Or perhaps kindly gifted to them by the talented marketing people at Rolex?
"Hey Tom! How about a free Rolex GMT?"

Let's also not forget that Rolex (and Omega) was not the only watches in space!

 

@Northernman
It's the Soviet-Russian cosmonaut who wore a Rolex GMT-master in that picture... by then the Rolex GMT-master had been worn onboard the X-15 research rocket plane (as the Accutron Astronaut GMT) and onboard the Apollo 13 & 14 lunar missions... This is a Rolex topic after all

 

Sovjet Union guys wearing Rolex watches was rather unheard of.
Regarding them as personal effects is perhaps stretching it?
Kosmonauts was "rock stars" in the old USSR, so maybe.....
If you asked the USSR gov at that time, I am quite certain they would claim these were gov property.

 

Yep, interesting thought... so far, between 1963 & 1974 we only saw three cosmonauts wearing a Rolex GMT-master...

 

Not an astronaut, but an amazing pilot, who was shot down 60 years ago, May 1, 1960, over Soviet-Russia and exchanged for a Russian spy as depicted in the 2015 Steven Spielberg moviee "Bridge of Spies " ... Francis Gary Powers (1929-1977)
Powers and the early U-2 "Angel" reconnaissance aircraft pilots went though a proces called " Sheep dipping ", resigning from the USAF and work as civilian pilots for the CIA in order to hide their military backgrounds. The Lockheed U-2 was not invisible for Russian radar but untouchable at altitudes above 21000 meters until the Russians got their SAM sites organized. That May 1960 mission was Powers' 28th U-2 flight...
When Powers returned to the USA, he continued to work for Kelly Johnson & Lockheed between 1963 and 1969. This is a 1972 photo by Peter Davis, and shows Powers wearing a Gold Rolex Datejust, next to a general aviation Cessna...
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I hope at the next service the repairer doesnt replace that bezel insert and dial to freshen it up "like new"

 

During the month of June we can always enjoy a reminder of the " first Rolex-in-space " ( Space being USAF definition of 50 miles = 80 Km )
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Just found by the SWFG - Space Watches Facebook Group:
Former Navy officer & Navy SEAL astronaut William Shepherd wore his Rolex Submariner 5513 diving toolwatch on STS-41 shuttle Discovery and STS-52 shuttle Columbia ... so we get closer to 1990 to find the first Submariner flown-in-space
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On the eve of the Rolex release event, we remind that 30 years ago, in October 1990, a Submariner 5513 was flown in space onboard space shuttle Discovery, worn by former Navy SEAL William "Bill" Shepherd... who also wore it on STS-52 Columbia in 1992 !
As mentioned 2 posts here above...

 

Saw some recent pics from inside iss

 

Between 1965 and 2015, veteran Mercury & Space Shuttle astronaut John Glenn wore several Rolex GMT-master pilot watches.
Glenn was often seen wearing a Rolex GMT-master while piloting his personal Beechcraft Baron airplane, which he used during political campaigns
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November 1966... This NASA photo shows astronaut Frank Borman, crewmember of the "Apollo 2" crew and the astronaut responsable for contacts with North American Aviation, the firm producing the Apollo Command & Service Module, checking out an early Command Module.
Note astronaut Frank Borman wore his personal Rolex wristwatch on an oyster bracelet.

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Picture has all the information... James Lovell again wearing his personal Rolex GMT-master pilot watch
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1967 veteran Mercury MA-8 and Gemini VI astronaut Walter "Wally" Schirra checking out the modified hatch of the Apollo Command Module...
Note Walter Schirra clearly wore his personal Rolex GMT-master 1675 pilot watch with red/blue Pepsi bezel.
65 years since its introduction, the Rolex GMT-master remains the sole timepiece strictly chosen on a personal basis by both military & civil pilots, Russian cosmonauts and International & American astronauts !
(Photo: NASA)

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Well I (almost) surrender. While accompanying a relative to his AD to pick up the 2020 Sub that he ordered about 8 months ago, I decided to get on the waiting list for a 2020 steel Pepsi GMT. We'll see how long it's going to take.

 

This has been an interesting topic, one for which I got the most feedback & reactions... more of this next year in 2021 !!!

https://moonwatchuniverse.tumblr.com/archive

 

Upcoming... 50 years Apollo 14 ... as we know, another 3 Rolex wristwatches on their way to the Moon !
It's very interesting to take a look at the Apollo14 backup crew, Eugene Cernan, Joe Engle and Ron Evans... note how Evans already wore his personal Rolex GMT-master 1675 Pepsi in this January 1971 video... a Rolex GMT-master that 23 months later was taken onboard Apollo 17 !
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My armchair opinion is, Rolex GMT were favored by astronauts in part because of the 24 hour complication: after all, (1) NASA mission time is 24hr, and utilizes 24hr clocks, and (2) in space, day/night do not provide necessary information for discerning accurate time on a 12hr watch

 

That's common knowledge. Rolex and Bulova GMT were worn and used in space. But NASA was testing Chronographs, not normal watches. They needed reliable backup timers for the Missions. And there every tested Brand failed. Except the Speedmaster. So, coexistence is king. As always in life. Kind regards. Achim