Rolex GMT-Master reference 1675 from President José López Portillo of Mexico

This is not only a spectacular example of the extremely rare GMT-Master reference 1675 with Mark 3 “Radial” dial, it is a piece of history.  This was the personal watch of the 51st President of Mexico (1976-1982), José Guillermo Abel López Portillo y Pacheco. This watch came directly from the family of President José López Portilló, and the condition of this specific example is amazing, much like the story of the watch itself. The family member stated that Fidel Castro gave the watch to President José López Portilló to as a gift, although we have not been able to verify that with any . The case remains well preserved and unpolished, showing strong case chamfers along with the original factory finishing. The extremely rare original Mark III "Radial" dial remains in flawless condition, exhibiting no lume loss or blemishing to the matte portion of the dial. The hands, like the dial, also remain in flawless condition showing no lume loss and typical aging commonly seen on 1970s Ref. 1675 examples. Both the dial and the hands have taken on a warm and even patina. The original red and blue "Pepsi" bezel insert shows light wear but remains bright and crisp. The watch comes supplied on a Rolex Jubilee Made in U.S.A. oval link bracelet that was sourced with the watch. Based on period photos we have examined closely of President López Portillo, it appears that he wore the watch exactly with this bracelet, which is interesting as it suggests the watch may have been originally purchased in the United States. It adds to the mystery of the piece. Please see more information below the photos.

Learn more in our comprehensive article ‘Collector's Guide: The Rolex GMT-Master Reference 1675 In Steel’.

SOLD

We love a watch with a good story and this circa 1976 Rolex GMT-Master ref. 1675 with the rare Mark III "Radial" dial most certainly has one. This was the personal watch of the 51st President of Mexico (1976-1982), José Guillermo Abel López Portillo y Pacheco. 

This watch came directly from the family of President José López Portilló, and the condition of this specific example is amazing, much like the story of the watch itself. The family member stated that Fidel Castro gave the watch to President José López Portilló although, we have not been able to verify that. The case remains well preserved and unpolished, showing strong case chamfers along with the original factory finishing. The extremely rare original Mark III "Radial" dial remains in flawless condition, exhibiting no lume loss or blemishing to the matte portion of the dial. The hands, like the dial, also remain in flawless condition showing no lume loss and typical aging commonly seen on 1970s Ref. 1675 examples. Both the dial and the hands have taken on a warm and even patina. The original red and blue "Pepsi" bezel insert shows light wear but remains bright and crisp. The watch comes supplied on a Rolex Jubilee Made in U.S.A. oval link bracelet that was sourced with the watch. Based on period photos we have examined closely of President López Portillo, it appears that he wore the watch exactly with this bracelet, which is interesting as it suggests the watch may have been originally purchased in the United States. It adds to the mystery of the timepiece.

The case back displays the engraving “Lic. José López Portillo” in a hand-engraved style. The “Lic." stands for “Licenciado” which translates to “graduate” but in common Spanish usage, it is a title for lawyers similar to Esquire or "Esq." as a title appended to a lawyer's surname. “Lic.” was the formal title that José López Portillo used during his presidential inauguration in 1976, according to the original inauguration program.

José Guillermo Abel López Portillo was a Mexican lawyer and a politician who served as the 51st President of Mexico from 1976 to 1982. López Portillo was the only official candidate in the 1976 Presidential election and was affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He is the only President in recent Mexican history to win an election unopposed. President López Portillo served during a particularly tumultuous period of world history, having to navigate during the Cold War and with important relationships with both the United States (under both Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan) and Cuba.

When López Portillo entered office, Mexico as a country was in the midst of an economic disaster. López Portillo initiated an aggressive program to strengthen Mexico's economic advancement with revenues originating from the discovery of new petroleum resources within Mexico. In 1980, López Portillo joined the Pact of San José, which was a foreign aid plan to sell oil at preferential prices to countries in Central America and the Caribbean. This plan fostered a short-lived economic boost for Mexico, but by the time López Portillo left office, the economy had once again deteriorated and began to crumble. As a result, it gave way to a severe debt crisis and a sovereign default.

A now-declassified CIA report on López Portillo that outlined topics such as international trade, oil, agriculture, border security, and drug trafficking, stated that López Portillo was receptive and cooperative with U.S security and counternarcotics initiatives, but that due to López Portillo’s generalized political corruption, paired with the potential financial gain of drug trafficking, there were overall dismal results that came at a time when the U.S. was at the peak of its drug war in the 1970s and 1980s.

López Portillo & Castro's Relationship

Jose López Portillo viewed himself as the go-between for Washington and Havana. López Portillo appears to have liked his American presidential counterparts Jimmy Carter and then Ronald Reagan, but he also seems to have liked and been close with Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Given its location, the Mexican government had to be cautious with how it conducted its foreign policy in this regard, especially with Castro and the United States government being enemies.

In May of 1979, Fidel Castro flew to Mexico to discuss foreign policy and the politics between Mexico and Cuba. When Castro landed in Mexico he was greeted by a red carpet, mariachi bands, and gun salvos from the Mexican military. Prior to his arrival to meet with López Portillo in 1979, Fidel had not been to Mexico in 23 years since he Leftuxpan, the gulf port from that he sailed from in 1956 as a guerrilla leader to launch his socialist revolution in Cuba. Following the Mexico meeting in May of 1979, López Portillo joined Castro in Havana, Cuba in 1980 to continue to discuss foreign policy between Mexico and Cuba.

In 1981, López Portillo held a “North-South” world summit in Cancun, Mexico. The summit was attended by representatives of 22 countries from 5 continents. It is the only North-South summit conference in history. President Reagan stated that he would not participate in the summit if Fidel Castro attended, and to help maintain good relations between Mexico and the United States, Fidel was not permitted to participate in the conference. Mexico realized that supporting their biggest partner, the United States publicly, was essential to their country, however, they were also interested in other foreign policies and relations. López Portillo coined the term "Political Neutrality” this policy was followed through during the Cold War and is still being followed today with Mexico choosing to remain neutral in many international disputes. In August of 1981, Fidel Castro returned to Mexico to meet with López Portillo to reaffirm what the New York Times referred to as their warm personal relationship despite the Cuban leader's annoyance at being excluded from the North-South meeting in Mexico in October of that same year. The premise of the meeting other than social was to discuss 'international problems' including Mexico's bowing to U.S. pressure against Cuba’s participation in the North-South Summit hosted by López Portillo. This lunch meeting between Castro and López Portillo was highly publicized.

CASE & BRACELET

The case remains well preserved and unpolished, showing strong and sharp case chamfers along with the original factory finishing.

The case remains well preserved and unpolished, showing strong and sharp case chamfers along with the original factory finishing. The Rolex USA oval link Jubilee bracelet shows some stretch from use but remains in overall good condition with a patina that matches the overall condition of the watch itself. We believe that President López Portillo wore the watch on this bracelet. The red and blue "Pepsi" bezel insert with red back shows light wear, but remains bright and crisp. We also believe it is original to the watch.

DIAL & HANDS

The original Mark III “Radial" Dial remains in flawless condition exhibiting no lume loss and or blemishing to the matte portion of the dial.

The original Mark III “Radial" Dial remains in flawless condition exhibiting no lume loss and or blemishing to the matte portion of the dial. The “radial” term refers to the fact that the lume plots are all located closer to the center of the dial, giving the watch a very distinctive and special look. The hands like the dial also remain in flawless condition showing no lume loss or degradation. The original silver date wheel is correct for that era, exhibiting open 6s and 9s.

ACCESSORIES 

The watch will be accompanied by a grouping of artifacts we sourced.

These items include a copy of TIME magazine from October 8, 1979 featuring President José López Portillo on the cover of the magazine, an official Presidential signature card bearing López Portillo's original signature and accompanying letter both bearing the embossed Presidential Seal of Mexico, 3 original photos of José López Portillo including a New York Times Press Select photo of Portillo that was used in a published edition in the New York Times, and two additional original photos of López Portillo with Fidel Castro. President José López Portillo's GMT-Master reference 1675 is clearly visible in all accompanying photographs.

PRICING

A final comment on pricing: to the best of our knowledge this is the second President López Portillo watch to come to auction, the other being a Rolex Sea-Dweller reference 1665 with a service dial and service hands that sold for $31,200 in the April 17, 2008 Rolex Revolution auction hosted by Antiquorum in New York. We learned that the Sea-Dweller featured the identical style of engraved handwriting starting with “Lic.” as this GMT-Master reference 1665, although the photograph of the engraving is not online and only in the printed catalog.

A GMT-Master with “Mark 3” radial dial in this crisp, unpolished condition is worth about $40,000 in our opinion. That would place the additional provenance value of a historically important and interesting watch to about $35,000. One relevant price comparable is a GMT-Master reference 1675 that was former property of General Eduardo Galindo Grandchant/Carlos Coello “Tuma” of Cuba sold by Antiquorum Geneva for 112,500 CHF (similar value in USD) in November 2019. That was an earlier GMT-Master 1675 with a gilt dial, but in much worse condition overall than this watch and arguably not as important or well-known of a historical figure.

I hope you will consider this watch as exceptional and important as I do.

To learn more about the Rolex GMT-Master you can watch the ‘Reference Points: Understanding The Rolex GMT-Master' video and corresponding article I produced with HODINKEE.