Steve McQueen Rolex Explorer

As we have seen with the Paul Newman Rolex Daytona, it is not necessary for the actual watch to appear on screen for it to become famous. I had received a few inquiries about the Steve McQueen Rolex Explorer, so I made a few inquiries of my own. I discovered that the watch referred to was the Rolex Explorer II Reference No. 1655, manufactured from the early 70s and ceased production in 1985. McQueen made only handful of films from the early 70s to his death in 1980. The only Rolex watch that Steve McQueen wears, is in The Hunter released in 1980. There are no close-ups of the watch but there are a few medium shots where the bezel, crystal and Oyster bracelet are seen quite clearly. The watch he wears in this film is a Rolex Submariner with date and as in all his films, he wears the watch on his right wrist. So it probably comes to a publicity shot in a magazine or something similar where the watch is featured. See the movie list for the watches worn by Steve McQueen. There has also been talk of the "Gregory Peck Explorer", I am not going to pursue this topic until I have a few more details.

Here are nice shots of Steve McQueen from his last movie, The Hunter.  As you can clearly see, the watch he wears is a Rolex Submariner.