You Can Now Bid On This Rolex Worn On The Moon
An out-of-this-world Rolex timepiece with a lunar legacy.
It’s a tricky task indeed to build a watch that can land on the Moon itself, like the Omega Speedmaster. And yet, that’s not the only luxury watch with a lunar pedigree, and a privileged few watch enthusiasts have the chance to bid on another piece of history: A Rolex GMT-Master worn on Apollo 14 and on the surface of the Moon itself.
Up for grabs at auction now via RR Auction is a rather astounding “Pepsi” edition of the Rolex GMT-Master, taken to infinity and beyond (so to speak) by Commander Edgar Mitchell on Apollo 14. As the auctioneer notes, it’s one of only two Apollo-flown Rolex watches to hit the auction block, and its performance and heritage are (arguably) without compare. Of note, it’s the first Rolex watch to ever grace the surface of the moon, an accomplishment that only adds to a storied list of groundbreaking moments for the legendary watchmaker.
At a time when a piece like the Rolex Submariner remains infinitely covetable, and even as a series of valuable Rolex watches hit the secondary market, this particular GMT timepiece stands apart from the pack. Edgar Mitchell wore none other than ref. #1675, serial no. 2448767, within the Command Module of Apollo 14 itself, and its specs are certainly nothing less than impressive. They include a custom engraving that’s especially momentous (Look closely and spot the notation, “Worn by Cdr. E. Mitchell on Apollo 14, 1971, To Karlin—My Daughter”).
Other signature specifications include the trademark blue-and-red “Pepsi” bezel, in addition to the famed 26-jewel Oyster Perpetual movement and a highly durable, now-iconic Rolex Steelinox bracelet. A watch fit for light years ahead, so to speak? One might say Rolex delivered in fine fashion.
The auctioneer notes that while Omega Speemaster Pro watches were issued to astronauts, some also preferred Rolex, and “Mitchell famously wore this GMT-Master to the moon along with his Omega, as documented in pre-flight suit-up images and in film footage taken inside the CM ‘Kitty Hawk.'” Accordingly, the auction is cruising along towards ever-more expensive heights: Bidding sits at $132,000 as of press time, and through October 24th, a fabled chance at history is but a few clicks away.
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