This past weekend, a Swiss luxury watchmaker Rolex representative sold a rare 1958 Rolex Milgauss for a record $2.5 million USD at Phillips. The sum paid at auction for the watch set a new world record.
A bidding war between a US collector and Rolex drove the price of the perfect timepiece over its already exorbitant pre-auction estimate of $1.1 million USD. The watch debuted in 1956 and was created with scientists in mind. This timepiece was built to endure intense laboratory electromagnetic fields. It was purportedly commissioned by researchers at CERN (the Council for European Nuclear Research) in Geneva. Researchers sought a wristwatch that could reliably tell time in the midst of powerful magnetic fields. In the end, a soft iron cage was added to the watch to safeguard the inner workings. The Milgauss can resist magnetic fields of up to one thousand gauss.
The 1958-made Rolex with the black honeycomb dial and the revolving bezel and the lightning-shaped second’s hands is up for sale now. In March, it stopped producing its most recent Milgauss model. Although Rolex’s anti-magnetic watch never became as famous as some of the company’s other models, it seems that collectors are still looking for one. Auction prices for vintage Milgauss watch regularly exceed six figures, but this sale has clearly established a new benchmark.
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Its strength and resistance to corrosion are also noteworthy, in addition to its resilience to magnetic fields. The Milgauss case, like all Rolex Oyster cases, can withstand depths of up to 100 meters (330 feet).
The 904L stainless steel may be found in every Rolex collection. This is a significant reason why all Rolex watches are so expensive; it guarantees that each one will be gorgeous, durable, and long-lasting.
