Rolex - The Hong Kong Watch Auction: TWO Hong Kong Monday, May 30, 2016 | Phillips

Create your first list.

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

  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: 1958
    Reference No: 6541
    Movement No: N867436
    Case No: 412'040
    Model Name: Milgauss
    Material: Stainless steel
    Calibre: Automatic, 1065, 25 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet, 175 mm. maximum length, end link stamped 82
    Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Rolex folding deployant clasp
    Dimensions: 38 mm. diameter
    Signed: Case, dial and movement signed
    Literature: For another example of a reference 6541, please see 100 Superlative Rolex Watches by John Goldberger, page 224 and 225.

  • Catalogue Essay

    Rolex launched the Milgauss reference 6541 in 1954. They designed the case with a secondary soft iron cage that surrounds the caliber 1065 that successfully shields it from magnetic forces up to 1000 gauss. The cases had to be larger to fit this secondary cage, therefore, making the watch larger which fits the taste of today's Rolex sport watch collectors.

    The present example manufactured in 1958 features the sought after flash seconds hand, its original bezel and insert and its original honeycomb dial that has aged to a beautiful and uniform tropical brown colour. A superb example of this highly collectible reference, the case is also preserved in very crisp condition.

  • 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

285

Ref. 6541
A very fine and very rare stainless steel anti-magnetic wristwatch with 'tropical' honeycomb dial, flash hand and bracelet

1958
38 mm. diameter
Case, dial and movement signed

Estimate
HK$1,000,000 - 2,000,000 

Sold for HK$1,180,000

Contact Specialist

Thomas Perazzi
Head of Watches, Asia
+852 2318 2001
thomasperazzi@phillips.com

Ziyong Ho
Specialist
+852 9386 2032
ziyongho@phillips.com

Jill Chen
Specialist
+852 2318 2033
jillchen@phillips.com

The Hong Kong Watch Auction: TWO

Hong Kong Auction 31 May 2016