Vintage Airline Memorabilia

One of the most iconic airlines was Pan American World Airways.  Pan Am exemplified the glamor of air travel during the 1950s - 1960s and into the 70s.  Unfortunately, Pan Am declined during the 1980s and in 1991 they closed their cabin bay doors for the last time.

The GMT-Master will be forever linked to Pan Am since its creation was a collaboration between Pan Am and Rolex.

When I saw the picture below from an Antiquorum auction showing vintage Pan Am memorabilia along with a ref. 6542 GMT-Master I thought it was one of the coolest compositions for a watch photo.

One thing I noticed was the Pan Am branded cigarette lighter.  It was made by a Japanese company called Penguin in the 1960s.  I don't smoke...anymore.  I quit that bad habit almost ten years ago after 15 years of smoking!  However, I still love the design and look of these metal cigarette lighters - Zippo, Dupont, Penguin, etc.  Like mechanical watches they are wonderfully analog (archaic!), can still be used for their intended purpose (not just for decoration!), and can last for generations which is so refreshing in this digital, Moore's Law-dominated, throw-away world.

I was lucky enough to find a NOS example of the Penguin Pan Am lighter and took delivery today.  It came in its original packaging including the box in mint condition.  Now all I need is the 6542.  I'm working on it!