It’s one of those unforgettable images where watches and motorsport collide in pure perfection—Steve McQueen buttoning up his racing suit on the set of Le Mans and with a casual flick of the wrist, you catch a glimpse of the Heuer Monaco on his arm, a watch that has become an icon in its own right, much like the man who wore it.
Sotheby’s has revealed that one of the Heuer Monaco watches featured in the 1971 film will be up for grabs at their New York auction this December. Heuer lent out six Monacos for the film, and four of those came with leather straps, just like the one Steve McQueen sported on screen.
Now, here is what’s become of almost all four watches; two of them are displayed in the TAG Heuer Museum. They fetched INR 6.71 crore ($799,500) in 2012 and INR 73 lakh ($87,600) back in 2009. Meanwhile, the Monaco that McQueen handed to his personal mechanic, Haid Alltounian, on the last day of filming Le Mans made headlines when it sold for INR 18.47 crore ($2.2 million) at Philips in 2020.
Now, another McQueen is entering the auction scene, with an estimated value between INR 4.19 crore ($5,00,000) and INR 8.39 crore ($1 million). It’s making its public debut, and it could very well be the last chance to get a McQueen Monaco.
Story of the McQueen Monacos
The story of the Monacos has always been a bit of a puzzle. With six watches in play and no clear record of which one McQueen wore then, the details have remained murky. Back in 2016, the Wall Street Journal decided to dig into the mystery and tracked down Don Nunley, the prop master from Le Mans, in hopes of finally cracking the case.
“I had six blue-dial Monacos on the set,” Nunley revealed, noting that McQueen wore each of them. The article even uncovered the original invoice from Heuer, confirming that six ref. 1133B Monacos were supplied for the film.
After the Le Mans shoot wrapped, this particular Monaco found its way to Bevan Weston, a young mechanic who worked on the film. Weston went on to join McLaren and was part of their Indy 500 team in 1971—where, of course, the Monaco was right there on his wrist. He sold the watch to a private collector around 2010. Now, that private collector is sending the watch to Sotheby’s, making it the first time it’s ever been publicly showcased.
When the last McQueen Monaco hit the auction block in 2020, it became the most expensive Heuer ever sold. That particular watch was one of the two known to have been kept by McQueen himself after filming. Fast forward to 2024, and the watch market has shifted, making it hard to predict where this latest Monaco might land. However, fresh-to-market finds always spark excitement, and with this being the last of the four Le Mans Monacos on a strap to be auctioned, it’s bound to draw attention.
One intriguing twist is whether the TAG Heuer Museum will throw its hat in the ring. They already own two McQueen Monacos, so they might think their collection is complete.
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