Buzz Aldrin

You Can Own A Piece of the Moon - Really!

Filed under: Art, Books

This past summer Taschen released Moonfire the comprehensive photographic essay with text originally written by Norman Mailer to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing. For the holiday season they are releasing the Lunar Rock Edition which allows regular people to own a piece of the moon, for a price!

It is incredibly rare for an average person to have access to lunar rock. Most lunar meteorites are in the possession of scientific institutions and museum collections. Given that there are only about 70 known meteorites with a combined weight of 55 kilograms, it makes lunar rocks more valuable than diamonds, a truly rare substance on Earth.

Each of the 12 special editions come with an individual piece of lunar rock . The rock and the book are presented in a case designed by Marc Newson one of the most influential living designers of our time. His work commands the highest prices and has broken the record for auction prices paid for current designers, most notably in April 2009 when Lockheed lounge sold for $1.825 million in London.

The book itself is a fascinating compilation of photographs of what has been called the most historic event of the 20th century. The photographs have been culled from the archives of Life magazine, NASA and are paired with text by Norman Mailer. There is also an archival quality numbered photographic print signed by Buzz Aldrin included with the book.

The final 12 lunar rock editions are on sale for 60,000 Euros and come with an authenticated and documented piece of lunar rock which varies in size, color and density.

Lunar Rock edition 1,969 features a piece found in Morocco that weighs in at 348 grams and is one of the largest meteorites to be found on earth that has not been cut into smaller portions for scientific research. The purchaser of this ultimate edition will also receive an invitation to a private dinner with Buzz Aldrin in Los Angeles. The price of this unique edition will set you back almost as much as a trip to the moon itself costing 480,000 Euros!

If you'd like to see it all in person, the Lunar Rock Edition of Norman Mailer's Moonfire is being exhibited at the Taschen booth during Art Basel in Miami from December 2-5, 2009. Otherwise you can head over to the Taschen web-site for an in depth look at the book and its photos.

Gallery: Moonfire Lunar Rock Edition

Tags: Art Basel, ArtBasel, Buzz Aldrin, BuzzAldrin, life magazine, LifeMagazine, lunar roock, LunarRoock, luxury books, LuxuryBooks, Marc Newson, MarcNewson, Meteor, meteorites, Moonfire, Norman Mailer, NormanMailer, Taschen

Louis Vuitton Celebrates Space With New Ad Campaign

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

We're having a Buzz Aldrin week here at Luxist. Not only is the legendary astronaut appearing at the Omega Store in New York City today but he is also part of a new ad campaign from Louis Vuitton along with Sally Ride and Jim Lovell. Aldrin, who walked on the moon in 1969 was shot by Annie Leibovitz with his fellow astronauts posed with a battered pickup truck and a Louis Vuitton Icare travel bag while gazing up into the sky in the California desert. The campaign marks the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. The Wall Street Journal reveals that the astronauts each donated a "significant" portion of their modeling fee to Al Gore's Climate Project. Astronaut Neil Armstrong was also invited to participate in the campaign, which will appear in the July issue of several magazines, but declined the offer.

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Tags: buzz aldrin, BuzzAldrin, jim lovell, JimLovell, louis vuitton, LouisVuitton, sally ride, SallyRide, space

Second Man On Moon Buzz Aldrin At Omega Store NYC June 3rd

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Events

While the second man on the moon, Buzz Alrdin was the first to be recorded saying anything while on the surface. Now we will speak and meet with the public - along with select interviews at the Omega Boutique store in New York City on June 3rd, 2009. He is due to meet the public 4:00pm and will be joined by Omega CEO Stephen Urquhart. Omega's on going pride of it's status as developer and provider of the one one and only "moon watch" is now celebrated by its 40th year.
After all this time, Omega has preserved the basic elements that collectors love in the Apollo 11 Speedmaster Professional Moon watch. Omega regularly releases new Moon Watch models, but each stays true to the original. Buzz will bring along some moon landing memorabilia as well on the June 3rd event. It should be a noteworthy gathering for all Omega and Moon landing event fans. The Omega Flagship Boutique is located at 711 Fifth Street between 56th and 55th, New York City.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: boutique store, BoutiqueStore, buzz aldrin, BuzzAldrin, moon landing, MoonLanding, omega, speedmaster