Story time: pilot ejects from fighter jet with his Rolex :

A Rolex GMT-Master “Pepsi” is at the center of an aviation story after a pilot ejected from a U.S. Air Force F-105 fighter jet and survived while the watch remained on his wrist. The article says that on July 14, 1978, Captain David Bartell had just taken off when the engine of his F105-D flamed out. Seconds before the crash, he pulled the ejection seat lever and parachuted to about 30 meters, missing the aircraft as it slid across the roadway and burned. His watch was reportedly a 1977 Rolex GMT-Master “Pepsi,” acquired a year earlier. The model is identified as Ref. 1675, powered by the Caliber 1575 automatic movement, and produced between 1959 and 1980/81. The watch is described as having original packaging and documented incident materials, and it was recently acquired by Bob’s Watches.