A new record has been set for the most paid at auction for an astronaut’s timepiece.
The 18-karat gold Omega Speedmaster that was presented to Neil Armstrong four months after he became the first person to walk on the moon in 1969, sold for a hammer price of $1.7 million on Thursday (April 17). With the auction house’s fees included, the total price for the chronograph was $2,187,500 — $280,546.25 more than the previous record set in 2022 by a nearly-identical gold Speedmaster gifted to Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronaut Walter “Wally” Schirra.
The Armstrong watch also commanded the third most-ever paid for a space-related artifact, exceeded only by a Soviet-era Vostok 3KA-2 space capsule that sold for $2,882,500 in 2011 and the jacket that Armstrong’s crewmate, Buzz Aldrin, wore aboard the Apollo 11 spacecraft, which went for $2,772,500 in 2022.
“This watch, which my father liked to wear on special occasions, symbolizes one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of mankind,” said Mark Armstrong, son of the late astronaut, in a statement released by RR Auction of Boston, Massachusetts.
Related: Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Half of the hammer price, or $850,000, will be donated to charitable causes Neil Armstrong believed in, as identified by his son. The unnamed consignor who placed the watch up for sale with RR Auction has also pledged a portion of the hammer price to the Wisconsin-based Brian LaViolette Scholarship Foundation, which helps shape future generations through scholarships that honor character and service.
“A substantial portion of the proceeds from the sale will [further] the impact that [my father] and many other Americans made to humanity more than half a century ago,” said Mark Armstrong.
Like all of the astronauts who flew Gemini and Apollo missions, NASA issued Armstrong with an Omega Speedmaster Professional chronograph as part of his flight equipment. As the commander of the Apollo 11 mission, Armstrong left his Speedmaster inside the lunar module “Eagle” as a backup to a broken timer, leading to Aldrin becoming the first person to wear a watch on the lunar surface.
The NASA-issued Speedmasters were not intended as gifts and, ultimately, the space agency transferred them to the Smithsonian, where Armstrong’s flown-to-the-moon chronograph is now on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
As a commemorative and a replacement, Omega created a set of 26 solid yellow gold Speedmaster Professional wristwatches, which were presented to Armstrong, Aldrin and their Apollo 11 crewmate Michael Collins, as well as other astronauts who had flown into space at the time, at a gala dinner hosted by the Hotel Warwick in Houston on Nov. 25, 1969.
Each of the “Tribute to Astronauts” timepieces was engraved on its back with the recipient’s name and missions, a number relative to when he flew into space and a quote: “To mark man’s conquest of space with time, through time, on time.”
Armstrong was issued watch number 17. Numbers “1” and “2” were reserved for President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, respectively. Omega later made more “Tribute” watches for Apollo 14 through Apollo 17 crews, as well as sold 976 pieces to the public (the retail version replaced the personalized info on the caseback with the phase, “the first watch worn on the moon”).
Thursday’s auction was held at the Royal Sonesta Boston Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts, after eliciting 20 bids totaling $1,366,694 on RR Auction’s website since March 24.
“Hammer’s down at $1.7 million,” said the auctioneer to a round of applause. “Ladies and gentlemen, friends, thank you, thank you, thank you for being here and being a part of history at $1.7 million.”
The winning bidder was not identified.
The Armstrong watch was part of RR Auction’s semi-annual space-themed sale, which included another astronaut’s gold Omega Speedmaster. The chronograph gifted to the late Apollo 14 lunar module pilot Edgar Mitchell sold for $142,663.75 with the 25% buyer’s premium.
Other “Tribute to the Astronauts” gold Speedmasters have sold over the last five years for $150,000 to $375,000 at auction. The wristwatch presented to Apollo 11 command module pilot Michael Collins commanded $765,000 in 2022.
Among the larger category of space artifacts and memorabilia, the Armstrong watch now sits between Aldrin’s flown Apollo 11 inflight coverall jacket and a gold medallion that Armstrong flew to the moon, which sold for $2,055,000 in 2019.
Other examples of seven-figure sales have included a protective pouch that held the bagged, first lunar sample collected by Armstrong ($1,812,500 in 2017); the Soyuz TM-10 descent module ($1,652,500 in 1993); and a prototype Bulova chronograph that became the second type of wristwatch worn on the moon during the Apollo 15 mission in 1971 ($1,625,000 in 2015).
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