After selling Paul Newman’s ‘Paul Newman’ Rolex Daytona for a record-breaking $15.5m last year, Phillips will offer Steve McQueen’s own Submariner in New York on October 25.
Previously unknown, it was given by McQueen to his personal stuntman, Loren Janes, and is inscribed on the case back: To Loren, the best damn stuntman in the world, Steve.
The Rolex has been billed by the auction house as the single most important time watch associated with the Hollywood star to appear at auction.
The watch, a 5513 reference dating it to 1964, is the only known watch owned by the actor to include his name engraved on the back.
Remarkably, it survived a wildfire that destroyed the home of Janes and his wife in 2016 and was sent to Rolex to be restored after it was found in the rubble some days later.
Consigned by the family, the watch is estimated at $300,000-600,000.
