The time after the moon – Buzz Aldrin's private watches go under the hammer

None of the watches went with Buzz Aldrin out into space. Even so they tell a fascinating story about the man who wore the first watch on the moon. Now that Sotheby’s is selling parts of the astronaut's private collection, Omega, Bulova and Citizen are met by considerably more unexpected brands, as well as a Moonwatch whose real predecessor is still missing without a trace. 

Text: Andreas J. Weber

n 15 July the eyes turn towards Sotheby’s auction Space Exploration. Here there are objects that in different ways tie in to some of humanity's greatest technical feats, but for those interested in watches it is above all a group of objects from Buzz Aldrin's private collection that stands out.

In total it is a matter of 17 watch-related lots from the Buzz Aldrin Family Trust. The offering stretches from a new Speedmaster in Moonshine Gold and several classic Omega models to diver's watches, quartz chronographs and a box of souvenir watches from Aldrin's travels. The combined estimates for the 14 lots lie at around 97 000–152 000 dollars.

It is however important to make a clear distinction: none of these watches were worn during Apollo 11 or on the surface of the moon. Their significance lies instead in the documented connection to Buzz Aldrin, the man who made the Omega Speedmaster the first watch that was actually worn on the moon.

The pilot, the engineer and the astronaut

Buzz Aldrin was born as Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr. in 1930. Before he became an astronaut he graduated from the military academy West Point, served as a fighter pilot during the Korean War and flew 66 combat missions. After that he took a doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a thesis on manned rendezvous between craft in orbit – a field that gave him the nickname ”Dr Rendezvous”.

He was selected for NASA's third astronaut group in 1963 and made his first space flight aboard Gemini XII together with James Lovell in 1966. During the mission Aldrin carried out three spacewalks. Earlier astronauts had had big problems working effectively outside the craft, but Aldrin's extensive underwater training helped to show how the astronauts could be better prepared for work in weightlessness.

Three years later he became the lunar module pilot during Apollo 11. Neil Armstrong and Aldrin landed the lunar module Eagle in the Sea of Tranquility on 20 July 1969, while Michael Collins stayed behind in orbit aboard the command module Columbia. Armstrong became the first human on the moon and Aldrin the second, but it was Aldrin who wore the first watch on the surface of the moon.

The real Moonwatch is still missing

All three Apollo 11 astronauts had been assigned Omega Speedmaster Professionals by NASA. During the moon landing problems arose with the electronic timekeeping inside the Eagle, which meant that Armstrong left his Speedmaster in the lunar module as a backup. Aldrin on the other hand kept his watch on his wrist, mounted on the outside of the thick space suit.

Thereby Aldrin's Omega Speedmaster Professional, reference ST 105.012, became the first watch that was worn on the moon.

After the mission Aldrin sent several objects to the Smithsonian Institution and the National Air and Space Museum. The Speedmaster however disappeared during transport and has never been recovered with certainty. Over the years various people have claimed that they owned the watch, but no example has been able to be authenticated as Aldrin's real Apollo 11 watch. Armstrong's Speedmaster is on the other hand preserved at the National Air and Space Museum. 

It is one of the watch world's great unsolved riddles. If Aldrin's real Moonwatch ever turned up with an unassailable provenance it would be hard to overestimate its historical and financial significance. After all, it is not just a vintage Speedmaster, but an artefact from perhaps the most written about moment in humanity's modern history.

The watches that are now being sold are therefore not any replacement for the lost original. But their origin is documented directly to Aldrin's private collection, which makes them personal historical objects rather than space-flown instruments.

A modern Speedmaster in Moonshine Gold

The auction's most expensive watch is also the newest. The Omega Speedmaster Professional in 18 carat Moonshine Gold, reference 310.60.42.50.99.002, is made around 2026 and is estimated at 40 000–60 000 dollars.

The watch measures 42 millimetres and combines a champagne coloured sunburst dial with Omega's modern manual calibre 3861. The movement is a Master Chronometer certified further development of the classic Moonwatch construction, equipped with a Co-Axial escapement and resistance to magnetic fields.

The example is delivered with a box, a warranty card dated in March 2026, a chronometer card and other accessories. So this is not a watch with a long documented use on Aldrin's wrist. Instead it becomes interesting as a modern and very exclusive distillation of the heritage that Aldrin himself helped to create.

The symbolically most important: Speedmaster Professional 3590.50

More directly connected to the Moonwatch's classic expression is an Omega Speedmaster Professional in steel from around 1990. The reference is 3590.50.00 and the estimate lies at 8 000–12 000 dollars.

It is in many ways the watch in the auction that most clearly captures the collector's dilemma. Purely in model terms this is a familiar, relatively modern Speedmaster Professional. It is not extremely rare and has never been anywhere near the moon. At the same time it comes directly from the person who made the model one of the world's most famous watches.

An ordinary 3590.50 tells the story of the Speedmaster. Buzz Aldrin's 3590.50 also tells the story of who owned it. It is here that the value of provenance becomes particularly clear. Sotheby’s estimate therefore lies clearly above what a comparable example without the historical connection would normally be associated with.

X-33 – perhaps the auction's most purebred astronaut watch

If the classic Speedmaster Professional is the watch that is associated with the moon landing, the Speedmaster X-33 is rather developed for the astronauts' modern and considerably more digital everyday life. Buzz Aldrin's example is a second generation X-33 from around 2010, made in titanium and fitted with Omega's thermocompensated quartz calibre 1666.
The 42 millimetre watch combines traditional analogue hands with a digital display and functions such as a perpetual calendar, an alarm and special timing modes for Mission Elapsed Time and Phase Elapsed Time. The alarm was constructed to be audible even in noisy environments and is amplified through the watch's special case back. So this is not a conventional luxury watch with a bit of space romance on the dial, but an actual working tool developed with pilots and astronauts in mind.
The example lacks box and papers but comes directly from Buzz Aldrin's private collection. Among the auction's modern watches it is therefore one of the most convincing: a real astronaut watch that has been owned by the world's most famous moon traveller.
Sotheby’s estimate lies at 4 000–6 000 dollars, but the bidding has already reached 12 000 dollars ahead of the closing auction. It is a clear sign that the market values the combination of the X-33 model's NASA history and Aldrin's provenance considerably higher than the watch's own normal market value.

Omega beyond the moon

Aldrin's collection shows at the same time that his relationship with Omega was not limited to the traditional Moonwatch.

A De Ville Co-Axial Chronograph in rose gold, reference 431.53.42.51.03.001, offers a considerably more elegant side of the brand. The 42 millimetre watch has a blue dial and is driven by the automatic chronograph calibre 9300. The estimate is 6 000–9 000 dollars. It is a modern and lavish dress chronograph – far from the manual tool watch that Aldrin wore on the outside of the space suit. 

Even more technically oriented is the Omega Speedmaster HB-SIA ”Solar Impulse” from around 2013. It has a 41 millimetre case and bracelet in titanium, a carbon fibre dial, an automatic chronograph and a GMT function. The case is marked ”Test Flight No. 3593”, and the estimate lies at 6 000–9 000 dollars. The model was created in connection with the Solar Impulse project and its solar-powered aircraft – a fitting watch for a man whose life was marked by flying, engineering and exploration. 

The Omega Seamaster Professional GMT, reference 2535.80.00, is a robust steel model from around 2007. It has a blue dial, a 41 millimetre case and the automatic Co-Axial calibre 2628. The watch lacks both box and documents but comes with two extra link pieces. Sotheby’s estimates it at 5 000–8 000 dollars. 

From an entirely different period comes the Omega Constellation Day Date ”Owl”, reference 396.1070. The 32 millimetre quartz model from around 1987 combines steel and yellow gold with a white dial and champagne coloured registers. The nickname ”Owl” comes from the dial's two symmetrical displays, which with a little imagination resemble a pair of owl's eyes. This one too is estimated at 5 000–8 000 dollars. 

Omega De Ville Hour Vision, reference 431.63.41.21.001, is from around 2007 and has a 41 millimetre case in 18 carat rose gold. It is driven by the automatic Co-Axial calibre 8501 and distinguishes itself through sapphire crystal sections both in the case back and along the sides of the case. It lacks box and papers and is estimated at 5 000–8 000 dollars.

Together these Omega watches give a broader picture of Aldrin's collecting: from the Moonwatch's manual chronograph to GMT, dress watches, quartz and modern materials.

An unusual LeCoultre from around 1970

Among the more collector-focused watches there is also a LeCoultre ”Shark Deep Sea”, reference 2643, from around 1970. It is a 40 millimetre chronograph in steel with a black dial, a screwed case back and the manual calibre 72. The watch sits on an American JB Champion bracelet and is estimated by Sotheby’s at 10 000–20 000 dollars. It lacks both box and documents, but the provenance is stated as directly from Buzz Aldrin's personal collection.
The name LeCoultre was historically used on the American market, while in Europe the company was known as Jaeger-LeCoultre. The model represents an entirely different side of Aldrin's watch collection than the modern Omega models and the simpler souvenir watches. Here there is instead a classic sports chronograph from the same period as the moon landing, with a mechanical movement and an expression that today is very sought after among collectors.
There is no information that Aldrin wore the watch during any NASA mission, and it was not on the moon. But of the watches in the auction this is still one of the ones with the greatest standalone collector's value. Even without Aldrin's name a well preserved LeCoultre chronograph from the period would have been interesting. With documented provenance from the Apollo 11 astronaut's private collection it gets a further historical layer.

The diver's watches tell another story

One of the auction's most personal watches may very well be the least exclusive.

The Citizen Promaster Hyper Aqualand from the 2000s has a 42 millimetre case, a digital display and a rubber strap. The watch is equipped with an electronic depth gauge, a thermometer, a water sensor and various warning functions. Above all it shows clear traces of use.

The connection to Aldrin is particularly relevant. His underwater training ahead of Gemini XII became an important part of the development of NASA's methods for spacewalks, and diving later continued to be one of his great interests. Unlike some of the more representative watches in the auction, this Citizen appears as an actual object of use. The estimate is 2 000–3 000 dollars. 

The same estimate applies to a simpler Innovative Time diver's watch from the 1980s. It has a 36 millimetre steel case, a quartz movement, a black dial and a two-tone bracelet. The watch has clear traces of use and has according to Sotheby’s probably been used by Aldrin before he got his Citizen Hyper Aqualand. The water resistance is stated to no longer be intact, which at least makes it historically authentic as an older diver's watch: it should from now on be kept far away from both the sea and training pools.

Bulova created watches in Aldrin's name

Three Bulova Accutron Eagle Pilots are also being sold separately.

Two of them are automatic models, 65B003 and 65B004 respectively, with black 42 millimetre cases and white pilot-inspired dials. One has a leather strap and the other a black steel bracelet. On the watches there is Aldrin's printed signature together with the text ”Buzz Aldrin / Lunar Module Pilot”.

According to Sotheby’s the examples were probably sent to Aldrin for approval during the design process. Both look to be unused and still have protective plastic left on. They are estimated at 2 000–3 000 dollars each. 

The third is an Accutron Eagle Pilot Chronograph, model 26B62. It has a steel case, a black dial and a quartz movement. On the case back there is Aldrin's signature as well as the engraving ”Lunar Module Pilot / Apollo 11 Mission”. This watch too is unused and is estimated at 2 000–3 000 dollars. 

Here the connection to Aldrin is more official than personal. The watches do not appear to have been everyday favourites, but they represent how the astronaut's name and the Apollo 11 history continued to be used within the watch industry long after the moon landing.

From 47 millimetres to a classic dress chronograph

The Swiss Metal.CH chronograph is with its 47 millimetres one of the auction's biggest watches. The model 3120.47 has a quartz movement, a black dial, a rubber strap and clear traces of everyday use. It is estimated at 2 000–3 000 dollars. It is hardly haute horlogerie, but the wear makes it feel more personal than several of the technically more advanced objects. 

The Peruzzi Chronographe offers a more traditional expression. The 38 millimetre dress chronograph from the 2000s has a white dial, a quartz movement and a brown crocodile strap. An extra black lizard strap is included. Here too there are traces of use, above all on the strap, and the estimate is 2 000–3 000 dollars. Since exotic leathers are included, international export may moreover require special CITES documents.

Eight souvenir watches and a whole life in miniature

Here there is among other things a watch from the Russian rocket engine manufacturer NPO Energomash, a model from Khrunichev with the space station Mir on the dial and a Boeing watch with a moving international space station. Another comes from Buzz Aldrin Elementary School.

The collection also contains a watch with a connection to Toy Story 3 – a natural wink at the animated astronaut Buzz Lightyear, whose name was inspired by Aldrin – as well as watches connected to charity, Rodeo Drive and stories from the Korean War.

As individual watches they are hardly particularly valuable. Together they do however form a miniature biography of Aldrin's life: the fighter pilot, the astronaut, the technology ambassador, the school name and the popular culture icon. The group is estimated at 3 000–5 000 dollars.

You buy the provenance – not the space dust

It is easy at first to feel a certain disappointment that none of the watches have been in space. But at the same time this is what makes the auction interesting. Here the difference between two types of collector's value can be seen.

A space-flown watch is a historical instrument that has been physically present at a specific event. A privately owned watch from Buzz Aldrin is instead a personal object with an association to the event and the person behind it. The one category can be documented through mission lists and NASA numbers. The other requires an unbroken and credible ownership history.

The buyer does not get a watch that has walked across the surface of the moon. What you do get is a watch that has lain in the collection of the man who wore the first Moonwatch there.

And somewhere the real Speedmaster from Apollo 11 perhaps still exists. Until it possibly returns out of the darkness of history we will have to make do with the watches Buzz Aldrin wore after he came back to earth.

Read more about the auction here.