Cartier watch found in Hounslow charity shop raises £10,000

The 18-carat gold Cartier watch was found in a bag of donations at a British Heart Foundation shop

A Cartier watch found in a bag of donations at a west London charity shop has sold for almost £10,000.

The Tank Française yellow gold model broke records as the British Heart Foundation's (BHF) biggest online auction sale.

After 46 bids, the 18-carat gold watch sold for £9,766.

It was found at a branch in Hounslow, and verified as a real Cartier product at the BHF's eBay warehouse in Leeds.

The watch was then double checked by experts at an independent auction house.

'Like winning the lottery'

"When you consider the average value of an item donated to a charity shop is less than £5, finding a Cartier watch is like striking gold and winning the lottery at the same time," said Kama Villiers, enterprise customer success manager at Shopiago, the BHF's online shopping partner.

"Whoever the generous donor was, they can rest assured that their donation will go a long way towards fighting heart disease."

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Cartier watches have been sported by celebrities including Jake Gyllenhall, Angelina Jolie and Michelle Obama, as well as Diana, Princess of Wales.

In recent years the BHF has sold a 7-inch vinyl demo of the Beatles' Love Me Do for £9,400, and a second-hand Mercedes Benz E320 for £7,502.

The charity's eBay site currently lists multiple pieces from designer brands including Gucci and Burberry.

Richard Pallier, head of online retail at the BHF, said donations made a huge difference to the charity,

"It's only through the hugely generous donations of the public that we can continue to do this very important work," he said.