Most people know that the Omega Speedmaster became the first watch ever worn on the moon when astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the lunar surface in 1969. However, do you know that several Rolex watches also went to the moon? One of them is a Rolex GMT-Master chronometer watch Ref. 1675 worn by Edgar Mitchell during the Apollo 14 mission. The American astronaut spent nine hours walking the surface of the Moon with the Rolex on his wrist. The historically significant timepiece is up for auction, making it only the second lunar Rolex publicly available.
Mitchell’s Rolex with the highly desirable red and blue Pepsi bezel is truly special. It’s the first automatic watch and Rolex ever worn on the Moon. There are many photos and videos of Mitchell with his Rolex during the Moon mission. The most famous one shows the American astronaut winding the Rolex and putting it on his wrist before his flight. The caseback is engraved with the following: “Worn by Cdr. E. Mitchell on Apollo 14, 1971, To Karlin—My Daughter.”
All Apollo astronauts were famously issued Omega Speedmaster Pro watches. However, Mitchell chose to wear this GMT-Master to the moon along with his Omega, as confirmed by pre-flight suit-up images and footage shot inside the command module. The only lunar Rolex previously sold at auction belonged to Apollo 17 Astronaut Ron Evans. Reportedly, Evans asked his fellow crew members Cernan and Schmitt to take his watch down to the lunar surface for him. The watch was bought by Rolex in an auction in 2009 for $131,450.
Mitchell’s Pepsi Rolex appears in perfect condition with a beautiful patina. It is fitted with the original Rolex Steelinox bracelet with fliplock clasp. The watch is being sold by RR Auctions with the current maximum bid of $45,000 at the time of publication. However, the auction ends three weeks later, which means there’s still plenty of time left. The lunar Rolex is expected to sell for around $400,000, possibly breaking the record for the most expensive GMT-Master ever sold.
