Rolex, probably the most famous and widely know luxury brand, a brand on which we keep on discussing for ages!!. Today, let me talk about a line of watches from rolex which may not be as glamourous as the GMT, Submariner or even Daytona but it holds a special place in the Rolex lineage especially amongst the collectors.
A watch specifically targeted at the scientists…let me introduce the “Milgauss”. As you might have noticed the model got the name from the latin word “mille” which means thousand and “gauss” which is the unit of measurement of “magnetic flux density” or in simpler terms “magnetic induction”.
In 1956 Rolex introduced the Milgauss ref. 6451 in the famous oyster perpetual case. The watch was designed to be anti-magnetic, handmade for those working in power plants, medical facilities and research lab. An electric magnetic field greater than 50 to 100 gauss affects the watch greatly which leads to disruption of the accuracy, hence people working under those conditions required something which would resist the forces and maintain the accuracy.
In order to establish the claim that the watch was really resistant to the impacts of the magnetic field, Rolex got the watch tested by Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (European Council for Nuclear Research) famously known as CERN. The laboratory certified that the watch worked upto 1000 gauss. Thus backing the claims of the manufacturer.
The next model to be released was ref. 6541 and the modified ref. 1019 released in 1960 which had minute deviations from the original model. The ref. 1019 came with two dial options (white and black) and few of them didn’t have the “lightning bolt” hands.
Sadly the Milgauss was discontinued from 1988 and completely forgotten for a span of 20 years. But in 2007, Rolex revisited their roots and relaunched the new version of the old relic. Thus the ref. 116400 was born. The said model was famously known as “Glace Verte” or anniversary issue. The model featured a black dial with slight design difference highlighted by green tinted sapphire crystal.
To enhance the resistance to the magnetic field the oyster case of the new model houses a magnetic shield made up of ferromagnetic materials which were handpicked by the Rolex watchmakers. The model also has the famous Rolex Parachom blue spring which is thinner than human hair but shock resistant and immune to magnetic fields. The caliber 3131 movement powers the watch. The movement is a 31 jewels one with a power reserve of 48 hours. It has a frequency of 4 htz. As the diameter of the movement is 28.50mm the case is bigger in comparison to other models.
Paul Newman Daytonas, GMTs with bekelite bezel, comex submariners etc. might be the most sought-after models but the Milguass gives us a glimpse of Rolex’s ideology. Most of the brands, innovation meant complications such as perpetual calender, minute repeater etc but Rolex took a different path and designed a watch for scientists. Maybe it’s this mentality that makes the brand special!!!
The Enigmatic Pen 