An Astronomer’s watch fetches an astronomical sum – $1.6 million for Bulova

In the 1960s, NASA issued Omega Speedmaster watches to the Apollo astronauts to wear on their missions. In fact, the watch exhibits significant wear from exposure while on the moon.

The USP of Scott’s watch is that it is the only privately owned watch that has been worn by an astronaut while being on the lunar surface. In 1996, a quarter century after his Apollo 15 mission, Scott mistakenly told a researcher that the watch was made by Waltham, an error that he corrected when he went to retrieve the flown timepiece for the auction.

The personal Bulova Chronograph watch wore by the American astronaut Dave Scott while he was on the moon has sold for whopping $1,625,000 in an auction.

Dave Scott, the commander of the 1971 Apollo 15 mission, wore the Bulova Chronograph while conducting experiments on the Moon after his standard-issue Swiss Omega became damaged.

“We are extremely pleased with the results and honored to have been able to offer such an historically important timepiece – the only American-made watch that was worn on the surface of the Moon”, said RR Auction’s executive vice president Bobby Livingston. Although the watch is not in good condition now, but apart from being rare, it played a crucial role in the safety of the mission as time was a very crucial parameter. Back in 1912, Bulova was the first company to have standardized production of watches.

Fortunately for Scott, he had packed a Bulova wristwatch among his personal items, which he retrieved and wore for his third and final moonwalk. According to the 83 year-old former astronaut, “the monitoring and use of time was perhaps the most important”.

It later appeared more explicitly on Scott’s arm after the Apollo 15 crew splashed down in the Pacific.

The primary use of the wrist chronograph on the surface of the moon was to track the elapsed time of consumables use (oxygen, water, and battery) in the Portable Life Support System backpack.

The mission’s third lunar excursion, which lasted 4 hours, 49 minutes, and 50 seconds, was heavily reliant on time expenditures, as Commander Scott, along with Lunar Module Pilot James Irwin conscientiously balanced their resources before departure, and eventual journey home.

For the history buffs out there, check out RR Auction’s catalog of Scott’s Bulova Chronograph (opens full screen).

Apollo 15 was the fourth manned lunar landing mission and the first to visit and explore the moon’s Hadley Rille and Apennine Mountains on the southeast edge of the Sea of Rains.