Heuer

Don Nunley, Property Master for Le Mans (1971)

Acquired from the above on 24 April 2008 by the present owner

A rare group directly linked to one of the most iconic motorsport films ever produced, the present set of one Heuer watch and one stopwatch was present on the set of Le Mans (1971), the legendary Steve McQueen film that helped cement both his enduring cultural legacy and the mythology of endurance racing. Acquired from the film’s property master, Don Nunley, these pieces offer a tangible connection to the production itself, representing the tools that would have populated the world of professional motorsport recreated on screen.

At the heart of this set is a Heuer reference 7725N chronograph wristwatch, emblematic of the brand’s deep association with timing and racing during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The black dial with contrasting white subsidiary registers and Valjoux movement reflects the functional clarity and reliability required in high-speed competition.

Complementing the wristwatch is a stopwatch central to the visual language of motorsport timing: a Leonidas Trackmaster reference 8042. This larger-format instrument, with its highly legible white dial and mechanical movement, would have been indispensable to the timing and coordination of racing events, both in reality and as portrayed in the film. Its inclusion in the set reinforces the authenticity with which Le Mans sought to depict the world of endurance racing, down to the smallest technical detail.

Offered together, this set embodies the intersection of watch culture, cinema, and motorsport at a pivotal moment in their shared history. Objects from Le Mans – a film renowned for its obsessive attention to authenticity – remain exceptionally desirable, particularly when accompanied by direct provenance.