Here is a 105.003-64 You Don't see often. Wally Schirra's Speedmaster auction...

Wow, that is cool!
Pretty good lume on the dial, seconds, and hour hand, that minute hand is a shame though. Case/lugs appears a little soft/polished. Bezel is fantastic, particularly for its age, and frankly, the blue is WOWZERS.

Price chart from Speedmaster 101 for this:

If not for the bezel/pedigree, I'd expect this to be very much around the Good/Very Good range, though folks overpay at auction it seems 😀

Pedigree + blue bezel though, no telling what it could go for.

I was bidding so didn't want to reply, but it's gone past my budget so will jump in.

At first I thought it could hit 50K, but hoped for 40K. I now think it'll push 100k, based on the number of bidders and how high it is with a day to go. I think this is one of the most significant Speedmasters we will see offered to the public. I'll try to back that up.

Obviously there're two considerations, the watch and the provenance.

Regarding the watch, on it's own I think it justifies 30 to 35K. It is in effect a two owner, one family watch. The case is unpolished and in excellent condition. It's a dash 64, which doesn't have chamfers and the brushing looks great. The serial number 22082521 is correct for the blue bezel, which is unscratched with no chips. There is plenty of DNA on it, which should clean up (hopefully no rust.) It's faded, but a very nice bezel, even if it wasn't black. The dial has debris, but doesn't look scratched, etc, and the lume looks original. To my eye, the lume is very attractive, in spite of being slightly dirty and granular. It has a 32 tooth crown, but that might be original. MWO says some 1960 watches had 32 teeth crowns.

Let's talk about the bracelet. It looks like an 1175 from the 1970s. The auctioneer asked the family a few questions for me and they said their father had purchased the bracelet but as far as they know it was never serviced. Thinking about it some more, this makes sense. If this watch came from Wally Schirra, chances are that it did not come with a bracelet, or it came with a JB Champion bracelet. The fact that the bracelet was replaced is consistent with the provenance.

The family also had a couple more interesting comments. As noted in the auction description, this watch belonged to Wally Schirra and was given to the Doctor shortly after Gemini 6. I asked if both Wally and their father had worn the watch and they said yes to both. Their father wore it regularly in the 60s and 70s and then stopped wearing it in the 80s. What's more, their father told them that Wally had worn it in space. They said they could not prove it was worn in space, but that's what their father told them their whole lives.

Provenance. The doctor was who he said he was, a medical doctor who regularly worked with the astronauts. There is a video on line that was published after his obituary, in which the doctor shared some of his life, as well as artifacts.

In one of his books, Wally Schirra shares that one of the people he liked the most was a person who worked at McDonnell aircraft. The person wasn't the doctor, but it demonstrates that Wally had good relationships with McDonnell, so it's reasonable to believe he might have given a watch to someone. Also, the doctor has other items such as a flag that Schirra had given him.

So this is a nice watch that was owned and worn by Wally Schirra and given to a physician to the astronauts. But was it worn in Space?

I think it is possible that it was worn, although it may be hard to prove. Many, if not most astronauts wore two watches in Space. It's not strange to suggest an astronaut wore two watches. If anything, wearing one watch is unusual.

As of now, it is said that Wally wore one watch, which is owned by the Smithsonian. There are a couple pictures of Wally wearing a Speedmaster on a JB Champion bracelet on his wrist while he is in his suit preparing for Gemini 6. Soon after, Wally has a Speedmaster on a velcro strap on the outside of his suit, which is the watch he is credited with wearing on Gemini 6.

NASA gave the astronauts Speedmasters to use in training before the mission. But Gemini was very early and soon after the first batch of watches were purchased. It is possible that Wally was given a newly purchased watch from the April 30th, 1965 first delivery, but it is also possible that he had his own watch.

Regardless, it seems strange that NASA would allow Wally to wear and train with a watch up until the moment he is suiting up and then swap the bracelet for a strap and attach it to his suit. Not because it is too time consuming to change bands, but because Ragan had the watches calibrated and serviced before missions. It is not like Ragan and NASA to use a training watch for a mission.

I think Wally wore his own watch, this watch, under his suit and glove, while wearing the NASA inventoried watch on the outside.

If Wally wore this watch on Gemini 6 as he told the doctor, then this would be one of the most amazing watches to be offered for public purchase. And if a serious collector is paying attention, which I think they are, then it should go for big bucks.

Unfortunately, it won't be me.😭

Thanks, Phill.

The Gemini 6 flight photos all only show one velcro Speedmaster on Shirra's left arm, no question.

There are a couple photos that show Schirra wearing a Speedmaster on his left wrist, both suited up and not suited up. There aren't many photos, and nothing to prove that he wore two in Space.


What would explain the kids saying the watch was worn, other than outright lying? Assuming they believed it true, is it possible?

The Doctor told his kids that Wally wore the watch in Space. Trying to imagine how this could be true, it'd have to be on Gemini 6.

The doctor could have remembered wrong or made it up. But his kids said they heard it all their lives, and the Doctor seemed to be a scientific and precise kind of guy, not given to exaggeration. I think it's likely that the doctor believed it had been in Space.

If true, Wally must have told him it was flown. Couple scenarios here: it was actually flown, or it wasn't.

Why would Wally say it was flown when it wasn't? Because Wally thought is was a white lie that would make the recipient happy. But that seems unlikely since the astronauts knew that actual flown items were valued. The astronauts had to supply a list of personnel property so they knew the meaning of flown versus flown. Unlikely that Wally said it was flown and knew it wasn't.

So how could the Doctor believe Wally told him it was flown but Wally never said that?
It could have been Wally gave the doctor several items, including the watch, and said they were flown but didn't actually mean the watch was included. In this last scenario Wally would not have said the watch was flown and the Doctor would have heard Wally say it was flown. The Doctor did receive other flown items, including a flag that appeared in the video.

But if we give the Doctor the benefit of the doubt, could Wally have worn it? If Wally had worn it, it would have to be two watches, and under the suit, as the pictures of Wally on Gemini 6 all show one watch on velcro on top of the suit. It's not crazy to think astronauts wore more than one watch.

Wally wore watches in training before the flight. We don't have a photo of him wearing the auction watch. Absent complete fabrication or fraud, we can say it was either possible he wore it on Gemini 6 or it was simply miscommunication.

I think he just didn't like the bezel, believing it not worthwhile and distracting.

Anyone know more or have a source that mentions the lack of bezel?

Consolation prize: