Gold pocket watch of Titanic's wealthiest passenger sold for $1.2M
A gold pocket watch, once owned by the wealthiest passenger on the ill-fated RMS Titanic, has been sold for a record-breaking $1.2 million at an auction. The timepiece was purchased by an anonymous collector in the United States during a sale conducted by Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes, Wiltshire. The auction house confirmed this as the highest price ever achieved for a piece of Titanic memorabilia.
The watch originally belonged to John Jacob Astor
The gold pocket watch originally belonged to John Jacob Astor, a prominent businessman who tragically perished in the 1912 Titanic disaster at the age of 47. Astor was last seen helping his newlywed wife, Madeleine, onto a lifeboat while smoking his last cigarette before he himself succumbed to the tragedy. His body was recovered from the Atlantic Ocean seven days later, and his exquisite 14-carat gold Waltham pocket watch, engraved with his initials JJA, was found among his personal effects.
Watch was restored and worn by Astor's son, Vincent
"Unlike many timepieces from the Titanic, which are frozen in time on the fateful night, the watch was restored and worn by Mr Astor's son, Vincent," said David Beddard, chairman of the British Titanic Society. "To be able to see J.J. Astor's watch, knowing it was in his pocket as he put his young, pregnant bride in a lifeboat and stepped back, knowing he wasn't going to survive, is remarkable," he added.
Auctioneer calls prices achieved by Titanic memorabilia 'absolutely incredible'
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge told PA news agency that the prices achieved by Titanic memorabilia at this sale were "absolutely incredible." He commented, "Astor is well known as the richest passenger [on] board the RMS Titanic and was thought to be among the richest people in the world at that time, with a net worth of roughly $87 million—equivalent to several billion dollars today." Astor's son Vincent passed the watch on to William Dobbyn, the son of his father's executive secretary.
Previous record for Titanic memorabilia was $1.1M
The previous highest price paid for Titanic memorabilia was £1.1 million for a violin played as the ship sank. A violin case belonging to the man who led the orchestra on deck as the Titanic went down was sold for £366,000 at the same auction. The Titanic was heading from Southampton to New York when it collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic on the night of April 14, 1912. It sank with approximately 1,500 people on board.
