On December 6, 2024, as part of its “Important Watches” auction in New York City, Sotheby’s conducted its “Heuer Champions” auction.  There were 38 Heuer chronographs included in the sale, including one of the Heuer Monaco chronographs worn by Steve McQueen in the filming of Le Mans (1970). You can see the details of the watches in Sotheby’s online catalog.

Below, we show the 38 Heuer chronographs that were included in the sale, along with a table showing estimates and results for these watches.

Some highlights of the auction include the following timepieces:

  • Lot 128 — Heuer Monaco, Ref 1133 B, owned and screen-worn by Steve McQueen, during the filming of Le Mans, in 1970.  For additional information, see the article, Found — Steve McQueen Heuer Monaco Is Not What Sotheby’s Said It Was… It’s Better, on Hodinkee, sold for $1,440,000 (final price)
  • Lot 127 — Heuer Carrera, Ref 1158 CHN, second execution, 18 karat gold case and 18 karat gold Heuer bracelet, sold for $72,000 (final price)
  • Lot 104 — Heuer Skipper, Ref 7754 “Skipperrera”, sold for $54,000 (final price)
  • Lot 121 — Heuer Chronosplit, Ref 102.703, with Ferrari Prancing Horse logo on dial, previously owned by Formula 1 champion Phil Hill, sold for $25,200 (final price)
  • Lot 108 — Heuer Carrera 45 Dato, Ref 3147 N, second execution, awarded to John Morton for winning Sports Car Club of America class championship (1970), sold for $18,000 (final price)
  • Lot 110 — Heuer Autavia, Ref 2446 “Rindt” model, awarded to the drivers who undertook the Zodiac Endurance Run at Monza, in 1966, setting numerous class records over a run of seven days, sold for $21,600 (final price)
  • Lot 112 — Heuer Autavia, Ref 3636 “Motor Age” on dial, awarded to driver Tony Adamowicz as Sports Car Club of America Driver of the Year, 1968, sold for $19,200 (final price)
  • Lot 119 — Heuer Autavia, Ref 1163 “Pre-Viceroy”, case-back engraved for Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing Team , 1970-71 Champs, together with Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing Team coat, from team member, sold for $18,000 (final price)
  • Lot 122 — Heuer Carrera, Ref 1553 S, with “McLaren World Champions 1974” on dial, sold for $18,000 (final price)
  • Lot 126 — Heuer Timing Board, with pair of Abercrombie & Fitch Autavia Dashboard Timers, used by Eisert Racing Enterprises at the Indianapolis 500 and in Formula 5000 (from mid-1960s through 1973 season), sold for $15,600 (final price)
  • Lot 125 — Heuer Stopwatches, Indianapolis Motor Speedway logo on dial, two stopwatches in rubber case, marked “Champion” (on front) and “Champion Reliable Spark Plugs” (on back), sold for $9,600 (final price)

Jeff Stein
November 21, 2024
Updated, December 10, 2024