Future of Rolex Cellini

The problem with the Cellini line is that it's a pure dress watch, which is a niche which has largely (and more popularly) been filled by Rolex with the OP, Datejust and Day-Date.  Once you start getting into the Cellini price range, other (and arguably "better") brands start to look more attractive, especially if you really know your watches.  Would you rather, for example, get a Cellini or a Calatrava?

Agree it's less obviously Rolex-y than most of their more celebrated designs but I take issue with the description of a pure dress watch. Details like the coin edge bezel and the breaking of the indices to add minute markers make this - to me - less dressy and more utilitarian. The Cellini strikes me as a luxe version of the Longines Pointer Date (minus that complication, of course) - a smart, everyday watch that can fly under the radar. A Rolex for people who don't much care to tell the world they're wearing a Rolex.

Dress watches these days are worn with everything, so as time moves on lines are truly getting blurred. So cool to wear a Reverso or a DateJust with jeans and a smart polo top. Rolex i think is truly missing a trick here.

I would rather the Cellini as its prettier and feels much more special, however the price is definately an issue so totally see your point. If they suddenly released the above watch for example in a green sunburst dial, it would literally blow up the internet and re-iginite the Cellini sub-brand. Rolex clearly need me😀

i think cellini is good, probably rolex attempted to compete with jlc (master collection), or any other premium dresswatch. problem is grey market didnt pump their price yet so its unpopular choice these day

Unpopular opinion: Cellini is an under-appreciated line.

That's like saying this:

isn't a dress watch because of the hobnail bezel.  Or that this, isn't a dress watch: 

because of the markings on the dial.  I respectfully disagree.

I wear dress watches with shorts T-shirt and flip-flops.. In Al Pacino movie oceans 13 I thought he was wearing a JLC reverso but it turned out to be Celline Prince 18k gold. But I am not Al Pacino.. not even close 🤣

FFW to 6.06 in the video

https://youtu.be/3yoCVGUDZ5s?t=365

They've done blue:

So green wouldn't be that much of a stretch.

I love the Cellini Line Personally.

Fair enough. To be clear: it's absolutely a dress watch if you desire to wear it formally. To me, a pure dress watch either shows extreme restraint in any detail (think Credor Eichi II) or uses ornate design choices that swerve away from the everyday (think Breguet Classique). Therefore, to me, the Cellini finds a happy medium with enough frou-frou-free detail to be dressed down with relative ease. But hey: de gustibus non est disputandum.

I really like the look of some of the watches from the Cellini line, especially the simplicity of the Cellini Time and the quirkiness of the black & gold Cellini Prince. I have no real need for a dress watch, so adding one to my collection isn't a priority, but if I could find a good deal on one, I'd take advantage of it. 

Yes they have, given that the only one on the website is a moon phase.

As for the watch, one man's opinion, but....eh.

I think part of the problem I personally have with the Cellini line is that I think they're somewhat ungraceful compared to dress watches of other manufacturers at similar prices.

If I remember correctly, the dimensions for this time only reference are 39mm diameter, and 12mm high.  

And you feel it, it wears like a sportswatch to me, particularly with the relatively simple chamfer on the sporty Datejust style lug.  And you're getting no advantage from that additional height in terms of WR or complication.

Then compare to a JLC Master ultra thin date (39mm diameter and less than 8mm high) or a VC56 Date (40mm and 9.6mm).  I would argue, in a dress watch, you feel those extra dimensions a ton because you're trying to stuff them under cuffs etc.  And those other watches have beautiful chamfers etc.

Vs 

This.  For the top picture, I'd argue that if it wasn't it gold, you might mistake it for a datejust 41 (and yes I know the fluted bezel is not the same).

I think there are other manufacturers that have a much more refined dress watch design language than Rolex, which is why I suspect many people go to them instead.

And then you have the odd timing dial on a dress watch (which I don't understand at all, are we timing laps in this thing?).  

Yeah, the Cellini just doesn't move me much.

But you know, you should like what you like.  Everyone else, including me, can go pound sand.

I think you are right.  If I were a betting man, I'd suggest that as Tudor and Rolex reposition themselves and Rolex moves its brand more upmarket generally, there will be more 'elegant' Rolex variants released.  That said, I could see them doing this by losing the Cellini nameplate - just because it has languished in the line up over the last few decades. #rolex 

I like them. I find no fault in dress watches at all. Everything goes in cycles and dress watches will come storming back one day.

I don't care for any Rolex except the Cellini. 

I could see the attraction in a "dress" watch that has some of the attributes (e.g., tough to damage, runs forever, easy to service) of other Rolex models.  

I have no idea if a Cellini is that watch.  

The name is just not great unless I am going ballroom dancing... they need to get rid of branding font on the dial...  Yes, I am shallow and want a more aggressive name and font.

A friend of mine has one and wore it to a black tie event... I thought it looked beautiful! Still, I am a fan of dress watches, and will never have to worry about the price. No way could I afford it!

I like the Cellini line and I think there are some real gems to be found in the older collection. For example, an 18k white gold Rolex Cellini Danaos with a hand-wound movement can be bought for less than 5K - not bad!

The newer Cellini is trying hard to compete with the Calatrava, Patrimony, Traditionnelle, Saxonia, Lange 1, Master Ultra-Thin watches of the world but I think Rolex has to look beyond just a moon phase complication to truly compete in that league. 

I actually predict a new Cellini will be revealed in 2023 - a complete calendar would be awesome. 

I didn't know Cellini. It is a very elegant watch. I would like to wear one if I were to dress up to a formal and smart occasion. I think they should keep this line. There are people out there that need this kind of product.

My honest opinion: We watch nuts can appreciate the beauty of this watch, but the public wouldn't recognize it as a Rolex. And for the vast majority of buyers (non-watch nuts), they really want to be recognized as wearing a Rolex. Despite any protestations to the contrary. So when they look at this watch, they ask themselves would anyone coo over this watch and make me feel good?  Nah! 

I don't think they ever gave up on the Cellini range, it's just a side business for them that they keep because it give them access to a very specific market that perhaps has the potential to become important to their business or to the brand image they may want to project in the future.

I just want a dress watch that has more vintage sizing, and not 39-40mm monsters (woes of a thin wrist). 

This is real.

Lets take a slightly left field approach.

Remember Pre-Pepsi when you could get pre-owned GMT Master 2 for under retail, then they released the Pepsi and the entire Rolex Market flipped on its head. There could have been other markets forces at play i will agree, but it did change the game from that point onwards.

What if Rolex suddenly released a 'Cellini Master Complication' in Stainless Steel. IMO that could revolutionise the entire line, from nose to tail, and bring it back into favour. Then we'll all be wondering why we didn't buy one earlier when they where 30% cheaper.