The Vault › All references › Milgauss
Milgauss · 1956 to 1960
“Original Milgauss”
Grade A · 88/100Today's call: Buy
A: strong buy-and-hold. Ranked #13 of 164 references in The Crown Index vault.
| Original retail (1957) | $200 |
|---|---|
| Market today | $400,000 – $900,000 |
| Vs original retail | +324900% |
| 1-year trend | +3% |
The very first Milgauss, built for scientists at CERN and other labs who needed a watch that would keep time near strong magnetic fields.
It introduced the lightning-bolt seconds hand that the modern Milgauss revived decades later, and some examples have a honeycomb-textured dial.
Very few were made because, as it turned out, scientists did not buy many expensive watches. That commercial failure is exactly what makes it a grail now.
Original examples rarely appear outside major auctions, and the CERN-issue versions without luminous paint are among the rarest standard Rolex variants known.
Our verdict: A: the scientist's grail. A six-figure-plus watch where originality is the whole price.
| Sizes | 38mm |
|---|---|
| Case & bracelet material | Oystersteel (stainless) |
| Factory bracelet | Oyster |
| Factory bezels | Rotating bezel with graduations |
| Notable dials | Black, some with honeycomb pattern; CERN-issue dials without lume (extremely rare) |
| Caliber | 1066M |
| Production | 1956 to 1960 (discontinued) |
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