Space-related watches

[Subfiend]

The Rolex Day Date on the left was given to Richard Gordon after Apollo 12 landed in 1969. He wore it continuously for the rest of his life.

The Omega Speedmaster, Ref. BA 145.022-69, is one of the 1,018 produced in 1969, the first 30 of which were given to NASA astronauts, including Gordon. He hardly ever wore his. The same goes for Pete Conrad and Michael Collins, who all seemed to prefer their gold Rolex Day Dates. Why? Any thoughts?


https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared...3jls9W4Zo6c_2U

[Xenophon]

Interesting, David. I wonder if the Day-Dates that Conrad and Collins had were gifted too. Perhaps they didn't like winding the Omegas. At the time was the Day-Date considered a "better" watch ?

[Subfiend]

Originally Posted by Xenophon

Interesting, David. I wonder if the Day-Dates that Conrad and Collins had were gifted too. Perhaps they didn't like winding the Omegas. At the time was the Day-Date considered a "better" watch ?

Sorry it has taken me so long to respond. I have been traveling since Sept. 2nd.

The first two successful moon landing crews of Apollo 11 and 12 appear to have been gifted watches by Rolex (most likely by Rene Denton of Rolex USA).

Michael Collins (SN 2123405), Pete Conrad and Richard Gordon (SN 2038922) had Ref. 1803 gold Day-Dates; and Buzz Aldrin had a Ref. 1675 GMT-Master. Neil Armstrong’s archive materials contain a full set of Rolex brochures and certificates for a Ref. 1675 GMT-Master, circa 1969. The serial number was in the same range as Michael Collins’ gold Day-Date and would indicate they received the watches around the same time.

Stuart Roosa and Edgar Mitchell wore their GMT-Masters during the Apollo 14 mission and Ronald Evans sent his GMT-Master down to the lunar surface during Apollo 17. Jim Lovell of Apollo 8 and 13 still wears the Ref. 1675 GMT-Master (which was gifted to him by the U.S. Naval Academy), and Scott Carpenter’s sons now have possession of his early prototype Sea-Dweller from the SEALAB 2 mission in 1965.

Jim Lovell told me the Omega Speedmaster was "the Government watch we wore at work." Most of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts wore Rolex as their personal watches. To military men who made an average of $18,000 per year, I imagine a solid gold Rolex retailing for $1,150 was quite prized, especially when this was the same watch worn by the Commander-In-Chief. And, even though Richard Nixon was President when Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, he had only been in office a few months, and he inherited the space program from Lyndon Johnson, who had presided over the program since he was Vice President under President John F. Kennedy.

[MonsterSS]

interesting stuff...

I would of thought the perpetual watches would not of worked in zero-gravity

[Xenophon]

Excellent, thanks David. I especially like the "the Government watch we wore at work." bit

[Ravager135]

Originally Posted by Subfiend

Sorry it has taken me so long to respond. I have been traveling since Sept. 2nd.

The first two successful moon landing crews of Apollo 11 and 12 appear to have been gifted watches by Rolex (most likely by Rene Denton of Rolex USA).

Michael Collins (SN 2123405), Pete Conrad and Richard Gordon (SN 2038922) had Ref. 1803 gold Day-Dates; and Buzz Aldrin had a Ref. 1675 GMT-Master. Neil Armstrong’s archive materials contain a full set of Rolex brochures and certificates for a Ref. 1675 GMT-Master, circa 1969. The serial number was in the same range as Michael Collins’ gold Day-Date and would indicate they received the watches around the same time.

Stuart Roosa and Edgar Mitchell wore their GMT-Masters during the Apollo 14 mission and Ronald Evans sent his GMT-Master down to the lunar surface during Apollo 17. Jim Lovell of Apollo 8 and 13 still wears the Ref. 1675 GMT-Master (which was gifted to him by the U.S. Naval Academy), and Scott Carpenter’s sons now have possession of his early prototype Sea-Dweller from the SEALAB 2 mission in 1965.

Jim Lovell told me the Omega Speedmaster was "the Government watch we wore at work." Most of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts wore Rolex as their personal watches. To military men who made an average of $18,000 per year, I imagine a solid gold Rolex retailing for $1,150 was quite prized, especially when this was the same watch worn by the Commander-In-Chief. And, even though Richard Nixon was President when Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, he had only been in office a few months, and he inherited the space program from Lyndon Johnson, who had presided over the program since he was Vice President under President John F. Kennedy.

Makes perfect sense to me. We idolize the Speedmaster today because where the model has been. To astronauts it was simply their "work watch" and would have preferred to wear a Rolex in their personal lives as the brand was already more prestigious with a Day Date certainly being a more coveted piece.

I was a Navy flight surgeon and I almost never saw pilots wearing IWC, Rolex, or Omega in the cockpit. If it wasn't a G shock, the only "luxury" watch I saw pilots wear were Breitling Aerospace models.

[flyinghell34]

Subfiend...

Originally Posted by Subfiend

Sorry it has taken me so long to respond. I have been traveling since Sept. 2nd.

The first two successful moon landing crews of Apollo 11 and 12 appear to have been gifted watches by Rolex (most likely by Rene Denton of Rolex USA).

Michael Collins (SN 2123405), Pete Conrad and Richard Gordon (SN 2038922) had Ref. 1803 gold Day-Dates; and Buzz Aldrin had a Ref. 1675 GMT-Master. Neil Armstrong’s archive materials contain a full set of Rolex brochures and certificates for a Ref. 1675 GMT-Master, circa 1969. The serial number was in the same range as Michael Collins’ gold Day-Date and would indicate they received the watches around the same time.

Stuart Roosa and Edgar Mitchell wore their GMT-Masters during the Apollo 14 mission and Ronald Evans sent his GMT-Master down to the lunar surface during Apollo 17. Jim Lovell of Apollo 8 and 13 still wears the Ref. 1675 GMT-Master (which was gifted to him by the U.S. Naval Academy), and Scott Carpenter’s sons now have possession of his early prototype Sea-Dweller from the SEALAB 2 mission in 1965.

Jim Lovell told me the Omega Speedmaster was "the Government watch we wore at work." Most of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts wore Rolex as their personal watches. To military men who made an average of $18,000 per year, I imagine a solid gold Rolex retailing for $1,150 was quite prized, especially when this was the same watch worn by the Commander-In-Chief. And, even though Richard Nixon was President when Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, he had only been in office a few months, and he inherited the space program from Lyndon Johnson, who had presided over the program since he was Vice President under President John F. Kennedy.

This is great stuff you have shared. I've been following your post in the vintage forum. The Gordon watch was a great acquisition. I remember watching that auction. You should share a few of the images of Gordon wearing the watch. Him with Bean wearing it is great.

You are correct about the astronauts affinity for their Rolex watches. The 1675 GMT was the most popular among them. You mention Lovell's GMT. I believe I was the one to first identify the USNA logo on the dial when I received this picture from a signing he did for my Speedmaster collection.



Here are the pieces Lovell and Dr. Mitchell signed for my collection of "The government watches they wore at work."






As an amusing side note regarding Ed Mitchell's GMT I'll share this. From my chat with Dr. Mitchell.

During a phone conversation with Dr. Mitchell about watches I asked a question a few others were curious about. I asked “Do you recall getting a reminder from mission control or a specific checklist item reminding you to wind your watch daily?” After a brief pause, I got an answer I wasn’t expecting at all. Dr. Mitchell chuckled, and then he said: “I never worried about winding my watch, I wore a Rolex GMT.”