A retired Navy doctor wanted to sell a few of this old knick-knacks and posted his Rolex on eBay for $9.95. The seller, a guy named Bob, bought a Rolex watch on the Kwajalien Atoll from a Navy Exchange fifty-two years ago and he wore it almost every day for forty years. He then put the watch away and forgot about it for a decade, finally pulling it out recently to see if he could sell it for a bit of Christmas money.

He posted it and forgot all about it until the bids started hitting in the thousands. Over the next few days he watch it rise to $30K. He spoke with his son who discovered that his watch was the rare “Bond” Rolex Submariner Ref 5510, the same model Sean Connery wore in Dr. No, Goldfinger, and Thunderball (trust me: if you’re a watch dork, this is your holy grail). This particular model is the rarest and most sought-after version of that watch. It should be noted that Ian Fleming wore an Explorer.

The auction closed three days ago at $66,100, which definitely isn’t bad for a timepiece that the owner originally thought was worth $10.

The best part is Bob has a full set of photos showing the watch in its natural habitat including, inexplicably, at a party with Christopher Reeve.

via Hodinkee

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