There’s no greater movie star associatated with watches than Steve McQueen. The lead in such film classics as The Great Escape, Bullitt and The Thomas Crown Affair, McQueen came to embody 60’s cool and became both a cultural and a style icon.
Still to this day, McQueen is held up the epitome of how to dress and the pinnacle to aspire to. A big part of his image was what he wore on his wrist with the actor usually spotted wearing a fine timepiece from Rolex, TAG Heuer or even Jaeger-LeCoultre. TAG, for whom he was an ambassador for, continue to use him in marketing materials and maintain a line dedicated to him.
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With the watch McQueen wore in Le Mans set to hit the auction block later this month and likely fetch a sum in the steep seven figures, we have taken a look at some of the most famous watches the King of Cool wore on screen.
The Great Escape – Rolex Speedking
Historically accurate as the Rolex Speedking would be supplied to Prisoner’s of War across Germany by the Red Cross. Very small by Rolex’s standards, the Speedking, despite its historical providence of being a Second World War watch and featured in one of the most famous films ever made, is not one of the brand’s better known models. McQueen is reported to have wanted the watch in the movie as it was true to the facts.
Bullitt – Benrus #3061
True to the titular character’s straightforwardness, McQueen wears a Benrus #3061 throughout Bullitt. A military watch that would have been popular in the Vietnam War, the Benrus is reliable and weighty enough to withstand heavy day-to-day use. The one McQueen wore in the film was slightly modified to his preferences, opting for a leather strap and foregoing the protective cuff that was intended to limit recoil when soldiers were firing guns. Benrus did recently bring the Bullitt watch to market for fans.
The Thomas Crown Affair – Cartier Tank Cintree
The Cintree couldn’t sum up Thomas Crown any better. Widely successful businessman by day, serial art thief by night, the character is a super stylish adrenaline junkie and the timepiece befits the elegance and thrilling cool of the character. For its exotic locales, endless stream of supercars and clothing fit for royalty, The Thomas Crown Affair is widely regarded as the most stylish film of all time. Though McQueen wears a number of other watches in the film, including a remarkable Patek Philippe pocket watch, this is the one most closely associated with the classic picture.
Le Mans – TAG Heuer Monaco
45 years after his death, the TAG Heuer Monaco remains the watch most closely associated with McQueen. Seen prominently in several shots throughout the racing movie, the Monaco is seen by collectors as the Holy Grail of movie watches. As luck would have it, the very watch McQueen wore during filming is heading to auction later this month. Any buyers would need very deep pockets as the estimate is set at $1 million and is likely to go much higher.
The Towering Inferno – Rolex Submariner
The Submariner was McQueen’s everyday watch and likely his favourite given how often he would be seen wearing one. It was also his personal Submariner that can be seen in The Towering Inferno, the last enormous hit of his career and the watch can be seen clearly in several scenes in which he and fellow watch God Paul Newman battle the flames in a San Francisco skyscraper. Classic yet timeless, the Submariner really embodied McQueen’s sense of style.
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