Steve McQueen’s Heuer Monaco From ‘Le Mans’ To Hit The Auction Block

• A Heuer Monaco worn by Steve McQueen during the filming of Le Mans is heading to auction in New York this December.
• Heuer provided six Monaco watches to be used in Le Mans, with this example having never appeared on the market before.
• The watch will be sold at Sotheby’s “Heuer Champions” auction event with an estimate of US$500,000 to US$1 million (AU$756,000 to AU$1.5 million).

Cars and watches go together like beers and a hot summer’s day, making the upcoming auction of Steve McQueen’s Heuer Monaco a guaranteed hype-fest as two gear-obsessed communities come together.

This specific example has never appeared for public sale before, offering a possible once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for buyers to own a piece of watchmaking and cinema history.

Heuer provided a total of six watches for the production of the 1971 classic (the Monaco debuted in 1969 as one of the world’s first automatic chronographs); but only four of them arrived on the leather straps that McQueen wore in the film.

Of those four, two are known to be a part of the TAG Heuer Museum collection, while a third sold at Phillips in 2020, achieving the eye-watering price of US$2.2 million (AU$2.9 million).

It’s rather uncontroversial to say the watch auction market is in a very different place right now than it was in 2020. However, considering this Steve McQueen Heuer Monaco is the last Le Mans prop watch to arrive on the market — and TAG Heuer’s Heritage Director Nicholas Biebuyck could be bidding on behalf of the brand’s museum — this timepiece could still surpass its presale estimate of US$1 million (AU$1.5 million).

“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,” said 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.”

We’ll need to wait to find out where the market is for watches of important provenance, though it’s sure to be a highlight of the year for Sotheby’s. The hot-ticket item is scheduled to be sold at the “Heuer Champions” auction on December 11th with a pre-sale estimate of US$500,000 to US$1 million (AU$756,000 to AU$1.5 million).