The stainless steel case has a few dents. The crystal shows scratches. These are not signs of neglect. They are the physical record of a story, one involving Steve McQueen, the 1971 film Le Mans, and a Porsche 917K driven at over 200 miles per hour down the Mulsanne Straight. This is the Heuer Monaco, reference 1133B, that McQueen wore most often on set and in the film.
The watch, with its blue dial and square 46 x 40 mm case, became part of motorsport lore through a chain of admiration. McQueen, a dedicated automotive enthusiast who bought a Porsche 356A Speedster with one of his first acting paychecks in 1958, was an accomplished racer. He secured a second-place finish at the 1970 12 Hours of Sebring in a Porsche 908/02. To the man known as the “King of Cool,” the Swiss driver Jo Siffert was an idol.
The Siffert Connection
For his passion project, Le Mans, McQueen insisted on mimicking Siffert. His character, Michael Delaney, would drive a Gulf-liveried Porsche 917K, just like Siffert. He would wear a white racing suit with a large “Heuer Chronograph” patch on the chest, just like Siffert. And he would wear a Heuer watch, just like Siffert, who not only wore an Autavia but also sold them to other drivers in the pit lane.
The film’s Property Master, Don Nunley, was the one who guided McQueen toward Heuer’s newest model, the Monaco. The decision prompted a direct correspondence between Nunley and Jack Heuer himself to secure timing equipment and a total of nine Monaco watches for the production.
After filming wrapped, Nunley kept three of the reference 1133B Monacos. He eventually sold two of them around the year 2000, but held onto this specific example for decades. His reasoning was simple. “I considered it to be the most important and the one most used by Steve,” Nunley stated. He later called it “one of the most important watches in movie history.”
