Lot 54

Rolex

Milgauss

An attractive, early Geneva wristwatch anti-magnetic to 1000 Gauss - with original sales receipt

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The Rolex Milgauss reference 116400 launched in 2007 and is one of the most distinctive and technically groundbreaking models made by Rolex. The watch was specially developed for scientists and engineers working in electromagnetic environments and provides a strong protection against electromagnetic fields. This version with white dial and black and orange-coloured indexes dates from 2007 and was produced in the early years of this modern reissue.
The watch in a 40 mm stainless steel case features a smooth bezel and a very well preserved classic Oyster bracelet with highly polished centre links. A particularly distinctive feature is the orange-coloured "lightning" seconds hand reminiscent of the original Milgauss in the 1950s. Another striking element is the green sapphire crystal, which was specially developed for the Milgauss. The white dial and the hands of this Rolex Milgauss 116400 bear a Super-LumiNova coat and are in perfect condition.

Telecommunications, aviation and aerospace industries, medical imaging, research facilities – to name but a few of the many sectors where scientists, engineers and technicians are exposed to strong magnetic fields on a regular basis. The Oyster Perpetual Milgauss has been purpose-built for these environments. Its name is a combination of "mil" (a thousand), and "gauss", (the unit of magnetic flux density, named after the German mathematician and physicist Carl Friedrich Gauss), and the wristwatch is resistant to a magnetic flux density of 1,000 gauss or tesla. Rolex uses its own parachrome spring and an escapement wheel made of a new paramagnetic material in the Milgauss. Ferromagnetic alloys provide the magnetic shielding protecting the movement. The original Milgauss was mostly sold for its unusual design – not many people needed a watch with all those functions the Milgauss provided. Thus the watch was never a big seller and Rolex discontinued the production in 1986. However, in 2007 Rolex relaunched the Milgauss with an outstanding design in three different styles: stainless steel with a white dial, stainless steel with a black dial and stainless steel with black dial and green glass. Since its comeback the Rolex Milgauss has come to be an extremely popular luxury timekeeper. In 2014, Rolex introduced the Milgauss 116400 in a version with a blue dial before it was finally discontinued in 2023.