Rolex - The New York Watch Auction: NINE New York Saturday, December 9, 2023 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: Circa 1967
    Reference No: 1019; inside caseback stamped 1019 II.67
    Movement No: M’210’287
    Case No: 1’636’711
    Model Name: Milgauss
    Material: Stainless steel
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 1580, 26 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Stainless steel Rolex riveted Oyster bracelet
    Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Rolex USA C&I deployant clasp, numbered 78
    Dimensions: 37.5mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement, and bracelet signed.

  • Catalogue Essay

    The Milgauss is the result of a direct collaboration between Rolex and the Geneva-based nuclear-research organization, 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.

    Reference 1019 was introduced to the market as the successor of references 6541 and 6543. While the new Milgauss retained its inner Faraday Cage to protect the movement from electromagnetic waves, the model also featured a fresh and modern update to its appearance such as a smooth bezel, modified dial layout, and updated case size. The present example is fitted with a dial variant with black inserts for the hour markers and hands, instead of a luminous material. Also known as a "CERN" dial, this configuration is believed to have been created with CERN and designed without tritium as the latter could affect sensitive radioactivity sensors.

    The present “CERN” Milgauss reference 1019 comes to us with a heartwarming story – purchased by the consignor for his father in 1981 at a jewelry store in Mississippi, it was a treasured gift worn faithfully for many years. The consignor’s grandfather was a World War II U.S. Army veteran who came to the United States from Italy in 1913. The clasp is engraved “GRANDPA – 1981.”

  • 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.

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117

Ref. 1019; inside caseback stamped 1019 II.67
An unusual and very rare stainless steel anti-magnetic wristwatch with center seconds, non-luminous "CERN" dial, and bracelet

Circa 1967
37.5mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement, and bracelet signed.

Estimate
$20,000 - 40,000 
CHF18,000-36,000
€18,700-37,400
HK$156,000-312,000
S$27,200-54,400

Sold for $27,940

Contact Specialist

Paul Boutros
Deputy Chairman and Head of Watches, Americas
+1 (212) 940-1293
WatchesNY@Phillips.com
 
Isabella Proia
Head of Sale, New York
+1 (212) 940 1285
iproia@phillips.com

The New York Watch Auction: NINE

New York Auction 9 - 10 December 2023