Selling the watch of the richest Titanic passenger!
A gold pocket watch recovered from the body of the richest man on the Titanic has sold for a record-breaking $1.5 million.
According to Isna, this gold watch was sold to a private collector at the “Aldridge and Sons” art auction and broke the record for the most expensive memorabilia of the famous Titanic ship.
The original owner of this watch was a businessman named John Jacob Astor, who in 1912, at the age of 47, went to the bottom of the ocean in a lifeboat on the Titanic after seeing his new wife, Madeleine.
The highest price, previously $1.4 million, was paid for a violin played during a shipwreck, which sold at the same auction in 2013.
A spokesperson for this auction told the Guardian that the $1.5 million paid for this watch includes fees and taxes paid by the buyer. Also, in this auction, a violin case was sold for 360,000 pounds ($454,000) including taxes and fees.
“Andrew Aldridge,” the manager of this auction house, said: “Titanic memorabilia prices in this auction were absolutely incredible.” They not only reflect the importance of the artifacts themselves and their rarity, but also speak of the enduring appeal of the Titanic story; 112 years after this ship sank, we still talk about it and its passengers and crew.
He added: Astor was known as the richest passenger on the Titanic and was believed to be one of the richest people in the world at that time, and his net worth was approximately $87 million, equivalent to several billion dollars today. A prominent member of the wealthy Astor family, Astor was last seen smoking a cigarette and chatting with a passenger instead of trying his luck on another lifeboat. His body was found seven days later in the Atlantic Ocean and an exquisite 14 carat gold pocket watch “Waltham” was discovered from him.
At 11:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912, the Titanic struck an iceberg and began sinking. At first, Astor did not believe the ship was in serious danger, but it was later determined that the ship was sinking and the captain had begun evacuation after midnight, so he helped his wife into Lifeboat 4. His wife Madeleine Astor survived and her husband's body was found on April 22 not far from the shipwreck.
