Rolex - The Geneva Watch Auction: XVIII Geneva Friday, November 3, 2023 | Phillips

Create your first list.

Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.

  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: Circa 1980
    Reference No: 1019
    Movement No: M886207
    Case No: 6'136'663
    Model Name: Milgauss
    Material: Stainless steel
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 1570, 26 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet, reference 78360, end links stamped 580, max length 205mm
    Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Rolex deployant clasp
    Dimensions: 37.5mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed
    Accessories: Accompanied by Rolex guarantee dated February 3, 1990, product literature and presentation box.

  • Catalogue Essay

    The Milgauss is the result of a direct collaboration between Rolex and Geneva-based CERN - Centre Européen de Recherche Nucléaire (European Organization for Nuclear Research). Their aim was to develop a wristwatch that could withstand intense magnetic fields and thus be worn by the CERN engineers and laboratory workers constantly in highly magnetic environments.

    The result was the Milgauss, deriving its name from the Latin “mille” meaning a thousand, and “Gauss” representing the unit measure for magnetism. Accordingly, it could withstand exposure of up to 1000 Gauss with no effect on accuracy, whereas a typical watch movement can only withstand up to 70-90 Gauss. In the early 1960s, the newly introduced Rolex Milgauss reference 1019, like the present lot, replaced the original two versions: references 6541 and 6543. Significantly thinner than its predecessors, it was manufactured until 1990 and was available only in stainless steel.

    An extremely niche tool watch, the Milgauss was never a commercial success and consequently production numbers were low. Fitting, as the guarantee of the present watch is stamped for the year 1990, meaning the timepiece sat as stock for many years before it was sold in Hamburg.

    The present watch is fitted with a black matte dial that permits the desirable red “Milgauss” text at 12 o’clock to stand out. This example is in exceptional, most probably unpolished and original condition as it retains all its sharp edges and bevels. The bracelet as well retains its original satin finish. The Rolex sticker on the back suggests that this watch was rarely worn, if ever. Accompanied by its original guarantee and presentation box, it is an exemplary example.

  • Artist Biography

    Rolex

    Swiss • 1905

    Founded in 1905 England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, it soon became known as the Rolex Watch Company in 1915, moving its headquarters to Geneva in 1919. Like no other company, the success of the wristwatch can be attributed to many of Rolex's innovations that made them one of the most respected and well-known of all luxury brands. These innovations include their famous "Oyster" case — the world's first water resistant and dustproof watch case, invented in 1926 — and their "Perpetual" — the first reliable self-winding movement for wristwatches launched in 1933. They would form the foundation for Rolex's Datejust and Day-Date, respectively introduced in 1945 and 1956, but also importantly for their sports watches, such as the Explorer, Submariner and GMT-Master launched in the mid-1950s.

    One of its most famous models is the Cosmograph Daytona. Launched in 1963, these chronographs are without any doubt amongst the most iconic and coveted of all collectible wristwatches. Other key collectible models include their most complicated vintage watches, including references 8171 and 6062 with triple calendar and moon phase, "Jean Claude Killy" triple date chronograph models and the Submariner, including early "big-crown" models and military-issued variants.

    View More Works

34

Ref. 1019
A highly rare and exceptionally well-preserved antimagnetic stainless steel wristwatch with center seconds, bracelet, caseback sticker, guarantee and presentation box

Circa 1980
37.5mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed

Estimate
CHF20,000 - 40,000 
€20,800-41,500
$22,000-44,000

Sold for CHF38,100

Contact Specialist

Alexandre Ghotbi
Deputy Chairman, Watches, Head of Watches, Europe, and Middle East

+41 79 637 17 24
AGhotbi@phillips.com

Tiffany To
Head of Sale, Geneva

+41 79 460 55 88
TiffanyTo@phillips.com

test

The Geneva Watch Auction: XVIII

Geneva Auction 3 - 4 November 2023