Culture

Stolen Apollo Astronaut Watch Recovered 30 Years Later

An unknown thief took the wristwatch from a museum in Ecuador.

Astronaut Donn F. Eisele sitting back in full attached uniform while adjusting the left side of his head gear. (Photo by Time Life Pictures/NASA/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

By Diana Crandall / November 21, 2017 10:00 am

A NASA-issued watch strapped to Donn Eisele’s wrist during the first Apollo mission in 1968 has finally been returned to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum almost 30 years after it was swiped from an Ecuadorian museum, according to Fox News . The story was originally reported by collectSPACE.com.

Apollo astronaut watch, stolen in Ecuador, recovered 30 years later (exclusive): https://t.co/4bUfQeTOds #Apollo7 #Speedmaster #Eisele @omegawatches @airandspace pic.twitter.com/7wFhFc6Pcd

— collectSPACE (@collectSPACE) November 16, 2017

The Omega Speedster Professional chronograph was reportedly on loan from the Smithsonian to the Instituto Geográfico Militar when it vanished; local police were never able to find the thief, and the watch was untraceable until earlier this year when it appeared at a Florida watch show. Almost immediately after, the trail cooled again, until someone came forward looking for details about a watch someone was trying to sell.