Rolex Cellini Danaos : tout simplement l’une des plus belles
Cette Rolex Cellini est dotée d’un boitier de forme légèrement coussin, étanche à 30 mètres. Elle a été produite en trois tailles : 38 mn (ref 4243), 34 mm (réf 4233) et 25 mm (ref 6229) avec des calibres Rolex à remontage mécanique manuel pour les « deux aiguilles ». Le modèle de 25 mm étant disponible avec calibre quartz ou mécanique (a priori les deux sont disponibles).
Une version est particulièrement belle : il s’agit d’un modèle de 34 mm avec boitier en or blanc et lunette en or rose, une « bicolore » très discrète et une taille parfaitement adaptée à une montre de ville.
Son cadran noir avec zone grise anthracite au centre arbore des chiffres arabes sur tout le pourtour sauf à midi où l’on retrouve la fameuse couronne de Rolex. Le 6 à 6h étant en or comme la couronne.
Le cadran est protégé par un verre saphir. Les deux aiguilles se rapprochent du style « Dauphine » sans être aussi pointues, ni acérées. Les séries avec cadrans bicolores argent et noir et or rose et noir sont également de toute beauté.
Barack Obama Spotted Wearing The Most Unloved & Misunderstood Rolex Ever
Last Wednesday saw Joe Biden sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, a sigh of relief for many Americans and observers around the world after four years of Trumpian chaos.
Three of the five living former presidents attended the ceremony: Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, under whom Biden served as the 47th Vice President of the United States. Obama, one of the youngest men to have ever held the office, has lent into the ‘elder statesman’ role quite effortlessly, and for many remains a paragon of style and ‘cool’.
Indeed, Obama cut a dapper figure during Biden’s inauguration, right down to his watch. Eagle-eyed watch fans were quick to spot Obama’s intriguing choice in wrist candy: a Rolex Cellini Time (ref. 50509), one of Rolex’s more obscure offerings and one of the most misunderstood collections in their repertoire.
We’ve previously discussed the complexities of presidential watches here on DMARGE, and how most presidents have quite a conservative taste in timepieces. Some presidents splash out a bit when they leave office – Bill Clinton, for example, has quite the collection – and Obama’s Cellini is yet another example of how a president, once becoming a civilian, has ‘cut loose’ when it comes to their watch-wearing habits.
But there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to the Cellini, and it’s worth exploring how this understated watch speaks volumes about Obama’s character.
First introduced in the 60s as Rolex’s dress watch line and named after a famous Renaissance goldsmith and sculptor, the Cellini line has always been a bit of an anomaly. Not only is it a dress watch line from a brand that’s primarily known for its technical ‘tool’ watches, but unlike Rolex’s other product lines, the Cellini line is rather ill-defined. Models from the 60s and 70s like the King Midas and Danaos are rather avant-garde, whereas modern Cellinis are very conservative and restrained.
The Cellini line has always been overshadowed by Rolex’s more technical models such as the Air-King, GMT-Master and Submariner lines. Despite coming from the world’s most famous watch brand, they’re very much “if you know, you know” watches.
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Retailing for 21,500 AUD, Obama’s 39mm dress watch features no complications – it tells the time and that’s it – and would otherwise seem rather plain if you didn’t know it was made of 18ct white gold. It’s actually quite a famous watch and one of Obama’s favourites, the watch immortalised in art thanks to its appearance on his wrist in his official presidential portrait.
It’s an inspired choice and immediately sparks some questions. Why buy a dress watch from a tool watch brand? Why spend that sort of money on something so understated? What does the watch tell us about the man?
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Barack Obama (@barackobama)
Investing in a Cellini shows that you’re focused on precision and quality rather than pomp and circumstance – emblematic of Obama’s character as a leader. It demonstrates a respect for tradition, yet a touch of individuality: US Presidents have long been associated with Rolex as a brand and consistently chosen to eschew flashy watches, so the Cellini follows in that tradition. But it’s also a unique, obscure choice that reflects Obama’s quietly revolutionary character. The Rolex Datejust that Biden wore for his inauguration sends a similar message.
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More than anything, it shows that Obama has taste – something he’s always been renowned for, from his impeccable taste in modern music to his crisp fashion sense.
Obama was in many ways a highly conventional president and statesman. But as the first African-American president, Obama will always be unique. His Cellini is the same: it’s a highly traditional dress watch from a highly unconventional brand. The more you think about it, the more you realise how well the Cellini suits Obama.
Hopefully Obama’s endorsement of the Cellini will see more watch fans expand their horizons and take a second look at Rolex’s most underappreciated collection.
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The Rolex Cellini Collections: Here’s What You Need to Know
Rolex watches are the most recognized, high-profile timepieces available. When the occasion calls for something dressed-up, look no further than the manufacture’s Cellini line of elegant dress watches. Rolex launched three new and distinctive Cellini families at Baselworld 2014. Here’s what you need to know.
Cellini timepieces are known for their refined elegance and simplicity, and the new families continue that tradition. Each family is named for the information it conveys: Time, Date, and Dual Time – names as pure as the watches themselves.
Though the families differ based on degree of mechanical complication, they share several attributes. The cases are available exclusively in 18k white or Everose gold that has been cast by Rolex in its own foundry. At 39 mm, the cases are perfectly sized for modern dress watches. Each case is topped by a two-tier bezel – one smooth and the other with the trademark Rolex fluting. Similar fluting provides functional decoration on the caseback. A special tool grips the fluting to gain access to the self-winding, COSC-certified, Rolex Manufacture mechanical movements inside.
The flared crowns screw down to maintain a pristine environment within the case. The casebacks are domed, as they were in earlier eras.
The dials are either lacquered or embellished with a black or a silver-plated classic “rayon flammé de la gloire” guilloche motif and adorned with gold applique hour markers. Each Cellini is secured to the wrist by a shiny black or brown alligator leather strap, stitched, remborded, and with an 18k gold buckle.
The Cellini Time models represent the perfect expression of classic watchmaking with stylized, elongated Roman numerals and stretched applique hour markers divided by a minute track that has been moved toward the center of the dial, closer to the tips of the hands.
The faceted, sword-shaped hands, count off the hours, minutes and seconds with the precision of the self-winding chronometer movement.
Each version is priced at $15,200. Find the available versions and specifications below the images.
The Cellini Time model is offered in four versions: With a black or white lacquered dial, and with a 39 mm case in a choice of 18k white or Everose gold. It is fitted on a remborded and stitched alligator leather strap with large scales, in shiny black or brown depending on the model, with an 18k gold buckle matching the gold of the case.
Select Model Specifications
Center hour, minute and seconds hands
Case
39 mm, 18k white gold, polished finish
Double bezel, domed and fluted
Domed case back, screw down
Flared screw-down winding crown with Rolex emblem
Domed sapphire crystal
Waterproof to a depth of 50 meters
Movement
Self-winding mechanical movement,
Manufacture Rolex,
COSC-certified chronometer
Blue Parachrom hairspring with Breguet overcoil
28,800 beats/hour (4Hz)
31 rubies
Approximately 48-hour power reserve
The Cellini Date models add a date function via a hand on a small sub-dial located at 3 o’clock. The gold-rimmed subdial with a guilloche motif at its center shows the dates. A small gold hand indicates the current date, as on timepieces of yesteryear. Each model is priced at $17,800.
The Cellini Date model is offered in four versions: White gold with black or silver dial featuring a “rayon flammé de la gloire” guilloche motif, black strap. Everose gold with black or silver dial featuring a “rayon flammé de la gloire” guilloche motif, brown strap.
The specifications appear below the images.
Select Model Specifications
Functions
Center hour, minute and seconds hands
Date display on a sub-dial with hand at 3 o’clock
Case
39 mm, 18k white gold, polished finish
Double bezel, domed and fluted
Domed case back, screw down
Flared screw-down winding crown with Rolex emblem
Domed sapphire crystal
Waterproof to a depth of 50 meters
Movement
Self-winding mechanical movement,
Manufacure Rolex
COSC-certified chronometer
Blue Parachrom hairspring with Breguet overcoil
28,800 beats/hour (4Hz)
31 rubies
Approximately 48-hour power reserve
Dial
Silver guilloche
18k white gold hour markers and hands
Strap
Shiny black alligator leather
18k white gold buckle
Finally, the Cellini Dual Time models indicate the time in two time zones simultaneously and feature an elegant sun and moon day/night indicator in an aperture on the sub-dial for the second time zone.
The small gold-rimmed sub-dial at 6 o’clock shows the minutes and hours in a faraway part of the world. To differentiate daytime hours from night-time hours, a sun or moon symbol transits the aperture at 9 o’clock on the sub-dial.
To assist travelers, the hour hand can be set independently by successive “jumps” to adjust to a new local time zone, without disturbing the functioning of the watch or the chronometric precision of its self-winding movement.
The Cellini Dual Time model is offered in four versions: with a black or silver dial featuring a “rayon flammé de la gloire” guilloche motif, and with a 39 mm case in a choice of 18k white or Everose gold. It is mounted on an alligator leather strap with large scales, remborded and stitched, in shiny black or brown depending on the model, and fitted with an 18k gold buckle matching the gold of the case.
Each version is priced at $19,400. Specifications appear below the images.
Select Model Specifications
Functions
Center hour, minute and seconds hands
Second time zone at 6 o’clock with day/night indicator
Case
39 mm, 18k Everose gold, polished finish
Double bezel, domed and fluted
Domed case back, screw down
Flared screw-down winding crown
with Rolex emblem
Domed sapphire crystal
Waterproof to a depth of 50 meters
Movement
Self-winding mechanical movement,
Manufacture Rolex
COSC-certified chronometer
Blue Parachrom hairspring with Breguet overcoil
28,800 beats/hour (4Hz)
31 rubies
Approximately 48-hour power reserve
Dial
Silver guilloche
18k pink gold hour markers and hands
Strap
Shiny brown alligator leather
18k Everose gold buckle
This article was originally published on September 4, 2014, and has been updated.
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