The Rolex watch worn by Apollo 17 astronaut Ron Evans has sold for an incredible $131,450 at the Heritage Space Exploration Auction.

Evans' personal 1968 Rolex Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master far exceeded its estimated value of $30,000.

During the mission, Evans placed it in his Personal Preference Kit (PPK) which was taken to the Moon's surface by his crewmates, while Evans piloted the command module in orbit above.

The watch was on the Moon's surface for 72 hours during what would turn out to be man's last ever manned Moon expedition, to-date.

An engraving on the back of the watch reads: "FLOWN ON APOLLO XVII 6-19 DECEMBER 72 ON MOON 11-17 DEC RON EVANS."

"A price like this on a watch as special as this Rolex shows that the fascination with our original astronauts, and space program, still runs very deep," said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage Auctions, in a statement.

"Collectors also realise that artefacts of early NASA are in very finite supply. The first generation of astronauts was able to take pieces and parts of spacecraft with them.

"Unlike today, where astronauts have to account for every nut and bolt."