That is a really interesting story. We love to think of our watches as "tool watches" but very few of them actually now get used as a tool in a specific job, so it nice to hear that type of story. Interesting also that the majority of watch enthusiasts would be horrified to learn about hand replacement by Heuer, but in the context of this story it is OK, it makes sense.

One other thing that was interesting for me was the replacement bezel. I have 1st ed 1163GMT with a bright pepsi bezel, shown below. The bright pepsi bezel is not like the darker and more matte bezels that came with the watch originally, but it is 100% sure a Heuer part, I know that for sure. It's interesting to see another early GMT with a replacement bezel which looks like it is also pretty bright and glossy, from what I can see in the photo.

Anyone else got info on these glossy pepsi bezels?