Watch Paparazzi

Footballer Lorenzo Pellegrini spotted wearing Rolex

Before one of Serie A's most-watched fixtures — AS Roma versus Juventus — club captain Lorenzo Pellegrini was photographed on the wrist wearing a rose gold Rolex Cellini Moonphase reference 50535. The sighting is notable not just for the watch itself, but for its timing: Rolex has recently discontinued nearly the entire Cellini collection, making surviving examples increasingly relevant to collectors.

The Rolex Cellini Moonphase ref. 50535 is built around the calibre 3195, a self-winding movement with a patented Rolex moonphase mechanism engineered to require a single-day correction only once every 122 years — a level of astronomical precision rarely discussed in the same breath as a dress watch. The 39 mm case is crafted in 18ct Everose gold, Rolex's proprietary rose gold alloy developed to resist fading over time. The lacquered dial presents a moonphase aperture at 6 o'clock flanked by a deep blue sky disc, with a date window at 3 and a clean, classical layout that reflects the Cellini line's roots in Renaissance-era Florentine goldsmithing — the collection is named after Benvenuto Cellini, the 16th-century artist and metalworker.

From a collector standpoint, the ref. 50535 occupies a fascinating niche. It is one of the most mechanically complex watches Rolex produces for the civilian market, yet it has historically traded below many simpler Oyster references simply because it lacks the brand's iconic sporting codes. The recent discontinuation of the broader Cellini range — with only the Cellini Time apparently surviving in limited form — has reframed these watches as finite objects, and secondary market attention is beginning to reflect that shift.

Pellegrini, known for a playing style that prizes technical elegance over brute force, has built a reputation as one of Italian football's more thoughtful personalities. The choice of a discontinued Rolex dress complication rather than a steel Daytona or ceramic GMT reads as a deliberate one — and a discerning one.

At retail, the Rolex Cellini Moonphase ref. 50535 in Everose gold was listed at approximately $19,700 before discontinuation. On the grey market, with supply drying up and collector interest sharpening, examples are now trading at a modest premium, typically between $20,000 and $24,000 depending on condition and box-and-papers status.