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There are photos of Steve McQueen in which he is not acting. At the 1964 ISDT on his Triumph. At the Baja 1000 in the Mexican dust. With a revolver on the couch. On his wrist, time and again, the same watch: his Hanhart 417 ES. Now there is the first official Steve McQueen edition, limited to 300 pieces worldwide, 39mm, 2,890 Euros.
PUBLISHED AT 10 THIS MORNING: SOLD OUT ALREADY?!
Update, 2 October 2026: The edition is sold out, at Hanhart and here with me. Whether more pieces will follow is open at the moment. The watch went live at 10 in the morning, by the afternoon every one of them was gone. Wild.
The first official Steve McQueen edition
With the 417 ES Steve McQueen Limited Edition No. 1 Hanhart takes up a connection that is documented across decades. McQueen wore his 417 ES at races and in private life, and numerous photographs prove it. To this day he remains one of the best-known wearers of the watch.
What makes this edition special: it was created together with the family. Chase and Madison McQueen, his grandchildren, proposed showing their grandfather’s signature on the dial and approved its use. They were involved in designing the limitation card and signed it. Since the death of their father Chad in 2024 they run McQueen Racing and look after the legacy.
The Hanhart video on the 417 ES Steve McQueen Limited Edition No. 1
I had the watch in front of the camera. Here you see it moving, on the wrist and in detail.
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The signature on the dial
His signature appears on the matte black dial, small and understated. Nothing that pushes itself into the foreground. Hands and numerals are coated with Super-LumiNova® in Light Old Radium, the hue of aged radium. That gives the watch the warmth of a timepiece that has seen a thing or two, and it keeps the dial legible in the dark.
The minute hand and the seconds hand have their tips curved down so that a glance from an angle does not produce parallax errors. A detail that runs through Hanhart pilot chronographs since the 1950s.
39mm case following the historical original
The 417 ES was created in the mid-1950s as a pilot’s chronograph for the German Bundeswehr. Robustness, reliability and clear legibility defined its design. As on the historical model, the abbreviation ES stands for Edelstahl, German for stainless steel.
The brushed and polished stainless steel case measures 39mm in diameter and follows the proportions of the original. Despite the highly domed sapphire crystal the case height is just 13.3mm, and lug to lug it measures 46mm. The watch keeps its presence on the wrist without appearing oversized. The fluted bezel with its red insert rotates in both directions, click-free.
Water resistance of 10 bar makes this edition better suited to everyday wear than its historical predecessor, whose use outside the cockpit was restricted by its limited water resistance.
Flyback hand-wound caliber AMT5100 M
Behind the screw-down sapphire case back beats the hand-wound caliber Sellita AMT5100 M with flyback function. A single press resets the running chronograph to zero and instantly restarts it, without stopping first. That is exactly what these movements were built for.
Add to that small seconds, a 30-minute counter, central chronograph seconds and hacking seconds. The frequency is 28,800 vph, the power reserve at least 58 hours. Like the historical 417, this edition is wound by hand.
Hanhart accuracy standard
Hanhart applies its own specifications for rate accuracy. Every movement is tested and regulated at the manufacture in Gütenbach. Averaged over six positions, the daily rate deviation must lie between 0 and +8 seconds. The tolerance window is therefore just as wide as with -4 to +4 seconds, but Hanhart does not permit a losing rate in the main positions. The maximum deviation between the individual positions is ten seconds.
Cuff strap in Shell Cordovan
A close look at historical photographs revealed it: McQueen wore his 417 ES on a dark brown cuff strap. In this design the strap runs underneath the case as one continuous piece of leather.
For the edition Hanhart makes it from Shell Cordovan by the Italian tannery Comipel. The leather comes from a dense fibrous layer in the horse’s hindquarters and is traditionally vegetable-tanned. The elaborate process yields a leather that is supple yet durable, with a smooth surface and a natural luster. Lug width 20mm, pin buckle with the historical logo.
Alongside the cuff strap, all straps with a 20mm lug width that fit the 417 ES 39mm are available. Leather straps in black, dark brown and light brown, each with or without a pad, plus a new-generation steel bracelet with tool-free micro-adjustment. All straps come with quick-release spring bars.
What is in the box
The box holds a booklet, a plaque bearing the individual edition number, red nail polish as a nod to the legend of the red pusher, and the limitation card.
The card is modeled on McQueen’s 1964 international FIM license, which was auctioned by Bonhams in 2009 for US$42,700 including buyer’s premium. It carries the signatures of Chase and Madison McQueen, and on the reverse that of the watchmaker who assembles the chronograph in Gütenbach.
The legend of the red pusher
Legend has it that a pilot’s wife painted the pusher of his Hanhart with red nail polish. That way he would think of her every time he glanced at the watch and return home safely. Historically the signal color also served a practical purpose: it was meant to prevent pilots from accidentally actuating the pusher and resetting the measured time. The red pusher thus became a distinctive feature of Hanhart chronographs.
The man behind the image
With films such as “The Great Escape” and “Bullitt” Steve McQueen defined the image of the cool, independent antihero. Away from the screen his passion was fast cars and motorcycles.
The racer
In 1964 McQueen rode in the International Six Days Trial in Erfurt, in the heart of the GDR, in the first official US team. Six days through the Thuringian Forest, several hundred kilometers every day. He and the team had modified his Triumph for this ordeal. He started with number 278, his favorite number.
At motorcycle races he also entered as “Harvey Mushman”. The pseudonym kept the hype at bay and let him sidestep racing bans imposed by film producers. Even so, who was under the helmet was an open secret in the paddock. If nothing else, his riding style gave him away.
The actor
Before McQueen stepped in front of the camera he served three years in the U.S. Marine Corps and got by on odd jobs. In 1952 he began his acting training at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York.
On screen he relied less on words than on looks, posture and pauses. His stoic characters showed who they were through their actions. This restrained style became his trademark and made him the “King of Cool”. In 1974 he was the highest-paid film star in the world.
The family man
In 1956 McQueen married the dancer and actress Neile Adams. Together they had two children, Terry and Chad. Like his father, Chad became an actor and racing driver and founded McQueen Racing in 2010. Since Chad’s death in 2024 his children Chase and Madison have continued to run the company.
Technical data of the Hanhart 417 ES Steve McQueen Limited Edition No. 1
| Reference | H705L.210-2110 (M) / H705L.210-2112 (L) |
| Limitation | 300 pieces worldwide |
| Diameter | 39mm |
| Height | 13.30mm (11.55mm excl. crystal) |
| Lug-to-lug | 46mm |
| Case | brushed / polished stainless steel, red pusher in HyCeram® |
| Bezel | fluted with red insert, bidirectional and click-free |
| Crystal | highly domed sapphire, AR-coated inside and outside |
| Caseback | screw-down, sapphire crystal AR-coated inside, limitation number XXX/300 |
| Water resistance | 10 bar / 10 ATM per DIN 8310 |
| Dial | matte black, Steve McQueen signature, historical Hanhart logo |
| Lume | Super-LumiNova® Light Old Radium GL on numerals and hands |
| Movement | Sellita AMT5100 M, hand-wound |
| Functions | flyback, small seconds, 30-minute counter, central chronograph seconds, hacking seconds |
| Frequency | 28,800 vph (4 Hz) |
| Jewels | 23 |
| Power reserve | min. 58 hours |
| Rate accuracy | Hanhart regulation: 0 to +8 seconds per day, averaged over all positions |
| Strap | dark brown Shell Cordovan cuff strap with pad, lug width 20mm |
| Buckle | pin buckle with historical logo |
| Price | 2,890.00 Euros incl. 19% VAT |
Price and availability
The Hanhart 417 ES Steve McQueen Limited Edition No. 1 costs 2,890.00 Euros incl. 19% VAT and is limited to 300 pieces worldwide. Development, production and distribution are based in Gütenbach in the Black Forest.
I am an official Hanhart dealer. The 417 ES Steve McQueen Limited Edition No. 1 at WATCHDAVID.SHOP. Here you find all Hanhart watches at WATCHDAVID.SHOP.
My verdict
I am really glad to have got four of this sought-after Limited Edition No. 1. Three of them I am selling through my shop, one I will probably keep. I am absolutely blown away by this watch. Very very unique, for real collectors. And it wears really well on the wrist. It is a true 417 with genuine must-have genes. The Hanhart video on the watch is further up in this article, my own review will follow.
What convinces me: this is not an edition that slaps a name on a dial and calls it a day. The family worked on it, the signature was approved by them, the limitation card is signed, and the strap is exactly what McQueen actually wore. On top of that a real flyback hand-wound movement in 39mm. With 300 pieces worldwide this will not last long.
Buy the Hanhart 417 ES Steve McQueen Limited Edition No. 1 at WATCHDAVID.SHOP, while stocks last.
All images of the 417 ES Steve McQueen Limited Edition No. 1
Below is all the image material Hanhart has released for the watch. One click shows each photo at full size.
My Hanhart Reviews
If you want to see what else Hanhart builds, these are my own hands on reviews, with a lot more of my own photos.
- Hanhart Bronze 417 Flieger Chronograph, Hanhart X The Rake and Revolution: another 417, in bronze
- 417 Bronze Hanhart X Revolution Edition Mk II 39 Copperhead: the 417 in 39mm, limited to 200 pieces
- Hanhart PIONEER One Bronze Review
- Hanhart PIONEER Mk II Limited Edition Review
- Hanhart AQUASPHERE Matte Black
More Hanhart at WATCHDAVID
- Watch Manufacturer Hanhart 1882: Portrait
- 20 Best Pilot Watches: my favorites from 200 to 7,450 Euros
- Diesen Artikel auf Deutsch lesen
All historical Steve McQueen photographs are cleared by Hanhart solely for editorial coverage of the 417 ES Steve McQueen Limited Edition No. 1. Photo credits appear directly below each image. The caseback shown is from a prototype.
