From SwissWatchExpo… Spotlight on: The Rolex Milgauss. A Guide
to Rolex’s Anti-Magnetic watch.
Just as Rolex has created tool watches for sports professionals, they did so for scientists.
One of their most niched offerings, the Rolex Milgauss was created in 1954 especially for
those who worked in power plants, medical facilities, and research labs.
At the time, most watches were resistant to about 50 to 100 gauss – about the strength
of a refrigerator magnet.
As scientists, engineers, and technicians worked around magnetic fields, they often
found that the movement of their watches were bent, snapped, or damaged altogether.
Rolex sought to solve this problem…and created the Milgauss.
Tested by the European Organization for Nuclear Research or CERN, the world’s pre-eminent
particle physics laboratory, the Milgauss was found to be resistant to magnetic fields
up to 1,000 gauss.
Its name was derived from French mille meaning thousand and gauss, the unit of a magnetic
field.
So how did the Rolex Milgauss evolve to what it is today?
Let’s check out the most prominent models of the Milgauss since its launch.
The first Rolex Milgauss models were the reference 6543 and 6541 (six five four three and six
five four one).
They could be easily mistaken for a Submariner at a glance, because of the rotating bezel,
black dial, and Oyster bracelet.
Upon closer inspection though, the first Milgauss models had very distinct characteristics.
A honeycomb pattern dial, dauphine or alpha hands in place of the Mercedes
hands; a combination of dots and arrows for the hour
markers; plus a bright red MILGAUSS name, set the
models apart.
Rolex replaced the first two models in the 1970s with the reference 1019 (one oh one
nine), and the design details of the original Milgauss were changed.
The reference 1019 (one oh one nine) never really found it’s footing, and in 1988,
Rolex discontinued the Milgauss.
That wasn’t the end of the Rolex Milgauss, however!
In 2007, Rolex surprised everyone at Baselworld with the return of the anti-magnetic Rolex
Milgauss. Known for making small, evolutionary changes to their timepieces, Rolex created
a splash with a playful, unexpected design.
For the debut of the modern Milgauss reference 116400 (one one six four hundred), Rolex
offered three different versions:
a white dial version, a black dial version,
and an anniversary version with a black dial.
The first two models feature a choice between a white and a black dial.
Rolex went back to the unique lighting bolt shape for the seconds hand, and replaced what
would have been a clinical polished stainless steel, with a bright orange hand.
The minutes track and hour markers were crafted in the same bright orange.
The result was a look that’s clean, but far from boring.
Now, this was perhaps the most controversial of the Milgauss models – the reference 116400GV
(one one six four hundred GV) Anniversary Watch.
The Anniversary Model also had a black dial, but came with a sapphire crystal that was
lightly tinted green, giving the watch a unique green halo, not seen in other Rolex watches.
Adding more color to the watch is an orange lighting bolt seconds hand, orange 3-6-9 markers,
plus orange minute indices.
The suffix GV stands for French glace verte (glas vert) or Green Glass.
In 2014, Rolex released an even more colorful version of the modern Milgauss – the Z Blue
dial, named such for its electric blue dial coated with Zirconium.
Unlike classic blue watches made by Rolex, the metallic blue dial tends to veer towards
green depending on how the light hits it.
It keeps all the same elements as the previous GV model, but with the blue dial, this became
one of Rolex’s most colorful modern models to date.
Dial design aside, the modern Rolex Milgauss models run on the same caliber 3131 (three
one three one) movement.
A COSC certified movement, with anti-magnetic features such as the Parachrom hairspring,
and a para-magnetic escape wheel.
Rolex eventually discontinued the non-GV Milguass models, and currently produces the black and
Z-blue 116400GV (one one six four hundred GV) models.
The non-GV Milgauss models are still available and sought after in the pre-owned market.
Just like the current models, they are very much in demand for those who seek a Rolex,
with a “wow” factor.
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