The Rolex That Survived a Fighter Pilot Ejection

Putting on your favorite watch provides a sense of intentionality and purpose, acting like a totem of sorts (hello, Inception). And when that watch serves admirably through the twists and turns of life, it can feel like doubling down on a bet. 

But what about when the stakes are higher than ever? The proper wristwatch can deliver in that regard, at least in the case of the otherworldly durability of a 1977 Rolex GMT-Master II that survived an ejection from a fighter jet.

Yes, you read that sentence correctly. Luxury online watch marketplace Bob’s Watches just came across perhaps the coolest, or at least the toughest, Rolex watch out there, recently acquiring the timepiece from its original owner, U.S. Air Force pilot Capt. David Bartell.

Bartell had picked up the performance-minded GMT-Master II, a watch now covetable for its two-tone bezel in an array of combinations, about 10 months before the Top Gun-esque emergency feat.

Near Tinker Air Force Base, Bartell had no choice but to eject from his falling F-105 in 1978, and improbably, his Rolex watch made, and survived, the jump with him. 

The timepiece now stands alone as one that has stood the test of time in nearly impossible fashion. The watch survives with its original box, papers and receipt, and was acquired by Bob’s Watches, even more improbably, from its original owner. 

The fact that the Rolex GMT-Master II was recently discontinued in its iconic “Pepsi” (or red-and-blue bezel) configuration makes the watch even more enviable. If a price can indeed be put on such a durable and time-honored watch, in this instance. 

To add another layer of remarkably cool history? The handsome timepiece itself is engraved with both the owner’s name and a set of pilot wings on its caseback. And in memorable fashion, Bartell kept a newspaper clipping detailing the incident, and the set includes a photo of Bartell refueling his jet mid-air. 

Other Rolex watches are tied to somewhat similar leaps of faith, including a 1949 Rolex timepiece presented to  John Oliver ‘Jo’ Lancaster after he became the first pilot to use an ejection seat . The company that made the device presented the timepiece to him, but reports note Lancaster wasn’t wearing the watch at the time. 

As to Bartell’s utterly historic Rolex, one thing’s clear. The watch isn’t formally for sale. Although, Paul Altieri (watch expert and CEO of Bob’s Watches) has claimed in the recent past that “everything is for sale” via the website. 

As Bob’s Watches notes, the historical array is one-of-a-kind and almost impossible to compile, even in the best of circumstances. A typed letter even documents the experience and the role of the watch in the daring, assuredly life-saving maneuver. 

From the newspaper clipping to the photo, watch box, papers and receipt, it’s a life-changing, hard-working timepiece with the battle scars to prove it. “Together, it forms a complete, first-person record of that moment and its aftermath,” Bob’s Watches noted of the collection. 

Let the debate rage on as to watches worth wearing when the going gets tough, but this Rolex GMT-Master II has undoubtedly delivered the goods across nearly five decades.