The "Barbara Daytona"
"I'm Going To Be A Fighter Pilot"
"I'm Going To Be A Fighter Pilot"
They say that "Every Rolex Tells A Story", and this exotic dial Rolex Daytona is not only magnificent, but it comes with an AMAZING Rolex story! This is the story of Barbara Goetz who was and amazing airplane pilot...and after all, what's sexier than a woman wearing a man's Rolex!?!!
Jacek from H.Q. Milton told her story on Instagram under his watchand handle:
"This is not a Paul Newman Daytona this is a Barbara Daytona. Let me tell you about Barbara. When she was asked by her principle as a student conference meeting what she wanted to do she said, “I’m going to be a fighter pilot”...
Jacek continues: "Her mom who was embarrassed apologized but Barbara never did. She went on to race planes around the world, become an airplane mechanic, work in air search and rescue, work on the Polaris A-2 Missile program tactical thrust vector control system... basically she shattered any box anyone put her in. “Sometimes on solo flights I would fly 20-30 feet above the ocean and push the plane as fast as possible, let go of the controls, and scream at the top of my lungs!” - Barbara (while wearing the exotic Dial Rolex Daytona)
Jacek is pictured below with Barbara at H.Q. Milton headquarters in San Francisco. Jacek is a top-notch vintage Rolex dealer that I have know for a long time.
I am currently working on an update to my story titled, "The Complete History Of The Rolex GMT-Master" and for some reason this vintage Rolex ad from 1969 reminded my of Barbara's story.
Female aviators wearing men's Rolex tool watches
The history of female aviators wearing men's Rolex tool watches is fascinating. This story of a radical real-life female pilot also reminds me of Honor Blackman wearing a man's Rolex GMT-Master in Goldfinger, which can be seen in my story titled, "How Women Began Wearing Men's Rolex Watches".
It is interesting to note that Pussy Galore's character was actually based on Sheila Scott, who broke over 100 aviation records in her lifetime of flying airplanes. She was the first person to fly over the North Pole in a small aircraft. Sheila began was a British Actress who learned became an airplane pilot. This 1960 Rolex GMT-MASTER magazine ad is probably how Rolex adroitly first got women to wear men's Rolex watches.
1960
Sheila Scott
It is interesting to note that Pussy Galore's character was actually based on Sheila Scott, who broke over 100 aviation records in her lifetime of flying airplanes. She was the first person to fly over the North Pole in a small aircraft. Sheila began was a British Actress who learned became an airplane pilot. This 1960 Rolex GMT-MASTER magazine ad is probably how Rolex adroitly first got women to wear men's Rolex watches.
In 1966 Sheila Scott set an world aviation record when she set a new record for her solo flight around the world in a light aircraft. She took off from Heathrow Airport in London, England and flew eastward to become the very first person to circumvent the globe in a solo flight. Sheila had some unusual habits when she flew. For instance she primarily flew barefoot, which she said helped her feel the airplane vibrations.
Sheila Scott is pictured in the Rolex ad two images above, and in the photo above, we see her sporting her Rolex GMT-Master. I think it is very likely that Sheila Scott was the archetype for the Pussy Galore character in the 1964 James Bond movie, Goldfinger. The image below is a screen grab taken from the end of Goldfinger and is shows Honor Blackman, who plays Pussy Galore, sporting a Coke GMT-Master.