Updated:
Readtime: 4 min
Every product is carefully selected by our editors and experts. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more. For more information on how we test products, click here.
- Buzz Aldrin’s personal 1990 OMEGA Speedmaster sold for USD$44,800 at Sotheby’s auction.
- The watch fetched ten times its standard market value due to Aldrin’s ownership.
- An Apollo 11 Duro Rocket felt-tip pen eclipsed the watch, selling for USD$857,600.
- The pen commanded a massive premium because it saved the crew from the Moon.
Buzz Aldrin’s personal OMEGA Speedmaster Professional just sold for USD$44,800 (approximately AUD$64,200) at Sotheby’s New York, nearly six times its low estimate.
It’s a very respectable result for a circa-1990 Speedmaster owned by the second man to walk on the Moon. Unfortunately for the watch, it’s been outdone by a dented plastic pen that once helped Aldrin and Neil Armstrong get home on their infamous voyage.
The black Duro Rocket felt-tip pen sold alongside a broken piece of Apollo 11’s engine-arm circuit breaker for USD $857,600 (approximately AUD$1.23 million), more than 19 times the reported result for the OMEGA.
And while the pen stole the Space Exploration auction, Aldrin’s Speedmaster still tells us plenty about what collectors will pay for a Moonwatch owned by the man who made it famous.
Which Buzz Aldrin Speedmaster Sold For USD$44,800?
The watch was an OMEGA Speedmaster Professional reference 3590.50.00, produced around 1990 and offered directly from the Buzz Aldrin Family Trust.
Sotheby’s had estimated the stainless-steel chronograph at USD$8,000 to USD$12,000 (approximately AUD$11,500 to AUD$17,200) before it sold for USD$44,800 (approximately AUD$64,200).
Importantly, this was not the Speedmaster Aldrin wore during Apollo 11. That watch disappeared on its way to the Smithsonian after the mission and remains missing to this day. Lord only knows how much that bad boy would go for.
The value here comes not from any direct use aboard Apollo 11 but from personal ownership and the model’s broader connection to Aldrin. The OMEGA Speedmaster became known as the Moonwatch after Apollo 11, with Aldrin becoming the first person to wear one while walking on the lunar surface.
A circa-1990 Speedmaster Professional ref. 3590.50.00 would not normally get anywhere near this result on specifications alone. Without Aldrin’s name attached, the model currently carries an estimated pre-owned market value of around USD$4,400 (approximately AUD$6,300), roughly one-tenth of what his example achieved.
1/3Why Did Buzz Aldrin’s Pen Sell For So Much?
The pen had something the Speedmaster did not: a direct role in Apollo 11.
After a switch broke off the Lunar Module’s engine-arm circuit breaker, Aldrin used the plastic felt-tip to activate the damaged mechanism without inserting metal into the electrical panel. The breaker held, allowing the ascent engine to be powered for the return from the lunar surface.
It’s a pen that literally saved the lives of the first two men to ever walk on the moon. If you were questioning that AUD$1.23 million price tag, there’s your answer. Sure, the Speedmaster represented Aldrin’s place in the Moonwatch story. But the pen had already been to the Moon and helped make sure he came back.
At USD$44,800 (approximately AUD$64,200), Aldrin’s OMEGA still achieved an exceptional result. It just happened to share the auction floor with one of the most important pieces of stationery in human history.
1/5Related reads
Comments
We love hearing from you. or to leave a comment.