That's actually really cool I would love to see something like that in person.

 

Ahh the millgauss. Not as anti-magnetic as even the most basic omegas, and apparently not as UV resistant either.

that being said I love the grey and orange dial.

 

How anti-magnetic is it? I know Hodinkee had tested it to 4000 Gauss, which is a super strong magnet.

I don’t know anyone who would wear a steel of any sort in a field exceeding that. At that point, i’m worried about physical interactions to the case, not magnetization of the hairspring. Even stainless steel becomes ferromagnetic if work hardened, and I wouldn’t want to play around.

 

Rolex rates it at 1,000 gauss. Omega 8500 movements are rated at 15,000 gauss. So, even if Hodinkee tested the Milgauss to 4,000, that still falls significantly short of Omega.

 

It's a Milgauss. A very nice piece but hardly a vintage (or vintage variant) watch in high demand.

Have Rolex replace the dial and second hand and go, go, go for another 30 years...

 

an IV may be just what it needs to regain the strength to fight against the dial fade.

 

Doh auto correct!!! UV…

 

Haha! I thought you were talking about IV curves, and thinking the magnetic shield makes a pretty good Faraday cage.

In terms of what the Milgauss is about, it’s an antiquated technology that has been superseded many times over by modern tech. Just like dive watches, Pilot watches, tachymeters.

Now, for the shielding to work, the dial needs to contain just as much flux as the plate in back. I wonder in the dial is a different material

 

Given brass is antimagnetic and is the material of choice for watch dials, I’m going to guess it is brass. It is what Rolex uses for majority of their other dials.

 

That would make sense from manufacturing. But it would not make sense from magnetics. Brass is not ferromagnetic, but a shield needs to be ferromagnetic, but also needs low remanence.

You’d either shield it front and rear, or not shield it at all. The Milgauss is becoming a puzzle to me. Given how many scientists probably own the watch, I surprised there isn't more technical info about it. I may be forced to run my own experiments

 

Hmm... do you think divers own and use dive watches? Or do Pilots use Pilots watches?

 

I think they own them. I dont think they are often used to time decompression or bombing runs. Neither tachymeters to calibrate speedometers.

I am a scientist, and I do know other scientists attracted to the Milgauss.

 

If you still have the dial, hold a magnet against it

 

Oh, it’s not mine but it does look like brass(?) I’m just sharing the images here.

 

Ah. I do agree.

Just full disclosure. I am a scientist with a few patents in the field of magnetics. And a Milgauss owner.

And I am trying very hard not to dissect my watch to answer these questions.

 

But I feel a force pulling me in.

(is no one getting my magnet puns? - I know they can be polarizing)

 

I believe that the original IWC Ingenieur had a soft iron layer on the back of the dial, which combined with the soft iron back cover to make a faraday cage around the movement. I've never heard anything about the Milgauss dial material.

 

Yes. The Mark Series has that soft iron shield as well. Rolex doesn’t disclose the material of the rear shield either. Curious.

 

@Dan S its not a faraday cage.

I’m only saying that as I was spanked down on that issue lol.