Steve McQueen’s $1m Heuer Monaco watch is heading to auction
Watches get called “iconic” all the time. This one really is
ONE OF THE MOST significant celebrity-owned watches is about go on sale at Sotheby’s. The blue-dialled Heuer Monaco was used and worn by Steve McQueen during filming of the 1971 classic motor racing drama Le Mans.
The Monaco is an icon of watchmaking and a flagship watch today for Tag Heuer, the company Heuer became. Arguably, no watch has benefitted more from its appearance in a movie, or its association with its celebrity owner.
The historically important watch is one of six Heuer Monaco models with blue dials sent to the Le Mans set. Within the six reference 1133B models, two were fitted on stainless steel bracelets, and four with leather straps as worn by McQueen in the movie.
The example headed for auction is one of those four and it comes to sale with notable provenance. It was part of the dispatch of other watches and timing equipment sent from the Heuer factory in Switzerland to the set at the request of the film’s property master, Don Nunley.
After filming, it was acquired by Bevan Weston, a young mechanic, who was working on set supporting the number 8 Ferrari 512.
Bevan Weston (right) wearing the Heuer Monaco while rallying in Australia in the late 1970s
Weston was part of the crew recommended to the production team by Derek Bell, who helped train McQueen to drive his Porsche 917, together with Swiss racing legend Jo Siffert.
This Heuer Monaco has never come up for sale, making it a particularly rare and coveted piece. Two of the six are in the Tag Heuer museum collection, two have sold through public auctions and others privately. The last time one came up for public sale was 2020, and that one sold for $2.2 million. Prior to that sale, one came up for auction in 2012 and fetched $799,500. These significant sale prices underscore how provenance can dramatically elevate a watch’s value.
In the watch world, Steve McQueen’s connection to the Heuer Monaco is second only to Paul Newman’s association with the Rolex Daytona. Paul Newman’s own “Paul Newman” dial Daytona famously became the most expensive wristwatch ever sold, when it went under the hammer for $17.8m in 2017.
The sale, which made global headlines, is also credited with helping jumpstart a new interest in watch collecting, at all levels, something that continues to this day.
The Heuer Monaco will be offered in Sotheby’s Important Watches sale in New York on 11 December, as a highlight of “Heuer Champions”, a curated selection of exceptional vintage Heuer chronographs that celebrate the brand’s significant connection to motorsport. It has an estimate of $500,000–$1m – a figure that’s surely conservative.
Launched in 1969, the Heuer Monaco was among the first commercially available automatic chronograph wristwatches. While the brand’s Autavia and Carrera models had already existed, the Monaco kicked off a new decade in design, with its pioneering square, water resistant case, brushed and polished finishes, and brutalist aesthetics.
While the watch was not initially a commercial success, its association with McQueen and Le Mans cemented its status in popular culture.
When the model was relaunched in 1997 under Tag Heuer, it found a new audience thanks to advertising campaigns featuring the image of McQueen “saluting” the crowd from the movie.
Up until very recently, McQueen was listed on the brand’s website in the “Ambassadors” section, despite having died in 1980.
Marking the first time the watch has appeared on public view in over 50 years since McQueen wore it on film, the historic Heuer will be on exhibition in Monterey, California from 14-17 August to coincide with RM Sotheby’s flagship Monterey auction, before returning to Sotheby’s New York for exhibition from 5–10 December.
“As a lifelong lover of the Heuer brand, it is a career highlight for me to be involved in bringing one of the most important watches in the history of the marque to auction,” says Geoff Hess, Sotheby’s global head of watches.
“The connection between cars and watches is well-known, but the reference 1133B encapsulates this union in a way unmatched by other timepieces. For enthusiasts of racing, McQueen, or vintage chronographs, this watch represents the ultimate addition to any collection – a true ‘end game’ piece.”
