Meet The Precursor of The Rolex Milgauss - The Rolex Scientific Chronometre

By James Mulvale

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Whilst today Rolex watches are primarily luxury goods and tool watches second, that wasn’t always the case. Until the advent of quartz technology, mechanical watches were the only choice for accurate timekeeping. This meant that wristwatches were arguably far more essential parts of people’s everyday lives than they are today.
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It’s this simple fact that Rolex capitalised on for much of its history, bringing out watches that were capable of providing accurate timekeeping in ever more harsh environments. Models like the Submariner, GMT-Master, and Milgauss were all developed with specific environments in mind. Indeed, one of Rolex’s most famous ad campaigns showed its watches in various scenarios with the slogan “if you were (insert activity here) tomorrow, you’d wear a Rolex.”
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However, even before the creation of these iconic models, Rolex was advertising its watches being used in specific circumstances. For example, as early as 1927 Rolex gave Mercedes Gleitze a waterproof Oyster watch to wear on her swim across the English Channel, in order to prove the watch’s durability.
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One of the most famous Rolex watches from this period is the Rolex Prince. It was a rectangular watch with two dials - one for hours and minutes, and another for seconds. This special seconds dial was particularly useful for doctors needing to track the time when taking a patient’s pulse, and whilst I can find no evidence that the Prince was marketed specifically to doctors, it nonetheless became known as a “doctors’ watch”.
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About The Rolex Scientific Chronometer
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But we’re not here to talk about the Prince. Instead, we’re here to talk about an even rarer watch - the Rolex “Scientific” Chronometer. There’s surprisingly little information about the Scientific online, but a cursory search shows that Rolex produced several versions of the watch throughout the 1930s.
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In fact, so little information is available that I can’t say for certain what use the watch was intended for, but it seems reasonable to assume that it was marketed towards the scientific community. This makes sense as scientists often need the ability to record elapsed time accurately when performing experiments.
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The Scientific came in several variations, in a variety of cases, but they all shared a very similar dial layout. The first distinguishing feature of the Scientific Chronometers is that they have sector dials, with three separate tracks, one each for the hours, minutes, and seconds. The reason for this is that it allows for more precise timing of each, and the seconds' track even has graduations for fifths of a second. To support this the tip of each hand extends right to the end of its respective track. Furthermore, the seconds hand on many of the watches, including the example we have here, is bright red so that it can be easily distinguished at a glance. Lastly, the dial itself is actually made from white enamel, which offers excellent contrast compared to the handset and painted markings.
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When it was new, the watch was of course a certified chronometer, something that was exceptionally rare for a watch at this time period. After all, it was only in 1910 that Rolex achieved fame with the first ever wristwatch to be granted a chronometer certification. The need of having a watch marketed to scientists be highly accurate goes without saying, and it’s a testament to the high standards of Rolex that these watches were so thoroughly tested.

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Was It All Just A Marketing Trick?
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Of course, the interesting thing about these Scientific Chronometers is that, despite their practical nature, there is also a distinct fashion aspect to them. Many of the examples of the Rolex Scientific Chronometer I found online, including our example here, feature dressy gold cases, which seems somewhat formal for a scientific environment. In fact, the model as a whole has an obvious fashion slant to it. For all its functionality, the dial is also rather attractive, and sector dials were not uncommon in the 1930s.
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Which makes me wonder whether or not Rolex seriously intended these watches for use by those in scientific professions. It’s impossible to say either way, but I can’t help but think that the answer is no. This is for the simple reason that if anyone wanted to time something accurately for an experiment, they’d be much better off using a stopwatch.
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Instead, I think that this is an early example of Rolex marketing a product as being for a particular vocation in order to attract a wider customer base. It’s a strategy many brands still used today. Dive watches are advertised as being used by divers because that image is something for customers to aspire to. Brands want us to buy their product because we associate it with an activity we think is impressive. And I think that was the case with the Scientific Chronometer. By marketing the watch as being accurate enough for scientists, they were trying to attract customers who valued that extreme accuracy and the idea of owning a precision instrument.
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This is a theory supported by the name and marketing for the Rolex Prince. By calling the model the Prince, Rolex were implying that it was a watch of the highest quality, with few (if any) equals. One advert for the Prince leans into this with the tagline “The Rolex Prince - The watch for men of distinction.” Given the marketing angle for the Prince, it would be unsurprising if Rolex took a similar approach with the marketing of the Scientific.
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credit: Rolex Magazine.
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What Does The Rolex Scientific Chronometer Have To Do With The Rolex Milgauss?
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So how does the Scientific Chronometer relate to the Rolex Milgauss? Well, for anyone unfamiliar with the origins of the Milgauss, it too was a model created for use by scientists. Specifically, it was designed to withstand magnetic fields up to 1,000 gauss. Before the Milgauss was launched in 1956, medical staff, scientists, and other technical professionals had trouble with their watches, as any magnetic field over 50-100 gauss would disrupt a movement’s timekeeping. However, just like the Scientific Chronometer, whilst the Milgauss was the perfect watch for scientists, I’m dubious of how many people in that profession actually used one. Like their other marketing, I’d wager that Rolex wanted the technical prowess of the Milgauss to attract a more general customer.

The First Rolex Milgauss launched in 1956 with a tagline "Honouring Science" Credit:Rolex.
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Therefore, it seems that in many ways, the Rolex Scientific Chronometer is something of a precursor to the more famous Milgauss. But, whilst the latter would become a well-known model in the Rolex catalogue, the former has faded into obscurity.
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But that obscurity is great for vintage Rolex collectors, as it makes these scarce early Rolexes underappreciated pieces. And, given that the prices of vintage Rolexes are reaching evermore insane heights, that’s only a good thing. The Scientific Chronometer gives collectors a chance to own a cool piece of Rolex’s early history at a very reasonable price.
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Fortunately, we have an example of the Rolex Scientific Chronometer available right here at Waecce. You can view the product listing here

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