Distinguished as being the only Rolex model to have been discontinued twice, the Milgauss first ran from 1956 to 1988, and then from 2007 to 2013. The very first Millgauss, however, is the 37 mm reference 6451, which UK perfect replica Rolex offered only from 1956 until 1959. That first Milgauss is increasingly hard to find, largely because serious Rollie collectors have snatched them up as essential members of prestigious collections.
As always, no one knows how many 6451s best fake Rolex produced, and the speculation on that number ranges wildly enough for us to avoid further speculation. What we do know is that not many 6451s come up for sale these days, driving prices higher.
Why was the 6451 such a flop? Because of the antimagnetic Milgauss’ orientation to engineering and science, one could call the 6451 a cheap super clone Rolex for nerds. Compared to SCUBA diving (Submariner), climbing mountains (Explorer), racing cars (Daytona), or piloting jets (Air-King, GMT-Master), the Milgauss suggested one might sport a white lab coat accentuated with a pocket protector full of pens—not exactly the aspiring adventurer’s ideal. Even today with the popularity of the devilishly handsome Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer, a scientist peering into a beaker isn’t something Rolex would plaster up on a billboard.
Flop it did, but the 6451 was a serious tool watch. Using the Oyster case and adding a rotating bezel, the original UK high quality copy Rolex Milgauss watches were essentially a pre-Submariner with beefed up anti-magnetism. There were a few differences between the models though, including the 6451’s honeycomb pattern dial, dots and arrows for hour markers, a bright red MILGAUSS name across the dial, and the (now) iconic lightning bolt seconds hand—all of which make it a favorite among collectors today.
Phillips auctioned a 6541 with box and papers at the 2023 edition of the Geneva Watch Auction for a whopping which was well over double the high estimate for the lot. That is the same online replica watches you see in the images above.
