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Pan-Am


TeeJay

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I saw a bit of last week's episode, which included the Rolex Sub that looked like it has a sapphire xtal.

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Even though soooo much is inaccurate - I love the show! Catch it every week and we watch it on On Demand when nothing else is on.

And I posted an annacronysm to IMDb about the watch already ;) Only watch nerds would catch something like this.

I have to admit, I don't know enough about the time period to spot the historical inaccuracies, but found it believable for the period, and certainly very watchable :)

Inaccurate is putting it lightly.

I don't think I ever asked what sparked your passion for the Pan-Am company :)

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I don't think I ever asked what sparked your passion for the Pan-Am company

During that time (early 60s), Pan Am & trans-Atlantic flight were pretty synonymous & I think most boys wanted to be a Pan Am pilot at 1 time or another. Toss in the inimitable Rolex name along with the GMT's cool factor & you have a pretty powerful boy magnet. But my interest in Pan Am comes, in part, from my ownership of it

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1 of the more blatant examples of the tv show's inaccuracy is its use of 20- or early-30-something actors for pilots (most airline pilots at that time were chosen from the ranks of WWII pilots, which, by the 1960s, put them in their mid-40s+).

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I too have been watching the show. It is painful at times to watch-- I have 3 family members that are pilots, and have a chatted with them about everything the show gets wrong, but I digress. I continue to watch it as one of those brain candy shows.

I am surprised no one has mentioned the fact they are wearing modern 16710 SEL GMT Masters. It was very clear in the pilot episode, there was a great side shot of the case. (No lug holes, sapphire crystal). Honestly, I can not shame them for it. They obviously did enough research to know they should be wearing GMT Master / Pepsi's, and bought what was readily available.

The biggest complaint on the nets, and that I also have is the "Captain". Way too young to be a captain. They have attempted to address it as a "who you know" jump the line thing. I was hoping the last episode actually got him fired. Personally, I think the cockpit crew should have been cast a little bit more "Mad Men" style. Imagine a "Roger" as Captain, "Don" as FO, and "Pete" as Engineer. A WWII era captain, and Korean War FO. Much more accurate.

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During that time (early 60s), Pan Am & trans-Atlantic flight were pretty synonymous & I think most boys wanted to be a Pan Am pilot at 1 time or another. Toss in the inimitable Rolex name along with the GMT's cool factor & you have a pretty powerful boy magnet. But my interest in Pan Am comes, in part, from my ownership of it

panam6542002a_viv1.jpg

1 of the more blatant examples of the tv show's inaccuracy is its use of 20- or early-30-something actors for pilots (most airline pilots at that time were chosen from the ranks of WWII pilots, which, by the 1960s, put them in their mid-40s+).

That's certainly reason enough to love the company :good::drinks: I have a friend who is a pilot for BA, and has been since his late twenties, but I definitely understand where you're coming from that at that time, pilots would have been older :)

I too have been watching the show. It is painful at times to watch-- I have 3 family members that are pilots, and have a chatted with them about everything the show gets wrong, but I digress. I continue to watch it as one of those brain candy shows.

I am surprised no one has mentioned the fact they are wearing modern 16710 SEL GMT Masters. It was very clear in the pilot episode, there was a great side shot of the case. (No lug holes, sapphire crystal). Honestly, I can not shame them for it. They obviously did enough research to know they should be wearing GMT Master / Pepsi's, and bought what was readily available.

The biggest complaint on the nets, and that I also have is the "Captain". Way too young to be a captain. They have attempted to address it as a "who you know" jump the line thing. I was hoping the last episode actually got him fired. Personally, I think the cockpit crew should have been cast a little bit more "Mad Men" style. Imagine a "Roger" as Captain, "Don" as FO, and "Pete" as Engineer. A WWII era captain, and Korean War FO. Much more accurate.

I wonder which dealer they went to for their watches :lol: Definitely sounds like a 'turn on/tune out' show, but I certainly found it pleasant viewing :)

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Aviation and watches are 2 different worlds.

Rolex advertising showing airliner pilots wearing GMT's... like those Concorde pilots wearing full gold GMT Master...

Sorry guys, I love myself vintage subs and gmt, but I have never seen in a cockpit a captain or a crew member with a gmt at his wrist...

I spent myself 30 years in DC8-70 and 747-100,200,300 and SP series on the left seat, wearing a regular $150 classic watch. Aircraft panels are full of intruments giving you all the times you want, no necessary to wear a Rolex GMT

It exactly like Bell&Ross calalogs showing Air Force pilots.... pics are just good for a poser orgasm

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Rolexaddict - If you were talking about Rolex Subs & working SCUBA divers, I would agree (no one in his right mind would wear an expensive piece of Rolex bling to work under the sea these days). But there are a couple of working airline pilots on TZ who occasionally post (flight deck) wristies of their GMTs. If I can locate 1 of those pics, I will repost it here for you.

Found a few

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As I understood the story, it was almost 60 years ago when the airline industry was just beginning to get into the 'Jet Age' that Juan Trippe, founder and head of Pan Am, wanted a watch that would help the air-crews overcome jet-lag in the new jet-age. The result was the birth of the Rolex GMT 6542. I have no clue what was in the cockpit of the air liners then, but I thought the idea of a GMT watch was for the crew when they were on the ground at their destination. I know and knew many military men who wear Rolex GMT watches, and wore them into combat. I didn't, being a Lt at the time, and Timex didn't have a GMT in the `70s.

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Nearly every "modern" day pilot I know wears some version of the Citizen Skyhawk. I personally know 5 pilots that wear the Citizen JR-3000-51f.

@Rolexaddict, while there is no denying not needing one in the cockpit these days, I would think a dual-time zone, multi-function watch could come in handy on layovers and overseas travel.

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The last time I saw my friend who is a pilot, he was wearing a Breitling of some description (possibly a SeaWolf, but I'm no expert with that brand) Also, as an aside, when I went to Japan and wore the GMT, with the bezel and 4th hand tracking the UK time, I actually found myself unable to adapt to local time, and slept terribly throughout the vacation :bangin: Admitedly, we were only there about 5 days, so it could simply be that I wasn't there long enough for my bodyclock to reset to local time, or it might have been the awareness of what the time 'really was' back home which did it... :pardon:

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Who broadcasts this show? I've never heard of it, showtime, HBO?

It sounds interesting :)

My dad flew in WWII and Korea, flew for GM in the early 60's and after many years retired from UA as a Flight Instructor.

He wasn't a "watch guy" at all. He wore simple Bulova watches, changing models maybe every decade. He never really understood my fascination with them. :)

I knew the Rolex Pan Am story but hadn't heard of this show. I'll check it out.

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Who broadcasts this show? I've never heard of it, showtime, HBO?

It sounds interesting :)

My dad flew in WWII and Korea, flew for GM in the early 60's and after many years retired from UA as a Flight Instructor.

He wasn't a "watch guy" at all. He wore simple Bulova watches, changing models maybe every decade. He never really understood my fascination with them. :)

I knew the Rolex Pan Am story but hadn't heard of this show. I'll check it out.

Not sure about other countries, but in the UK it's on BBC2. If you go online to BBC iPlayer, you'll be able to watch the episodes to date :)

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