“Power wears out those who don’t own it”
That’s the phrase that remember us one of the most famous Italian politicians ever: Giulio Andreotti.
Jokingly referred as “Il Divo” (Italian for “The Superstar”), he was a main character of the last 50 years’ politics, with an exceptional curriculum. Seven times Prime Minister, eight times Minister of Defense, five times Minister of Foreign Affairs, twice Minister of Finances, of Balance and Industry, once Minister of Treasury and once Minister of Intern, always in Parliament since 1945.
Complicated and controversial figure, involved in many scandals, investigations and vicissitudes that characterized the Italian 20th century.
The passion for watches
We don’t know if it was an actual passion or just a whim. Many say that all the watches Andreotti wore where gifts, and we have no trouble believing that.
What we surely know is that during his life he always wore watches with loose bracelets or straps, resulting in the watch sliding under the cuff and with the dial facing inwards.
Another particular is that, watching archive pictures, the “Divo” is almost always wearing a Rolex.
It’s not a news that this brand could be seen on celebrities’ wrists, as you should know by following our page. Widely loved from cinema to fashion, Rolex also dressed up politics, becoming “The Presidents’ watch” with the iconic Day-Date.
Let’s now discover Giulio Andreotti’s collection:
Rolex GMT Master Ref. 6542
In this picture from the 70s, we can see Andreotti wearing the mythical Rolex GMT Master with Bakelite bezel ref. 6542. Already spotted on our page, this model nowadays sells between € 80.000 and € 90.000 due to its exceptional rarity
Rolex Gmt-Master Ref. 1675
The 6542 wasn’t the only GMT Andreotti had. We can in fact see two more, both ref. 1675 but very different, with colored metallic bezel and crown guards.
Maybe the politician had a passion for this model, maybe was just a coincidence, but the GMT is the main model collected by Andreotti.
In this picture, looking at il Divo’s wrist, we can see a Rolex Gmt-Master ref.1675 with “Pepsi” bezel. Similar in the colors to the 6542 but successive, this model quotations today ranges from € 12.500 and € 16.000, definitely higher than its price back in the days.
The last GMT we see is a 1675/3 called “Root Beer” because of its colors.
The peculiarity of this model are the dial, called “nipple dial” because of the indexes’ shape, the bezel’s colors and the steel and gold combo. All these characteristics contributed to create a model so iconic that we can recognize it just by a detail under the cuff.
The price to pay for this watch today is around € 8.000 and € 12.000.
The Day-Date Ref. 19018
With the advent of quartz in the 80s, the President decided to keep up with the times. Without walking away from Rolex he chose a Day-Date Oysterquartz ref. 19018 in yellow gold, which reminds the idea of the typical “Presidents’ watch” in a more modern way. Today, a similar example could be found between € 9.500 and € 11.500.
The Daytona
The watch we saw Andreotti wearing the most during the last 20 years of his long life is a Rolex Daytona.
This model, ref.116519, can be found between € 17.000 and € 19.000.
Patek Philippe
The last watch we discover is a Patek Philippe from the 60s.
It’s a reference 3468 in white gold, with integrated bracelet and manual wound movement. Easily one of the most refined watches from his collection, despite being the only non-Rolex we came across.
This extremely elegant example can be found today ranging from € 8.000 to € 9.000.
Giulio Andreotti was the emblem of an enigmatic power, that works its way between light and shades.
For more than 40 years he benefitted and suffered his fame of cynical and Machiavellian politician, so much that his opponents referred to him as “Beelzebub” (an expression to refer at the Devil).
Many stories about this character can be told, but he’s been what he’s been: the King of Italian politics for more than 50 years, with a remarkable taste in watches.
Translated by Lorenzo Spolaor (@itsdococklock )
