STORIES Sotheby’s Heuer Champions Thematic Cataloguing McQueen Monaco

When the collection was launched in 1969 it signalled a new era and direction for Heuer. With its revolutionary case, the first square, water resistant chronograph, housing an even more revolutionary movement, the first commercially available automatic chronograph calibre, it was a tour-de-force in innovation, not just for the company but the entire horological industry.

While visionary creatives such as Stanley Kubrick, Sammy Davis Jr. and Oscar Peterson appreciated the avant-garde design, the broader consumer market did not, and initially sales were disappointing. So in 1970 when Jack Heuer received an unsolicited call from a property master on a movie saying that Steve McQueen had chosen a Monaco to wear for his character in the film, Jack eagerly seized the opportunity.

It is worth rewinding a bit to understand how Steve made the decision to wear such an unusual watch as the driver Michael Delaney. Having been in France from mid-April when the traditional testing day took place in advance of the famous circuit, McQueen had announced he would not be competing personally due to insurance reasons, but he stayed to take part in preparations, including running the cars that would be used for filming as well as defining the wardrobe and other topics of the production.

While the suit that Delaney would wear in the movie was easier to define, Steve wanted to look like a driver he respected deeply: Jo Siffert, the watch on his wrist had to be decided as well to make the hero of the movie absolutely authentic. It was at this time that the property master Don Nunley prepared a table of watches for Steve to choose from, including models from Rolex, Omega, Longines and, of course as the watch of drivers, Heuer. To make the decision-making process easier for the star, and knowing his preference for models on a bracelet, some of the pieces had been fitted with a metal band, even it if was not from the manufacturer itself.

McQueen initially considered the Omega Speedmaster, at which point it was mentioned that it had just gone to the moon and was known as an astronaut’s watch. Besides it would look odd to wear Omega when he had a patch on his suit saying Heuer, exactly like Siffert. It was at this moment that McQueen picked up the Heuer Monaco with handsome blue dial from the table and strapped it on.

This one decision, for the King of Cool, perhaps the most famous person on the planet at that moment, to wear that exact watch would have immeasurable impact on the course of Heuer, TAG Heuer and the Monaco collection across generations. The watch presented here, case number 160’304, is the exact piece that turned the Monaco into a legend.

Of the six Monaco models that appear on the invoice from Heuer for those sent to set, all have now become known to the market. Once filming had wrapped, two of the watches went to McQueen:

• One with case number 160’503 that he gifted to his business manager Bill Maher as a token of his gratitude for Maher support during production of the movie
• The other, with unknown case number, was given by McQueen to his personal mechanic Haig Altounian, that was the last piece to be publicly sold in December 2020 for 2,200,000 USD.

The other four watches went with Nunley:

• Case number 160’903, that eventually found its way to the TAG Heuer Museum
• One that was gifted to a friend of Nunley’s who then gave it to his son
• One that was later sold to a private collector
• A further piece that was later sold to a private collector

To have a watch that was central to a pivotal moment in cultural history at the intersection of cinema and watchmaking, which went on to have a whole other life, traveling the globe to attend races, is perhaps the greatest testament to the incredible significance of the Monaco presented here.

The most historically important Heuer and TAG Heuer watch ever made, the totem to the importance of one of the great watchmakers and its inseparable connection to motor racing.