[lksteve]

Originally Posted by Trip_Wire

I've only had my Rolex GMT Master II for 17 years. I had to have the crystal replaced once and cleaned at the same time.

i had to have the crystal replaced on mine shortly after i got it...we were climbing in the Alps and i was belaying the guy above me...i had the watch in the top pocket of the rucksack, for reasons i can no longer explain (i have since used the watch as a climbing aid)...anyway, the guy knocked loose a rock, i ducked into the side of the mountain and a chunk of limestone the size of a steel pot hit the top of my rucksack, damn near sending me off the belay stand...it cracked the crystal pretty bad...when i took it to Franz Bauer's shop in Munich (he coulda been a spy for the Russians, he'd sold a watch to almost every SF guy in BT) he said he'd never seed a crystal break that badly...it still kept great time...

i wonder if i can get mine upgraded to a GMT Master II...i told my wife that when i made LTC, i was going to get a gold GMT Master and a turbo Porsche...i think that's why she insisted i retire as a major...