The King of Cool, Steve McQueen is considered a hero amongst men. Not many actors can jump from being a cowboy, to a policeman, to a concentration camp hero in such style. I’m sure the sale of baseballs and mitts skyrocketed after the release of The Great Escape, and I’m also sure a few McQueen wannabes had a go at jumping their motorcycles over their neighbour’s fence! Health and safety was probably invented because of Steve McQueen’s antics.
Some of McQueen’s most popular roles have seen him wear some very special watches. His 1971 film Le Mans, saw him wear the Heuer Monaco Chronograph (Tag had not yet been acquired), a square faced, blue dialed, steel sport’s watch that to this day, still features in Tag Heuer’s marketing campaigns with McQueen. The original watch worn by McQueen in the film was sold several years ago for $800,000, which is astonishing because, although McQueen had an association with the brand, he never wore it off screen.
McQueen’s personal love of watches was loyal to only one brand, Rolex. Inspired by his friend Paul Newman, McQueen even had a Rolex named after him. ‘The McQueen Rolex’ was an Explorer II, equipped with a recognisable orange 24-hour hand, and although discontinued in 1985, an iconic watch by its association with the King of Cool. However, most of the office prints, or bedroom wall posters featuring McQueen, will show him wearing another watch, the non date Rolex Submariner (reference 5512). The watch appealed to McQueen through its understated and durable nature. It was a representation of Steve McQueen ‘The Man’, not what you saw on the big screen. The 5512 Submariner was produced exclusively in the UK and discontinued in 1978. In 2009, McQueen’s Submariner was sold for $234,000 at auction, probably to the man doing doughnuts in his Mustang in the carpark afterwards!
McQueen wore his watch on his right wrist and this allowed for a fantastic amount of photographs to capture him and his watch in action. What a way to remember the King of Cool!
By Patrick Styles
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