When it comes to space-flown watches, most collectors have one brand in mind: The Omega Speedmaster.
The timepiece — which would go on to be known as the “Moon Watch” — was chosen in the 1960s during testing for the Apollo missions, beating out Rolex and Longines for the prestigious title of the official watch of NASA astronauts.
While Omegas continue to enjoy a storied history as the watch worn by astronauts such as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the moon, a handful of astronauts did carry Rolex watches.
The sixth human to walk on the moon, Edgar Mitchell wore a Rolex GMT-Master “Pepsi” along with his Omega during the nine hours he spent walking on the moon during the Apollo 14 mission in 1971, making the watch the first Rolex to ever reach the lunar surface.
Due to NASA’s preference for Omega watches for its astronauts, as well as laws which require astronauts return NASA-issued equipment to the government, space-flown Rolexes are exceptionally rare to begin with, let alone at auction.
RR Auctions sold Mitchell’s Rolex for a record $2.16 million on Thursday night. The watch easily blew through the pre-auction estimate of $400,000 and now ranks as the most expensive item ever sold at RR Auctions.
It comes with a signed letter from Mitchell and is inscribed on its caseback: “WORN BY CDR. E. MITCHELL ON APOLLO 14, 1971, TO KARLIN MY DAUGHTER.”
Though this is the first Rolex to ever reach the moon, it’s the second lunar Rolex to hit the auction block, as Heritage previously sold the watch worn by Ron Evans during Apollo 17 in 1972 as a backup for the Omega for $131,450 in 2009. That watch was purchased by Rolex itself. Heritage has since received public offers of up to $250,000 (2015), according to the auction listing.
No other Apollo-flown Rolex watches are known to have ever been sold at public auction. Though there are no images of Mitchell wearing the watch on the moon known to exist, he can be seen with the watch on his wrist in pre-flight images and film.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.