While the melody of Lalo Shifrin is on all the airwaves with the soundtrack of the film bulitt, interpreted by the two sex-symbols steve mcqueen and jacqueline bisset, jack william who directs heuer is aware of the craze for motor racing in the company of the 1960s and its positive image to associate with it its watch brand.
After his American tour where he became the first watchmaker to sponsor a great racing driver (jo siffert), he worked with his teams to find the event that would allow him to attract everyone's attention. The idea of combining a watch with an icon of cinema was to lead to the greatest success of the Heuer brand: The Monaco Square Automatic Chronograph on the wrist of Steve McQueen in a legendary film: the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Because from a technological point of view heuer knows that the launch of an automatic chronograph is decisive, and by organizing a simultaneous launch in Geneva and New York on March 3, 1969, heuer with monaco will make a lasting impression by presenting to the world's first square-shaped waterproof automatic chronograph in the history of Swiss watchmaking.
Named by jack heuer in honor of the mythical monaco grand prix (of which tag-heuer is still a partner), this chronograph embodied a complete break with the aesthetic standards of traditional watchmaking with its imposing square-shaped case, its dazzling dial metallic blue, its bright red minutes hand with excellent readability, its domed plastic crystal to reduce reflections and what would definitely set it apart from its competitors: a crown located on the left side in an unprecedented way which symbolized the fact that the watch did not need to be wound regularly by its owner.
A strong launch of full-scale experiments
The heuer monaco will be associated with what will be the origin of its legend: the shooting of Lee Katzin's film "le mans" in 1971 with steve mcqueen in the main role: a great lover of watches in love with beautiful mechanics.
On the set, Steve Macqueen is dressed in the mythical "Gulf" pilot suit as his understudy, but he will impose wearing a Monaco instead of the Autavia that Jo Siffert wears on his wrist during the shots. It is on this condition alone that he will take off his emblematic submariner 5512 on all the scenes of the film, his favorite watch of the time, easily identifiable, and far too visually different from that of his double in front of the cameras.
Because certain scenes of the film Le Mans being considered disproportionately too risky, by the insurance companies for steve mcqueen to interpret them, "double" extras are imposed and it is great pilots, such as david piper, jo siffert or even derek bell, who will be put to use. Steve McQueen reportedly demanded to be dressed as Jo Siffert for the shoot.
This is the origin of the combination of the white gulf/heuer outfit, associated with the Heuer watch. A composition which takes shape by the fact that siffert was wearing an autavia, and which only varies by the use of the "monaco" chronograph that Steve McQueen preferred to the autavia. From an operational point of view, the fact that he there would have been several copies of the monaco made available by the brand on the shoot, favored the choice of the "monaco" attributed to steve mcqueen, an option retained in the event that there would be a need to replace the watch in question …
After the shoot, the numerous photos attest that Steve McQueen only sporadically wore his Monaco chronograph, preferring by far the shapes of his submariner that can be seen on his wrist in the many photos taken of the actor in the following years...
Heuer Monaco Caliber 12 Le Mans Gulf
An already legendary Steve Mcqueen commemorative edition
