Classic Rolex Tied to Apollo Moon Mission Up for Sale – JCK

If you happen to’re an astrophile, there’s a timepiece heading to public sale that may reduce the levels of separation between you and outer house. Meet the Apollo 14 Ocean Recovery GMT, a Rolex that was worn by Navy Capt. Thomas Francis Finley Jr. in the course of the restoration of Apollo 14 astronauts after they’d landed on the moon in 1971.

The classic Rolex GMT-Master 1675 is being auctioned by pre-owned watch specialist Bob’s Watches in a devoted on-line sale Nov. 10 by Nov. 14. It’s anticipated to promote for $15,000 to $30,000.

Finley was carrying the watch when he was a co-pilot on the helicopter despatched to retrieve the Apollo 14 astronauts—together with Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell—after they splashed down within the Pacific Ocean on Feb. 9, 1971. Apollo 14 was the third U.S. crewed mission to land on the moon. Finley transported the astronauts to the an plane provider, then days later to American Samoa.

Finley, who served within the Navy for 28 years, had bought the watch in 1969 at Artland Watch Co. in Hong Kong whereas on shore go away in the course of the Vietnam Battle. He’d wanted a alternative for his subject watch, which had flooded. Unfamiliar with the watch market, Finley opted for a Rolex based mostly on the recommendation of fellow service members. For all these years, he preserved the watch’s unique field and papers, and they’re included in its sale.

The Rolex additionally comes with some gadgets Finley acquired throughout his service, together with the flight jacket he wore all through his profession, an aviator’s flight logbook detailing the Apollo 14 restoration, a schedule from that day outlining Finley’s function, a doc in regards to the Navy divers who helped retrieve the astronauts from the ocean, and a chunk of gold foil “pores and skin” from the Kitty Hawk spacecraft.

Prime: Tom Finley’s flight jacket and Rolex GMT-Grasp 1675, each circa 1967–68, are in a Nov. 10–14 public sale. (Pictures courtesy of Bob’s Watches)

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