RR Auction house is offering the GMT-Master ‘Pepsi’ model watch worn by the late astronaut Edgar Mitchell – the sixth man to walk on the Moon..
Texas-born aviator Edgar Mitchell piloted the Lunar Module on the Apollo 14 mission in 1971 and is famously seen wearing his Rolex GMT-Master chronometer watch (Reference #1675) in film footage of him suiting up prior to flight and in onboard footage taken inside the Command Module.
This incredibly rare watch nicknamed the ‘Pepsi’ is only the second Rolex watch to have been on the moon to ever be auctioned, it’s caseback is engraved, “Worn by Cdr. E. Mitchell on Apollo 14, 1971, To Karlin-My Daughter.”
It features a 26-jewel Oyster Perpetual Movement, black dial, blue-and-red bezel with 24-hour scale, date indicator with famous Rolex ‘Cyclops’ magnifying bubble in the acrylic crystal, and Rolex Steelinox bracelet with fliplock clasp.
The bezel rotates so that the local time zone and Greenwich Mean Time may be simultaneously represented, a system developed thanks to the age of flight – Rolex collaborated with Pan American World Airways to devise the scheme, so that their long-haul pilots could keep track of both local time and GMT, which was used for all aviation flight planning. In fine cosmetic condition, with light scratches and wear from use; the watch’s function is untested. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by Mitchell, certifying that “the accompanying Rolex watch was worn by me during the Apollo 14 mission.”
Although all Apollo astronauts were famously issued Omega Speedmaster Pro watches, some preferred their Rolex chronometers – 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.’ Stuart Roosa also flew with his Rolex GMT-Master on Apollo 14, as did Jack Swigert on Apollo 13 and Ron Evans on Apollo 17. To date, the only Apollo-flown Rolex to be publicly offered is Apollo 17 CMP Ron Evans’s ‘Pepsi’ GMT-Master, sold at auction in 2009.
As the NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster Pro chronographs remain property of the United States government, any watch flown on an Apollo mission is exceedingly rare – Only one other Rolex that has been to the moon has ever been auctioned before and that was Apollo 15 Commander Dave Scott’s lunar surface-worn chronograph, which achieved over $1.5 million at RR Auction in 2015.
Bidding is currently at about $132,000 but is expected to climb through the stratosphere. The lot will close on October 24th.
