Wary Meyers: June 2013

6.26.2013

6.24.2013

6.23.2013

The Beatles, 007, and Christie's Pop Culture Sale

From Christie's

The Beatles

A brass Apple paperweight, hollow and cast in two parts with removable stem, presented to attendees of the Apple Studios opening at 3 Savile Row, 30 September 1971
5½in. (14cm.) high

SALE 9467 LOT 49

Thunderball, 1965 James Bond's specially modified Breitling Top Time wristwatch used in Thunderball, 1965, the watch composed of a stainless steel chronograph timepiece, by Breitling, Ref. 2002, case no. 984343, manufactured in 1962 and then modified, the black dial with applied baton hour markers, luminous hands, sweep centre seconds, two subsidiary dials for constant seconds and 45 minute registers, and outer silvered tachymeter scale, in circular case with two chronograph buttons in the band, case 35mm wide, case and dial signed, mounted in glazed water resistant type case with screw down bezel and case reverse, by Valley Tool Company, 47mm wide, signed V.T.C., made for Sean Connery as James Bond in the 1965 United Artists/EON Productions film Thunderball

Lot Notes

The first ever specially modified watch issued by 'Q' branch to James Bond, the timepiece was equipped with a 'Geiger-counter' to detect radiation. Equipping Bond 'in the field' in Nassau for his mission to find two NATO atomic bombs stolen by SPECTRE, Q explains here we have a Geiger counter, useful and unobstructive, the sweep hand takes the radioactive count, it's waterproof of course, to which Bond sarcastically responds, but of course. Besides the Rolex Submariner, the Breitling Top Time is the only other model of watch that Sean Connery wears as James Bond.

My paddle is up for these two British crown jewels.

See this Wednesday's Pop Culture auction catalog here.

h/t Paul Gorman

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