Air Force pilot Captain David Bartell fired up his F105-D for a training mission like any other time. Nothing was different—a routine training mission to link up with a KC-135 aerial tanker to refuel. As soon as the plane lifted from the runway, the engine blew, and he began to plummet toward the Earth. At the last second, when it was clear he wasn’t pulling out of the dive, he yanked a lever near his cockpit chair, and the canopy exploded off the frame and catapulted him 100 feet into the air. A few seconds later, when his chute opened, and he began to drift down toward the safety of the ground, he discovered the plane had become a fireball on the ground. He narrowly navigated away from danger a second time before he found solid ground. Then, when he was about to breathe again, pops sounding like cannon fire sounded. Driving him into the bushes. Witnesses to this real-life crash on Thursday, July 13, 1977, said Capt. Bartell only responded with “What a ride.” One of the most intriguing parts of this story isn’t the failed training mission, but that on his wrist was a Rolex GMT-Master II. Fifty years later, Bob’s Watches Founder and CEO Paul Altieri has procured it for his own collection.
You can find another Pepsi GMT. You can’t find another life story attached to it. – Paul Altieri, Founder and CEO of Bob’s Watches
Find a watch, tell a story
What makes a great watch? Is it the quality? Is it the aesthetics? Maybe it is the name. At the end of the day, it could be all of these things. But one of the most often overlooked aspects of a watch is the story behind it. If you are going to buy a vintage or used watch, the more fascinating deep dive is into the history. Where has the watch been, and where will you be taking it? It isn’t often you can find a watch that will take you to the brink of danger, becoming a conversation piece in every room you enter.
“The Pepsi GMT has always been one of the most collectible Rolex models because of its direct connection to aviation and travel,” said Altieri. “But every once in a while, a watch surfaces that perfectly captures the spirit of what the GMT was built for. This is one of those watches.”
Bob’s Watches has procured every ounce of corroborating evidence to the authenticity of this find, even the newspaper clipping from the pilot himself.
