"He's Wearing A Wire!" Minifon's Spy Watch Is Some Real 007 Stuff

“The name is Bond, James Bond. Oh, this wire connected to my watch? It’s nothing Blofeld. No, no, don’t look under my jacket.” This watch, marked Protana, is basically a microphone that connected to a “pocket sized” reel-to-reel recorder hidden under the wearers’s jacket. A company called Minifon sold the device to detectives, spies, and police back in 1958, and it was called the Pocket Wire P-55. The wire, just for the record, is wildly noticeable unless you’re wearing a hand cast.

A full kit, complete with recorder, is up for auction right now and has just topped out at $750. If you want to feel like Roger Moore in The Saint you’ll probably want to place a bid ASAP.

via Hodinkee