Rolex Cellini

How the Rolex Cellini Dual Time works

Rolex relaunched the Cellini at Baselworld 2014 as three families of 39 mm gold dress watches, the Cellini Time, Cellini Date and Cellini Dual Time, twelve references in all, each on a leather strap. The Dual Time is the travel watch of the three. Its central hands show local time. The sub-dial at 6 o’clock shows the reference time, usually home, with its own hour and minute hands, and an aperture in it shows a sun by day and a crescent moon by night, so you can tell a.m. from p.m. at home.

Rolex’s user guide sets the watch in two steps, reference time first:

1. Unscrew the crown. If the watch has stopped, wind it clockwise with at least 25 turns.
2. Pull the crown out to the second notch. The seconds hand stops; turn the crown to set the reference time, which moves the local hands too, and check the day/night window for a.m. or p.m.
3. Push the crown back to the first notch and turn it. The local hour hand jumps in one-hour steps while the reference time stays put; repeat this whenever you change time zone.
4. Push the crown in and screw it down. Only then is the watch waterproof to 50 metres.

Both displays share the same minutes, so the Dual Time handles whole-hour offsets only: it cannot show a half-hour zone such as India’s. For a second time zone in a current Rolex, the GMT-Master II reads it from a 24-hour hand against its bezel, and the Sky-Dweller from an off-centre 24-hour disc, alongside an annual calendar.

Cellini Dual Time 50525 and 50529 specifications

On Bizak the Dual Time starts at these prices; tap a reference to open its listing and reserve it.

New from Rolex, the Dual Time listed at $19,400 in 2015; on Bizak a 50529 now starts at $15,421 and a 50525 at $18,042. The two references differ only in the gold and the dials on offer: the brown dial Rolex added in 2016 came on the Everose 50525.

Rolex Cellini prices by reference

Every Cellini of the 2014 line shares the 39 mm case, so the differences are the complication, the gold and the dial; the last digit of the reference gives the gold, 5 for Everose and 9 for white. Bizak prices are the lowest live price for each reference on 19 October 2026, from listings that name the model correctly; the US list prices are Rolex’s from 2015.

The Cellini Date shows the date with a hand on a guilloche counter at 3 o’clock. The Moonphase, added at Baselworld 2017, has a white lacquer dial with a blue enamel moon disc at 6 o’clock, a meteorite full moon and a date hand with a crescent tip. Among the Cellini Time references, the 50605RBR and 50609RBR have a double bezel that is fluted and set with diamonds, while the 50705RBR and 50709RBR have a diamond bezel. Compare them on the Cellini Time, Cellini Date and Cellini Moonphase pages.

Rolex Cellini leather strap, dial colours and gold

Leather strap. Rolex fitted the 2014 Cellini line only with leather straps, black or brown alligator with an 18 ct gold buckle; there is no bracelet version. Rolex advises keeping the strap away from water and humidity, and its guarantee excludes normal wear of straps, so check the leather and the buckle and ask whether the strap is Rolex.

Black dial. The Time, Date and Dual Time all came with black dials: Roman numerals and indexes on the Cellini Time, black guilloche on the Date and Dual Time, and black dials set with diamonds on some Time references. In the 2014 line a black dial starts at $13,848 for a Cellini Time 50505; the older white gold Danaos 4233/9 has one from $7,301.

White gold. Each of the three 2014 families was made in 18 ct white gold as well as Everose: the 50509 Time from $14,136, the 50519 Date from $15,199 and the 50529 Dual Time from $15,421, plus the diamond-set 50609RBR and 50709RBR. The Moonphase 50535 is Everose. Older white gold Cellinis include the Danaos 4233/9 and 4243/9.

Blue dial. In the 2014 line the blue dial belongs to the white gold Cellini Date 50519, whose dark blue guilloche dial Rolex added in 2016; on Bizak it starts at $15,199.

Earlier Cellini lines: Cestello, Danaos, Prince and Cellinium

Earlier Cellini references form a wider family of gold and platinum dress watches, many of them hand-wound or quartz, in sizes that vary from reference to reference, so check the case size on each listing. On Bizak the rose gold Cestello 5330/5 starts at $4,703, the white gold Danaos at $7,301 for the 4233/9 and $9,672 for the 4243/9, the platinum Cellinium 5240/6 at $11,146 and the Cellini Prince 54408 at $13,113, pre-owned. The Prince is the rectangular modern revival of Rolex’s 1920s Prince: Phillips catalogues the white gold 5441/9 as hand-wound, with small seconds and a display back, so treat any Prince listed as a “dual time” with caution. Our vintage Rolex buying guide covers these older Cellinis.

Cellini or Perpetual 1908?

Rolex discontinued the Cellini collection in 2023 and replaced it with the Perpetual 1908: also 39 mm and gold, 9.5 mm thick, launched as a time-only watch with small seconds, calibre 7140 and a 66-hour power reserve. On Bizak the Perpetual 1908 starts at $27,120, about twice the $13,440 of a Cellini Time. For a gold Rolex dress watch on a bracelet, look at the Day-Date; the classic alternative from another maker is the Patek Philippe Calatrava.

What to check before you buy a Cellini

• The reference and the name. 50505 and 50509 are Cellini Time, 50515 and 50519 Cellini Date, 50525 and 50529 Cellini Dual Time, and 50535 the Moonphase. Listings sometimes mix the names up, so go by the reference and serial on the watch and its guarantee card.
• The dial. Match the dial to the papers. The 2014 launch dials were light or dark; brown (Dual Time 50525) and blue (Date 50519) followed in 2016, and dials set with diamonds cost more.
• Rolex’s guarantee card. Rolex guarantees its watches for five years from the purchase date on the card, completed by an Official Rolex Jeweler; work by third parties voids it. A card dated within the last five years still has cover.
• The strap and buckle. Alligator with an 18 ct gold Rolex buckle. Ask whether the strap is Rolex or a replacement, and price in a new one if the leather is worn.
• The case. 18 ct gold is soft; look at the lug edges and the fluted bezel for polishing, which softens the fluting.
• Service. Rolex recommends periodic servicing at an Official Rolex Jeweler or Service Center; ask when the watch was last serviced and whether the papers show it.

Found your Cellini? Open its listing and tap Reserve with $200. Our buyer protection page sets out the deposit terms, and our authentication process lists the checks made on the specific watch before dispatch. Looking for a reference or dial we do not list? Send it through find your watch. Selling or trading a Cellini? See sell or trade your watch. How the Cellini compares with Rolex’s Oyster dress watches is covered in our Datejust vs Day-Date guide.

Frequently Asked Questions