James Bond Watch Found At Car Boot Sale

James Bond's geiger counter wristwatch from Thunderball has turned up at a car boot sale following years of mystery about its whereabouts.

The prop, one of the many gadgets used by 007 during his 50 years on screen, was key to the plot of the film as it helped the secret agent locate stolen atomic weapons during underwater scenes in the 1965 film.

The Breitling watch was picked up for £25, but is now to be sold by Christie's in London with an estimated price of up to £60,000.

The Top Time model by the luxury Swiss watch firm was the first watch Bond moviegoers had seen being adapted by Q's team of boffins in the 007 film series.

It is one of a number of items that are given to Bond by Q, who was played by Desmond Llewelyn, when he heads over to Nassau.

One of the hands of the watch shows the strength of radioactivity.

Sir Sean Connery, who played the agent, uses it during the film's famous aquatic scenes on a mission to find two Nato bombs that were stolen by the evil organisation Spectre.

The basic watch was originally made by Breitling in 1962, then adapted by the James Bond art department, and was the only one produced for Thunderball.

It is thought it had been passed on by someone who worked at Pinewood Studios, where much of the movie was made.

The auction house, which will offer the watch at its South Kensington saleroom in a Pop Culture sale on June 26, had little information about the car boot sale.

Christie's said of the forthcoming auction: "This is a great opportunity for collectors to acquire a unique piece of James Bond memorabilia."