On October 14, 1947 Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager (1923) became the first man to travel faster than the speed of sound, when his Bell X-1 experimental plane flew over the Mojave Desert at Mach 1. Throughout his long and illustrious career Brigadier General Yeager has been known to wear a Rolex watch and in 1947 he wore his Rolex Oyster Perpetual wristwatch. He was so impressed with the durability of the watch that a few years following the event, Yeager sent a signed autograph image of the Bell X-1 and himself to Hans Wilsdorf, and 60 years later Rolex featured Yeager in an advertisement as a testament to his exceptional career.

The present reference 16700 GMT-Master is a 1997 limited edition made of 50 examples by the Japanese firm, The Real McCoy’s in honor of the 40th anniversary of Yeager’s outstanding feat. The model 16700 was released in the late 1980s and featured a sapphire crystal and white gold chaton’s for the numerals. The customized Real McCoy’s examples sport a dial with a red “Chuck Yeager”, and the case back has been engraved “General Chuck E. Yeager Bell X-1 October 14, 1947 18/50 The Real McCoy’s”. In exceptional original condition with sharp lines and crisp engraving, this example is accompanied by its original guarantee and presentation box. The Rolex GMT-Master is an icon in the watch world, and it is note worth for this example to recognize a legend within the aeronautic world.