Legend has it that many of the early NASA astronauts were Rolex guys, from Wally Schirra of Apollo 7 and Frank Borman of Apollo 8, to Jack Swigert and James Lovell of the ill-fated Apollo 13. Each wore Rolex GMT-Master references from Rolex reaching back to their days as test pilots for the government. Omega’s Speedmaster may be formally associated with the space program, but there’s no denying the informal association of Rolex, and the GMT-Master in particular. This week, one of these GMT-Master watches is heading to auction, the reference 1675 worn by Edgar Mitchell during Apollo 14, which landed in the Fra Mauro Highlands region of the moon on February 7th, 1971.
This is the second flown GMT-Master to be auctioned, the first being the 2009 sale of Ron Evans’ GMT worn to the moon during Apollo 17. Evan’s GMT-Master would sell for $131,450, and features a story you can read about right here. The Omega Speedmaster watches are issued to the astronauts by NASA, and are therefore not their property, meaning they almost never make it to the open market in such a manner. This also means that those Speedmasters are generally on display to be enjoyed by all at museums, where they belong. Except for Buzz Aldrin’s Speedmaster, which famously vanished en route to the Smithsonian.
Edgar Mitchell was the Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 14, and made the descent to the moon’s surface with Commander Alan Shepard, while Command Module Pilot Stuart A. Roosa would remain in orbit. Mitchell can be seen preparing for the launch affixing the GMT-Master to his right wrist, over the sleeve of his sweater, but under the glove of the suit. What’s interesting about this watch is that it is fitted with 285 end links from a reference 1665 Sea-Dweller, and uses the Sea-Dweller’s diver extension in the clasp, allowing for extra room so that it can be worn over a cuff (though not a wetsuit, in this instance). This suggests that the watch was indeed worn under his space suit during EVAs, though this is not clarified in his letter confirming provenance of the watch.
Photographs from the moon taken by Alan Shepard show Mitchell with his issued Omega Speedmaster being worn over his space suit while consulting a map. This Speedmaster currently resides in the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian, still on its fabric strap.
This 1675 has a 2.4M serial number dating it to 1969, and its overall condition is rather remarkable, suggesting perhaps that it was worn somewhat sparingly after Apollo 14, likely knowing its significance. The case back is engraved with a personalized message to Mitchell’s daughter, Karlin: “Worn by Cdr. E. Mitchell on Apollo 14, 1971, To Karlin—My Daughter.” The engraving itself looks rather modern compared to the rest of the watch, and was likely put there in relatively recent history.
Dial and case condition feel less relevant here, even if they have been refinished, as the watch itself is associated with such a momentous moment in the history of our species. Auction estimates for this watch are at $400,000, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see it end up well beyond that when the auction concludes on October 24th. This post will be updated with the final price at its conclusion. RR Auction
UPDATE: This Rolex GMT-Master 1675 worn by Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell sold for $2,163,199 at auction.