Steve McQueen Watch Auctioned For Nearly $800,000
Steve McQueen’s watch from the movie “Le Mans” fetched nearly $800,000 at an auction of film memorabilia in Los Angeles
The McQueen watch, a Heuer wrist watch that he wore in the 1971 action movie, sold for $799,500, the Associated Press reported.
McQueen’s watch helped establish a standard of style among racers. The movie, which is set in Monaco and focuses on 24 hours of the Le Mans car race, helped the watch become a favorite of motor racing drivers and fans around the world, the Daily Mail noted. The Tag Heuer Monaco has a black alligator skin strap along with a stylish retro 60s style blue face, the report said. The McQueen watch was the first ever automatic and square cased chronograph watch.
Steve McQueen was budding into one of Hollywood’s biggest stars at the time “Le Mans” came out. The star of other films including “The Magnificent Seven,” “The Great Escape” and “The Thomas Crown Affair” would become the highest-paid movie star in the world by 1974.
The auction had a host of other memorabilia beside the McQueen watch. A drop-ship used in the science-fiction thriller “Aliens” fetched $225,000 and a pair of wire-rim glasses that Groucho Marx wore in “A Night at the Opera” sold for $86,100. Vivien Leigh’s hat from “Gone with the Wind” sold for $67,650.
Items from “The Godfather” were also popular at the auction. One bidder paid $98,400 for the jacket worn by Marlon Brando when he was assassinated, and a personal copy of the script signed by Brando fetched another $55,000
The McQueen watch was not the only personal item from the late movie star to be auctioned. A signed U.S. passport once belonging to Steve McQueen also brought in $46,125.
