Only a few examples of the Tag Heuer Monaco were used in the film “Le Mans” with style icon Steve McQueen. Sales of these watches are rare. This could soon set a record.
After more than 50 years in private ownership, an extremely rare watch will soon go under the hammer. The auction house “” announced that one of a total of four Tag Heuer Monaco watches, which actor Steve McQueen wore on a leather strap in the film “Le Mans”, will be sold in December. According to the auction house, the watch, a Tag Heuer Monaco 1133B, was purchased directly from the props man after filming by a mechanic named Bevan Weston. Weston looked after one of the Ferraris shown during the film.
The mechanic then wore the watch himself, including at races. “Sotheby’s” states that the buyer had owned the watch for around 40 years. He only sold the watch to his collector around 13 years ago – at the time he allegedly received 75,000 US dollars. This collector has now passed the watch on to the auction house and can probably look forward to a big return.
Sotheby’s expects seven-figure proceeds
The trade magazine “” writes that the Monaco is estimated to be worth a conservative 500,000 to one million US dollars. If you look at the previous sales of the other three leather strap watches from the film, however, this could perhaps only be the starting price. Four years ago, a copy was sold at “Phillips” for over two million US dollars, and other changes of ownership were more than twelve years ago. However, it is considered rather unlikely that the watch now for sale will break the old record. The lot from “Phillips” was a watch that remained in McQueen’s possession after the film – probably a significant difference for collectors.
Nevertheless, since two of the watches are in the Tag Heuer company museum, the upcoming auction could be the last sale of this genuine film prop for the time being. This could well be reflected in the price.
But the Tag Heuer Monaco stands out from the crowd even without its famous wearer. The angular design, paired with the blue dial and the two white totalizers, is extremely striking. The model was not to stop at its appearance in “Le Mans”. In the fifth season of “Breaking Bad”, Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston) receives a modern example of the Monaco (probably reference CAW2111.FC6183) from Jesse Pinkman (played by Aaron Paul). This is why younger people may be more familiar with the model.
Steve McQueen didn’t just wear Tag Heuer
The Tag Heuer Monaco is not the only watch that was coveted and made famous by Steve McQueen. What the actor strapped to his wrist at the time later became a top seller. In addition to the Tag Heuer Monaco, McQueen was also seen wearing a Rolex Submariner, a German Hanhart 417 ES, a Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox and a Benrus.
The enormous influence that famous actors can have on the value and popularity of watches can be seen in the most expensive wristwatch ever sold at auction. The Rolex Daytona, worn by Paul Newman and inseparably linked to his name, still holds the record today. A collector paid a whopping $17.7 million for the watch in 2017. Without its history and its famous previous owner, it would probably have been much less.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
