A 6541 is rare, let alone one with perfect tropical dial.

In the 1950s Rolex released a quartet of toolwatches, sturdy and purpose built for the working men and women. These models forever changed the trajectory of watchmaking and have become a quintessential part of the Rolex DNA. After all, who hasn’t heard of the Submariner, the Explorer, and the GMT-Master. The fourth sibling, the Milgauss, is much less known though.

After the Genevan giant introduced a dedicated diver’s watch (the Submariner), a field watch (the Explorer), and a pilot’s watch (the GMT-Master), it turned its attention to the needs of engineers and scientists. These men and women often worked in environments with intense magnetic fields, such as power plants, hospitals, and labs. As strong magnetic fields have an adverse effect on the accuracy of watches, people working in such environments either had to accept a malfunctioning watch or forgo wearing one in the first place. Rolex found a solution to this problem by incorporating a soft iron inner case that protected the movement from harmful magnetism.

The references 6543 and 6541 were introduced in the second half of the 1950s. The name of the watch, Milgauss, was derived from the French word ‘mille’ (meaning thousand) and ‘Gauss’ (the scientific unit for magnetism). Tests by the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) in the late 1950s showed that the Milgauss was indeed able to withstand strong magnetic fields; an amazing technical accomplishment!
Nevertheless, sales of the ref. 6543 and 6541 were lackluster as few people had an actual need for the model’s anti-magnetic capabilities. All in all, it is estimated that fewer than 200 were ever produced between these two references, making them exceedingly rare and collectible. In fact, the two references are among the rarest regular production watches ever made by Rolex. Interestingly enough they also used quite some different configurations in regards to the dial, bezel and hand-set.

This ref. 6541 has the most amazing tropical dial we’ve ever seen on this reference. When the light hits it right, you will witness a spectacular shade of brown chocolate. This sought-after discoloring is especially impressive due to the waffle-like finish of the dial. Over time, the modelname faded from red to a soft pink hue, just like the triangle in the original bezel. Multiple handsets have been used on this reference, ours is equipped with -arguably- the most elegant. Complimenting the faceted markers at 3, 6 and 9. Of course an honorable mention goes out to the quirky lightning bolt shaped seconds hand that is characteristic to the 6541.

The case has thick lugs but has definitely seen a polishing wheel in the course of the last 65 years. Less important -but for full disclosure- the bracelet was replaced in the 1970’s so we sourced a period-correct one (dated 59) to compliment this amazing specimen.