TAG Heuer: Welcome to the Million Club
NOTEWORTHY RESULT If your name is Rolex or Patek Philippe, you can only smile wearily at an amount of 2.2 million dollars. But if your name is TAG Heuer, this amount sends you into a frenzy. Why? Because for the first time a watch of the brand broke the auction sound barrier of one million dollars - and then right away. Fourth brand [...]
Because for the first time a watch of the brand broke the auction sound barrier of one million dollars - and then right away.
Fourth brand in the ranking
The TAG Heuer Monaco that Steve McQueen wore during the filming of the movie "Le Mans" changed hands for $2.2 million at an auction in New York.
It is true that Heuer's price puts it in 63rd place among the most expensive watches ever sold at auction. But: Alongside Rolex, Patek and Urwerk, Heuer is only the fourth brand ever to make it into the ranking with a wristwatch (as opposed to a pocket watch).
A lasting legacy in the watch industry
At its premiere in 1969, the model was considered absolutely groundbreaking, as it was the first square, water-resistant automatic chronograph wristwatch with a caliber 11 movement. In addition, it was identified by an oscillating micro-rotor mass and also characterized by the then unusual placement of the crown on the left side of the watch case.
Today, the Monaco 1133 still makes the hearts of chronograph fans beat faster and holds an enduring legacy in the watch industry.
F 1 pilot Steve McQueen chronograph
Designed by Jack Heuer, the watch was named after the famous Formula One track and was Steve McQueen's favorite chronograph. At the end of the filming of the movie McQueen gave the watch to his personal mechanic Haig Alltounian, also the chief mechanic of the film.
The watch comes directly from Alltounian, who was gifted it at the time by Steve McQueen with the engraved dedication "TO HAIG LE MANS 1970" on the back of the case.
