Politician Fidel Castro spotted wearing a Rolex

A historical photograph documents Fidel Castro wearing two Rolex watches simultaneously on a single wrist: a stainless steel GMT-Master ref. 1675 and an 18-karat yellow gold Day-Date. The practice of dual-watch wearing, while unconventional, underscores Castro's need for reliable time-zone tracking during his leadership of Cuba and extensive international diplomacy.

The Rolex GMT-Master ref. 1675, produced from 1959 to 1980, became the definitive intercontinental chronometer of the Cold War era. Its 40 mm stainless steel case housed the calibre 1570 automatic movement, a derivative of the standard Perpetual rotor mechanism but engineered with an independent 24-hour hand for simultaneous display of two time zones. The aluminium Pepsi bezel—red and blue insert—became the visual signature of this reference. The dial offered a choice of gilt or matte finishes; tropical dials, where lume aged to warm brown hues, are now prized by collectors. Water resistance reached 100 metres, suitable for professional pilots and maritime use.

The ref. 1675 arrived at a critical moment in watchmaking history: the dawn of commercial jet travel and intercontinental business. Its GMT complication was no marketing flourish but a practical necessity. The reference spawned several notable variants, including the rare all-gilt dial versions and examples with "exclamation point" dial markings (where the 6 o'clock Mercedes hand bore a distinctive notch). Early examples featured wider crown guards; later production refined the case finishing. The 1675 remained in production across two decades, allowing incremental evolution in dial printing, lume composition, and case proportions.

Castro's choice of the GMT-Master ref. 1675 alongside a yellow gold Day-Date reflects the practical demands of Cold War leadership. The GMT-Master served operational timekeeping for global communications and travel coordination; the Day-Date, with its day window at 12 o'clock, functioned as a day-date reference for state functions and diplomatic schedules. Wearing two watches was not vanity but deliberate redundancy—a fail-safe against mechanical failure during critical moments.

Today, the Rolex GMT-Master ref. 1675 commands grey-market prices near $20,000 for standard examples; exceptional dial variants, tropical dials, or early gilt-dial specimens exceed $28,000. The reference remains a cornerstone of vintage Rolex collecting, prized equally by pilot-watch enthusiasts and historians of Cold War horological culture.