Important Collectors Wristwatches, P...
New York - The Fuller Building, Dec 07, 2006
LOT 363
Ref. 6541, Stainless Steel ?Milgauss Black Dial? Rolex, ?Oyster Perpetual, Milgauss, Superlative Chronometer, Officially Certified?, Ref. 6541. Case No. 412103. Made in 1958. Very fine and extremely rare, antimagnetic, water-resistant, center seconds, selfwinding, stainless steel gentleman's wristwatch with ?lightning flash? seconds hand, ?honeycomb? dial and a stainless steel riveted Rolex Oyster bracelet.
USD 35,000 - 40,000
EUR 27,000 - 31,000
Sold: USD 69,620
C. Three-body, polished and brushed, screwed-down case back and crown, revolving graduated black bezel, anti-magnetic soft iron protection cap. D. Black soft iron flinqué "honeycomb" with luminous round indexes and steel triangular markers. Steel ?dauphine? hands, ?lightning flash? seconds hand. M. Cal. 1080, rhodium-plated, 25 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, monometallic balance adjusted to 5 positions and temperature, shock absorber, self-compensating Breguet balance spring. Dial, case and movement signed. Diam. 38 mm. Thickness 13 mm.
| Grading System | |
|---|---|
Grade: AA |
Very good |
Case: 3 |
Good |
Movement: 3* |
Good Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense |
Dial: 3-6-01 |
Good Slightly oxidized HANDS Original |
Notes
The name 'Milgauss', combines 'Mil', meaning (a thousand), and 'Gauss', for the unit of measure of magnetism. A normal movement can withstand up to 70-80 Gauss; over that its working order is compromised. Most good watches resist magnetic fields of 60 to 70 Gauss, but the 'Milgauss' keeps its astounding precision in magnetic fields up to 1000 Gauss. Yet with its dial, ring and the cover of its movement in soft iron forming a Faraday cage, Rolex created a model which brilliantly solved the problem.
German astronomer, mathematician and physicist. Author of important works on celestial mechanics, geodesy, magnetism, electromagnetism and optics.
English chemist and physicist, know for his pioneering experiments in electricity and magnetism. Many of his concepts, derived directly from experiments, such as lines of magnetic force, have become common ideas in modern physics.