Rolex introduced the Milgauss in 1954-55 as the scientist’s watch

Rolex introduced the Milgauss in 1954-55 as the scientist’s fake watches, able to resist magnetic fields up to 1,000 gauss (mil- from the French mille, or thousand). Soon, it’d become known for being worn by scientists at Rolex’s Geneva neighbor, CERN. It was among a wave of other anti-magnetic perfect Rolex replica watches introduced in the ’50s, including the Omega Railmaster, Patek ref. 3417, Jaeger-LeCoultre Geophysic, and IWC Ingenuier. The first Milgauss, reference 6543, followed by the 6541, are some of the rarest and most mysterious watches in all of vintage Rolex.

“To me, the Milgauss 6541 and 6543 are the most elusive models in Rolex tool watch history,” Jasper Lijfering of Amsterdam Vintage Watches said. Jasper’s long called the early Milgauss his personal grail – his shop currently holds a 6541 in its “museum,” and he owns another example personally.Rolex produced the first reference 6543 for just a couple of years in the mid-’50s. The 6543 is really more a proof of concept – most believe Rolex produced less than a couple hundred, and only a handful have appeared on the modern market. It has an odd lug width between 19mm and 20mm, which meant it didn’t fit a traditional Oyster bracelet. 

Inside, it used a Faraday cage made of soft iron to protect the automatic movement inside from magnetism, the same approach that Rolex would use in later vintage cheap Rolex Milgauss copy omega replica watches.In 2017, a 6543 sold at Christie’s for CHF 271,500.As this example shows, the 6543 started to establish the Milgauss as a distinct reference – especially with that gorgeous black honeycomb dial webbed with metal for additional magnetic resistance – but it also has a rotating bezel that’s most associated with early Submariners. Christie’s also sold another 6543 in 2012, but this one has a bezel from the later 6541 and replacement hands from the even later 1019. If a 6543 in all-original condition ever appeared again on the market – and it’s possible it won’t, that’s how few there really are – there’s no telling what it could sell for.