The New Rolex Milgauss

Christian already told you about the new Rolex Yacht-Master II and the new GMT Master II.The other Rolex announcement at Basel of interest is the new Rolex Milgauss, so named for its ability to resist a magnetic field of 1,000 Gauss.Why should you care?If you take a mechanical watch into a strong magnetic field, some ofthe parts in the movement become magnetized which causes problems;typically the watch will start to run quite fast and requiredemagnetization. The hairspring, made of an alloy called Nivarox,is particularly susceptible. One word of caution: for the new model, Rolex also lists "medicalimaging" as a target market, but a bit of math reveals this to be disingenuous. I also quite like how the combination of domed AR-coated crystal and hands makes the watch readable from a wider range of angles than anything else I've ever seen. It's readable at very oblique angles, which is also nice for sneaking the time in long meetings. If you look closely, you'll see that the hour and minute hands are white, and the second hand is a light shade of grey. It's a nice touch. Also look at the complex curved shape of the lugs; very beautiful and yet hardly noticeable. The button guards are sculpted ridges of metal, and yet the buttons are easily pressed while wearing gloves. Speaking of buttons, I have to mention that the X-33 has the nicest of any I have ever pressed, bar none. Firm, very definite, almost a 'snap' feel to them. Lovely.