Edgar Mitchell’s Apollo 14 Rolex GMT-Master is getting auctioned by RR Auction, and interested parties have been invited to place a bid.
The bidding process started on September 26th and will end on October 25th. Twenty bids have been placed so far, and the highest at press time is $132,000.
With that said, the Rolex GMT-Master 1675 tops the list when it comes to space exploration, as it’s one of the first timepieces to be worn on the moon.
In 1971, NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell embarked on a space exploration expedition known as the Apollo 14 mission with seven other astronauts who joined forces with him to form an eight-man team.
Unlike the previous expedition, the Apollo 14 mission was quite successful. The crew made it through the toughest phases and landed on the moon without facing any major setbacks.
Only two astronauts, Edgar Mitchell and Alan Shepard, were lucky enough to set foot on the moon’s surface. They both trekked through a region that had not been explored yet, the lunar highlands.
Pictures and videos taken during the Apollo 14 trip captured Edgar Mitchell, with the GMT-1675 on his wrist, while he was gearing up for the expedition in the pre-launch phase.
He didn’t take the watch off after getting on board the spacecraft. Thanks to the Apollo 14 footage, some pictures also illustrate how he rocked the watch in the command module.
As a piece passed down to Edgar’s daughter, the Apollo 14 GMT-Master 1675 has an inscription on the back casing; “Worn by Cdr. E. Mitchell on Apollo 14, 1971. To Karlin—My Daughter.”
Since this timepiece is fitted with a red and blue bezel and a black dial, it is also known as the Rolex GMT-Master ‘Pepsi’ due to the contrasting hues. It is also worthwhile to note that it’s still in pristine condition and comes with a certificate for verifying ownership and legitimacy. Plus, Edgar wrote this on the certificate: “The accompanying Rolex watch was worn by me during the Apollo 14 mission.”
By 1971, a few astronauts, such as Edgar Mitchell, were open to wearing other watch models during expeditions.
Well, Omega Speedmaster’s popularity grew like wildfire, and it became the go-to watch for space exploration. Even though Edgar had the Omega Speedmaster during the Apollo 14 mission, he preferred wearing the GMT-Master 1675 to the Omega Speedmaster.
Other astronauts who wore a Rolex timepiece on space expeditions include Jack Swigert (Apollo 13), Stuart Roosa from Apollo 14, and Ron Evans (Apollo 17).
