These are the stories that bring you back to vintage watches.
A few years back, a member of the Military fake watch Forum named KKMark purchased an old IWC Mark XI dating to 1952. He was told by the dealer that the original owner of the fake watch was a seasoned RAF navigator and once even helped ferry the young King of Jordan and his Queen mother out of the country during a coup attempt. KKMark didn't think much of this, though he never forgot the name of the purported owner "Frank Jekyll".
Then one day late last year, KKMark was reading an article about a great old military plane that had been destroyed by arson and saw that a man named "Frank Jekyll" had left a comment. KKMark couldn't believe it, and through the jeweller that sold him the IWC, he found out that Mr. Jekyll now lived in Montreal and eventually made contact with him.
KKMark and Mr. Jekyll met for lunch to see what could be shared. It turns out, a lot. The fake watch was indeed Mr. Jekyll's and he shared with KKMark all the stories of years as a RAF navigator, which did include bring the Queen and heir apparent out of Jordan, ditching his plane in the Indian Ocean (the Mark XI was waterproof, btw), making several drops in the jungle as they fought the communists in Malaya, and being one of the first three foreigners to land in Sri Lanka after the nation declared independence (they had to take off for half an hour, circle the area, and then land in a new nation).
Mr. Jekyll also spoke about how military replica watches were "common as dirt" and the IWC's and Replica Rolexes that were issued to them were very often destroyed by anvil rather than returned, because nobody wanted to do the paperwork (watchnerd cringe!).
This is just a great story and a prime example of why vintage replica watches are so interesting - you just never know what one of them may lead you to. For the full post from KKMark, click on over to the Military fake watch Forum.
Related Posts: For another wonderful story of a military fake watch ending up in the hands of a modern-day collector, with a great result, click here.
(ht to SJX)
Iwc Maitres du Temps Chapter Two TCR Replica watch Hands On 10109