Rolex

nickel lever movement (cal.1066M), 25 jewels, free-sprung mono-metallic compensation balance, adjusted to 5 positions and temperature, metal movement cover, honey-comb patterned black dial, luminescent circular and applied luminescent triangular numerals, centre seconds, Oyster case with screw-down crown and case back, inscription to case back, black rotating bezel, case, dial and movement signed, with a stainless steel sprung Rolex Oyster bracelet and folding clasp

Accompanied by a green Rolex presentation case, original dated and numbered guarantee, original receipt of sale and spare steel Rolex Oyster bracelet.

Purchased from Watches of Switzerland's branch in Coventry on 5th February 1969, this lot is sold with the original receipt noting the sale price of £75.00.

Launched in 1954, 'Milgauss' reference 6541 is one of the most iconic Rolex Sports watches. The present example is both curious and rare for it features the typical honeycomb patterened dial and circular and sharp triangular numerals, yet no Milgauss signature. Furthermore, rather than the the dauphine hands and straight or 'lightning' centre seconds, the present lot featuers Submariner style Mercedes hands. It has previously been noted by researchers such as Martin Skeet and Nick Urul, that the late versions of reference 6541 featured Submariner hands. It has been suggested that, as the transformed 6541 was becoming stylistically more similar to the Submariner, its sales were falling whilst the Submariner's were continuing to rise. Indeed, as if to illustrate the point, whilst the present watch is date stamped 1958, the watch was not sold until more than a decade later. During the 1950s, Rolex had launched several different Submariner references and interestingly, when the Milguass reference 6541 was discontinued in the late 1950s, its replacement in the early 1960s was totally different in style and featured a fixed rather than rotating bezel. Consequently, it would appear that the present example of the Milgauss may have been manufactured during a transitional period towards the end of reference 6541's production.

The Milgauss was designed to be used by scientists and those working in areas where exposure to high magnetic fields was unavoidable, the watch was guaranteed to resist magnetic fields up to 1,000 oersted. Indeed, the word Milgauss means 1,000 gauss (gauss being a measurement for magnetic induction). Magnetic fields can affect a watch's accuracy at just 60 oersted, at 100 oersted the watch will no longer work. The Milgauss overcame the effects of magnetic fields by using anti-magnetic alloys and an iron movement cover. For further information see: Skeet, M., & Urul, N., Vintage Rolex Sports Models, 2002, pp.90-94.