The watch worn by American astronaut David Scott while he walked on the moon was sold at auction for $ 1.625 million. As one of only 12 men who walked on the Moon, Scott was commander of the Apollo 15 mission, which took place in 1971. During his third walk the lunar surface American astronaut wear a watch “Bulova Chronograph” which replaced his standard Swiss watch “Omega” because it was broken.
It is the only privately held lunar-worn wristwatch, and its buyer is a businessman from Florida who competed for it for 12 minutes with one British bidder, said the auction house RR from Boston.
It is also the only US manufacturing watch that is worn on the moon. All other astronauts who touched the lunar soil had on hand the Swiss mege “Spidmasters” provided by NASA, which is considered the property of the US government and are mostly stored in American museums.
After his second walk, Scott noticed that his “Omega” broke down so for the next trip to the moon he took his own Bulova watch.
“Among the tasks that I had set, tracking time was perhaps the most important” – said in the cover letter of 83-year-old Scott.
The walk on Lunar mission Apollo 15 lasted four hours, 49 minutes and 50 seconds. On this watch are visible traces from radiation during his stay on the moon as well as damage caused by the fall of the capsule into the ocean after returning to Earth.