The watch pictured above was worn by astronaut Edgar Mitchell in 1971 onboard the Apollo 14 mission. It was the highest grossing of the five watches in this offering, all of which were either worn in space or commemorate an astronaut’s trip there.
Boston—RR Auction in Boston concluded its “Space Auction” on Oct. 24, garnering a total of $4.27 million.
The sale featured a collection of space-related items, including five watches that were either worn in space or commemorate an astronaut’s trip there.
A highlight of the auction was the late Edgar Mitchell’s Rolex GMT-Master “Pepsi” watch, which was estimated to sell for over $400,000.
The rare timepiece sold for $2.2 million.
It is the second Apollo-flown Rolex watch to ever be sold publicly. The first was astronaut Ron Evans’ Apollo 17 Rolex GMT-Master, which went to auction in 2009.
Astronaut Edgar Mitchell wearing his personal Rolex GMT-Master “Pepsi” in the Apollo 14 Command Module.
Along with being a flown artifact that was documented in pre-flight and in-flight footage of Mitchell, the watch is a family heirloom.
The caseback is engraved with, “Worn by Cdr. E. Mitchell on Apollo 14, 1971, To Karlin—My Daughter.”
Mitchell’s Rolex features a 26-jewel Oyster Perpetual Movement, a black dial, a blue and red “Pepsi” color scheme on its rotating bezel, and a “Cyclops” magnifier over the date indicator.
“This Rolex GMT-Master isn’t just a watch—it’s a piece of space history, flown on one of humanity’s greatest adventures,” said Bobby Livingston, executive vice president at RR Auction.
“It represents both the precision of Rolex craftsmanship and the daring spirit of Apollo astronauts.”
A second watch worn by Mitchell went up for auction as well. His Bulova Astronaut Mark I watch with a custom “Houston” dial sold for $10,981, well above its estimate of $1,000 or more.
French cosmonaut Jean-Loup Chrétien’s Omega Speedmaster Pro “Moonwatch” also did well in the sale.
French cosmonaut Jean-Loup Chrétien’s Omega Speedmaster Pro “Moonwatch,” that was worn aboard the Argatz expedition in 1988
It sold for $106,409, more than three times its estimated sale price of $30,000 or more.
The watch was worn aboard the Argatz expedition in 1988, and it features an engraving on its caseback that reads, “Flight-Qualified By NASA For All Manned Space Missions, The First Watch Worn On The Moon.”
Also in the sale, the TAG Heuer Formula 1 SpaceX commemorative watch (Ref. PJ5535) sold for $19,285. It was estimated at $8,000 or more.
Lot 6311, Dave Scott’s Omega Speedmaster Professional Apollo 11 commemorative watch, did not sell.
It did not reach the reserve price established by the consignor, the auction house said, and will be included in an upcoming auction.
A Lunar Module Attitude controller from Astronaut Edgar Mitchell’s personal collection. It was used to pilot the spacecraft to the surface of the moon during Apollo 14.
Along with the watches, RR Auction sold other space artifacts in the auction, notably a Lunar Module Attitude controller that was used to pilot the spacecraft to the moon’s surface during Apollo 14.
It was estimated at $400,000 and sold for $425,184.
To view the full results of the “Space Auction,” visit the RR Auction website.
