While stationed in Thailand in the 1970s, the gentleman says he traveled on Air America Airlines and Continental Airlines, where he noticed that the pilots routinely wore Rolex watches. Intrigued, he ordered one of his own through his base exchange, paying $345.97, and even received a 10% discount! When asked what military salaries like his were at the time, he recalled that they were about $300 to $400 per month.

Though he originally purchased the Daytona with the intended purpose of SCUBA diving, he decided that his watch was far too nice for that activity, and far too nice even to wear. It sat in a safety deposit box for decades, along with a warranty paper that was never filled out or numbered, the original brochure, two receipts (one for the order and one for the payment), the original box, and even the original outer box.