All About the Short-Lived Rolex Cellini Moonphase

Made from 2017-2023, the Rolex Cellini Moonphase is the most popular non-Oyster Rolex model in recent history. The thing is, non-Oyster Rolexes usually aren’t very popular. But the Cellini Moonphase, with its crowd-pleasing 39mm 18k Everose gold case and well-executed white lacquer dial, gained plenty of fans during its six-year run. Here’s our quick guide to the Rolex Cellini Moonphase, reference 50535.

Rolex revamped their chronically-overlooked Cellini dress watch line in 2013 with automatic movements and central seconds hands–things Cellini watches never had before. Alpha hands and a “Reese’s Cup” crown complete the classy aesthetic across the lineup. The moonphase model appeared in 2017.

Powered by Caliber 3195, the Rolex Cellini Moonphase is one of only three Rolex models to ever have a moonphase display. The 6062 and the 8171 “Padellone” are the only other two, and they were both discontinued in the early 1950’s. Those had traditional moonphase displays, but the Rolex Cellini Moonphase uses a more minimalist approach.

The Cellini Moonphase also has a date, but Rolex watches with non-Oyster cases never, ever have date windows–with the lone exception of the spectacularly obscure 271 model. So, the date is displayed with an old-school pointer hand, appropriate for a dress watch. Before we get into how to set and read the Cellini Moonphase, let’s go over all the specs:

Rolex Cellini Moonphase Specs

Model Name	Rolex Cellini Moonphase
Reference Number	50535
Years Produced	2017-2023
Case Material	18k Everose Gold
Case Size	39mm diameter 13.3mm thickness 46.2mm lug-to-lug
Movement Caliber	Rolex Caliber 3195 (Automatic, COSC-certified, 8 beats per second)
Movement Functions	Hours, minutes, seconds, pointer date, moonphase
Power Reserve	Approximately 48 hours
Water Resistance	50 meters
Bracelet/Strap	Brown alligator leather strap with calfskin underside, folding Crownclasp
Final MSRP (2023)	$26,750

Reading the Moonphase Disc

Instead of using the “axe blade” cutout found on many moonphase watches, designed to display only the appropriate section of the moon, Rolex opted to leave the entire moonphase disc visible. The pointer at the top of the subdial indicates the current phase. I’ll just come right out and say it: from a functional standpoint, I don’t like this design. Looking at it doesn’t quickly give me an intuitive idea of what the moon in the sky looks like. When the pointer is at the middle of the full moon–represented by a little disc of meteorite–it’s a full moon. When it’s in the middle of the empty silver outline, it’s a new moon. That’s easy, but the in-between phases are tougher.

The disc rotates clockwise, so the image below roughly represents a waxing quarter moon. Think of it like this: when the meteorite is at the top, it’s a full moon, and when it’s at the bottom, it’s a new moon–so how far up the subdial is the meteorite? If it’s 1/4th of the way up, it’s a quarter moon. If the “moon” is on its way up then it’s waxing; if it’s going down then it’s waning. Do you look at this picture and instantly think “quarter moon?” Because I definitely have to think about it for a moment. Regardless, I’ll admit that the subdial on the Rolex Cellini Moonphase, with its deep blue enamel background, does look cool. I can see why they didn’t want to cover up half of the beautiful blue enamel.

Setting the Moonphase

For setting the moonphase, the Rolex Cellini Moonphase comes with its own special tool. It looks like a little golden pencil, and you use it to poke the moonphase corrector at 8 o’clock on the case. Each push advances the moonphase by one day. You can fine-tune the moonphase from the minute-setting position, as Rolex shows in the instruction manual for the Cellini Moonphase:

As you can see above, the Rolex Cellini Moonphase splits the time-setting position into two positions–position 2 is for setting the hour and date, and position 3 is for setting the minutes/moonphase. This will feel somewhat familiar to owners of the Rolex GMT-Master II, except the minute hand is linked to the moonphase instead of a 24-hour hand.

The actual lunar cycle is about 29.53059 days long, but typical moonphase watches effectively “round” it to 29.5 days and use a 59-tooth gear. By using a 135-tooth gear in conjunction with smaller gears, Rolex can approximate the lunar cycle to 29.53125 days. That means the moonphase display only gets “off” by about one minute per month, instead of 45 minutes per month.

Rolex Cellini Moonphase Price

The Rolex Cellini Moonphase (ref. 50535) is available on the secondhand market for about $23,000 as of 2025. Its MSRP was $26,750 throughout its entire run; its list price was never increased.

Today, a simple pre-owned Rolex Cellini Time sells for roughly half what a Cellini Moonphase goes for, which reveals the level of respect the market has for the moonphase version. Although it will never get the same amount of hype as a Rolex Daytona, the Cellini Moonphase seems to get more attention than the rest of the now-defunct Cellini lineup. Maybe that’s not saying much, but hopefully Rolex won’t wait 64 years before releasing another moonphase watch this time.