- 12/3/18
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**Review Updated 22-09-21**
Greetings fellow watch freaks! I have followed the Rolex Cellini Moonphase 50535 for a few years now, both gen and rep and finally have the BP one in hand. It’s a unique watch with an unusual moonphase display. Here are some links to articles on the gen, which mention the earlier versions of Rolex Moonphase watches that also sported a perpetual calendar.
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/ro...se-introducing
https://www.esquire.com/uk/watches/a...nphase-review/
https://moneyinc.com/rolex-cellini-moonphase/
And a really excellent video here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw-oYslv2xY
So how does the BP stack up?
https://trustytime.io/index.php?main...cel086&x=0&y=0
My first impression is it’s a very nice rep. The RG color is nice, it may look a little rich in some pics but IRL its not too pink or orange at all. In some lighting conditions it actually tends a little toward YG, which suits me fine. The split markers on these models are often a problem in QCs, and I went through several before getting one that was pretty much OK.
Here are some things to watch out for
The BP is 316L, the only difference in the GMF is it’s *stated* 904L. The finish on this rep looks great.
The rehaut is clean and brushed, except at the bottom where there is a model number, a crown, and the serial number
The leather strap looks nice but is the standard rep entry level quality. It will really need a replacement but that’s pretty much expected.
The buckle and deployant clasp look fine and work well.
The dial and hands are nicely done. There is a great level of detail in the dial and I haven’t found anything greatly amiss. The date numerals switch orientation at three and nine o’clock. There is a slight gap between E and V in GENE VE, like the gen has. The coronet is nice.
The moonphase subdial is beautiful. The “meteorite” full moon is a raised and bulbous icon that really catches your eye. There is info on how to interpret the display at the end.
The crescent tipped date hand is a distinctly different shade of blue which creates a nice accent.
The bezel is a combination fluted and domed, and the crystal is flat. I prefer this to a domed crystal as it is much easier to view the complete dial without glare. The rep measures ~14.2mm thick. That surprised me, as it wears thinner and is relatively light.
It comes with a little stylus to work the moonphase pusher.
The movement is listed as a 2824, decorated to 3195. I took the back off just to have a look, and there is indeed a deco plate there. I thought about yanking it straight away but thought better of it for now. The rotor feels light and is pretty noisy so it’s going to get the deco plate pulled and a heavier standard ETA rotor. It’s like an ARF Daytona with light rotor and deco plate! Timing is OK for now since regulating means doing the above actions.
There are a few things that aren’t so great that need to be mentioned. There are simple workarounds for them.
1) There is no quickset or hour jumping date change. The gen has hour jumping in crown position 2 to change the date but the rep does nothing there. This is probably a good thing, I would just as soon NOT have another timebomb movement. Workaround - put it on a winder.
2) The moonphase subdial rotates BACKWARD (CCW) from gen. This is not a huge deal really because as unique as it is, many gen owners probably don’t know how to interpret it, let alone your average gawking onlooker. I was initially bummed about this because I learned how to interpret it based on the gen but it's still the same principles, just have to reverse the direction. This won't be an issue for someone learning it for the first time (unless you buy the gen later). Workaround - I modded the charts from the gen user manual to reflect the rep subdial movements. Study these and use the memory minder below and it will sink in eventually, hah.
Memory minder - Using ONLY the meteorite icon:
The actual moon GROWS UP as the icon GOES UP and
The actual moon SHRINKS DOWN as the icon SINKS DOWN
Grows up as it goes up, Shrinks down as it sinks down yeah that’s the ticket!
How much it grows or shrinks is proportional to its position on the arc.
3) **Update** IDK if the BP/GMF models have a design flaw, or if my sample is just faulty but I noticed since my review that the moon subdial rotates at only 1/2 the rate that it should. The moon subdial should make a complete rotation in 29 1/2 days, like the moon's actual rotation around the earth. My BP changes from full to new moon in 29 1/2 days - that is, it makes only 1/2 of a full rotation in the period of a full lunar cycle. This means that the display falls increasingly behind with each passing day unless it is manually advanced one step each day so that the combination of the automatic step plus the manual step equals one proper full step to match the actual lunar phase.
There was not a lot of information available on these models when I chose the BP for its known good plating color and quality, and for the nice moon icon. Also it appeared much better than some previous models.
There is a new EWF version that was just released Aug 18, 2021. The video on Trusty shows the date and the moon subdial in action. The hour hand jumps in crown position 2 to change the date (my BP does not), and when the date changes both in crown position 2 and position 3, the moon icon moves clockwise like the gen (the BP is CCW), and it moves the correct full increment of 1/29th (approximately) around the circle.
https://trustytime.io/index.php?mai...ch_in_description=1&keyword=rolcel092&x=0&y=0
So from all appearances, EWF has repped the movement actions just like the gen. The only down side to this is that the movement is a 2824 clone with hour jumping. This means it has a jump click just like the well known 2824 GMT timebomb movements that have blown up on so many of us. IDK if the BP has the same movement or not, I haven't torn mine down yet and it has the 3195 deco plate. It's possible that it does have the same movement and mine has already blown up, leaving me with no date change in position 2 and a half step on the moon subdial. When a jump click breaks, it can leave you with reduced functionality. Maybe only the date change on the BP was affected by a broken jump click and the BP/GMF moon subdials are geared incorrectly.
While I am disappointed that I have to manually step the subdial every day to keep it accurate, and keep the watch on a winder to keep the date accurate, I am happy that with these minimal efforts I can still enjoy full accuracy. Sometimes with a timebomb movement like the EWF appears to have, when it explodes it's game over. I also like the BP moon icon more than the EWF, and as mentioned the BP plating is a known good quality.
I've thought about buying an EWF and making a hybrid build out of it. BP case, dial, and moon dial, EWF movement and hands (better hour hand surround). But this project would be pretty far down on my list as long as the BP is working well and I can achieve date and moonphase accuracy with only minimal effort.
Overall I am pleased with this purchase and give it an easy 8.8/10
**Update** Lowering rating due to subdial rotation rate to 8.3/10
Thanks for looking!
If you follow the link below to the Rolex site, the display there will sync to the time on your device. Very cool.
https://www.rolex.com/watches/cellini.html
Greetings fellow watch freaks! I have followed the Rolex Cellini Moonphase 50535 for a few years now, both gen and rep and finally have the BP one in hand. It’s a unique watch with an unusual moonphase display. Here are some links to articles on the gen, which mention the earlier versions of Rolex Moonphase watches that also sported a perpetual calendar.
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/ro...se-introducing
https://www.esquire.com/uk/watches/a...nphase-review/
https://moneyinc.com/rolex-cellini-moonphase/
And a really excellent video here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw-oYslv2xY
So how does the BP stack up?
https://trustytime.io/index.php?main...cel086&x=0&y=0
My first impression is it’s a very nice rep. The RG color is nice, it may look a little rich in some pics but IRL its not too pink or orange at all. In some lighting conditions it actually tends a little toward YG, which suits me fine. The split markers on these models are often a problem in QCs, and I went through several before getting one that was pretty much OK.
Here are some things to watch out for
The BP is 316L, the only difference in the GMF is it’s *stated* 904L. The finish on this rep looks great.
The rehaut is clean and brushed, except at the bottom where there is a model number, a crown, and the serial number
The leather strap looks nice but is the standard rep entry level quality. It will really need a replacement but that’s pretty much expected.
The buckle and deployant clasp look fine and work well.
The dial and hands are nicely done. There is a great level of detail in the dial and I haven’t found anything greatly amiss. The date numerals switch orientation at three and nine o’clock. There is a slight gap between E and V in GENE VE, like the gen has. The coronet is nice.
The moonphase subdial is beautiful. The “meteorite” full moon is a raised and bulbous icon that really catches your eye. There is info on how to interpret the display at the end.
The crescent tipped date hand is a distinctly different shade of blue which creates a nice accent.
The bezel is a combination fluted and domed, and the crystal is flat. I prefer this to a domed crystal as it is much easier to view the complete dial without glare. The rep measures ~14.2mm thick. That surprised me, as it wears thinner and is relatively light.
It comes with a little stylus to work the moonphase pusher.
The movement is listed as a 2824, decorated to 3195. I took the back off just to have a look, and there is indeed a deco plate there. I thought about yanking it straight away but thought better of it for now. The rotor feels light and is pretty noisy so it’s going to get the deco plate pulled and a heavier standard ETA rotor. It’s like an ARF Daytona with light rotor and deco plate! Timing is OK for now since regulating means doing the above actions.
There are a few things that aren’t so great that need to be mentioned. There are simple workarounds for them.
1) There is no quickset or hour jumping date change. The gen has hour jumping in crown position 2 to change the date but the rep does nothing there. This is probably a good thing, I would just as soon NOT have another timebomb movement. Workaround - put it on a winder.
2) The moonphase subdial rotates BACKWARD (CCW) from gen. This is not a huge deal really because as unique as it is, many gen owners probably don’t know how to interpret it, let alone your average gawking onlooker. I was initially bummed about this because I learned how to interpret it based on the gen but it's still the same principles, just have to reverse the direction. This won't be an issue for someone learning it for the first time (unless you buy the gen later). Workaround - I modded the charts from the gen user manual to reflect the rep subdial movements. Study these and use the memory minder below and it will sink in eventually, hah.
Memory minder - Using ONLY the meteorite icon:
The actual moon GROWS UP as the icon GOES UP and
The actual moon SHRINKS DOWN as the icon SINKS DOWN
Grows up as it goes up, Shrinks down as it sinks down yeah that’s the ticket!
How much it grows or shrinks is proportional to its position on the arc.
3) **Update** IDK if the BP/GMF models have a design flaw, or if my sample is just faulty but I noticed since my review that the moon subdial rotates at only 1/2 the rate that it should. The moon subdial should make a complete rotation in 29 1/2 days, like the moon's actual rotation around the earth. My BP changes from full to new moon in 29 1/2 days - that is, it makes only 1/2 of a full rotation in the period of a full lunar cycle. This means that the display falls increasingly behind with each passing day unless it is manually advanced one step each day so that the combination of the automatic step plus the manual step equals one proper full step to match the actual lunar phase.
There was not a lot of information available on these models when I chose the BP for its known good plating color and quality, and for the nice moon icon. Also it appeared much better than some previous models.
There is a new EWF version that was just released Aug 18, 2021. The video on Trusty shows the date and the moon subdial in action. The hour hand jumps in crown position 2 to change the date (my BP does not), and when the date changes both in crown position 2 and position 3, the moon icon moves clockwise like the gen (the BP is CCW), and it moves the correct full increment of 1/29th (approximately) around the circle.
https://trustytime.io/index.php?mai...ch_in_description=1&keyword=rolcel092&x=0&y=0
So from all appearances, EWF has repped the movement actions just like the gen. The only down side to this is that the movement is a 2824 clone with hour jumping. This means it has a jump click just like the well known 2824 GMT timebomb movements that have blown up on so many of us. IDK if the BP has the same movement or not, I haven't torn mine down yet and it has the 3195 deco plate. It's possible that it does have the same movement and mine has already blown up, leaving me with no date change in position 2 and a half step on the moon subdial. When a jump click breaks, it can leave you with reduced functionality. Maybe only the date change on the BP was affected by a broken jump click and the BP/GMF moon subdials are geared incorrectly.
While I am disappointed that I have to manually step the subdial every day to keep it accurate, and keep the watch on a winder to keep the date accurate, I am happy that with these minimal efforts I can still enjoy full accuracy. Sometimes with a timebomb movement like the EWF appears to have, when it explodes it's game over. I also like the BP moon icon more than the EWF, and as mentioned the BP plating is a known good quality.
I've thought about buying an EWF and making a hybrid build out of it. BP case, dial, and moon dial, EWF movement and hands (better hour hand surround). But this project would be pretty far down on my list as long as the BP is working well and I can achieve date and moonphase accuracy with only minimal effort.
Overall I am pleased with this purchase and give it an easy 8.8/10
**Update** Lowering rating due to subdial rotation rate to 8.3/10
Thanks for looking!
If you follow the link below to the Rolex site, the display there will sync to the time on your device. Very cool.
https://www.rolex.com/watches/cellini.html
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