rolex is pursuing a new triple calendar with this patent. As pointed out in a comment on @niccoloy’s initial post by content creator @egyptianwatchguy, Rolex also filed a trademark for the name “Padellone” last month.

Swissreg.ch

Padellone, which means “big frying pan” in Italian, is the unofficial nickname for the ref. 8171, the earlier of Rolex’s two vintage triple calendar models. It’s a nod to what was, at the time of the watch’s release, an oversized 38mm case.

Maybe Rolex filing a patent for a new date and month complication and a trademark for the nickname of its original triple calendar watch within weeks of each other is mere coincidence. But the last time Rolex filed an eye-catching movement patent and an intriguing name trademark so close to each other, we ended up with the Land-Dweller and its groundbreaking Dynapulse escapement.

This doesn’t necessarily guarantee that Rolex is gearing up to resurrect its triple calendar, but it certainly seems to point in that direction. As for what model in The Crown’s lineup might accommodate the complication, the smart money is on the 1908, Rolex’s dressiest watch and the one that most resembles a “Padellone.”

But the truth is, if Rolex really does bring back its triple calendar, the collector market is going to go absolutely bananas — regardless of which model gets the honor.

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