A gold pocket watch belonging to the Titanic's richest passenger has been sold at auction for 1.175 million pounds (1.37 million euros), according to British auction house Henry Aldridge & Son.
The price paid by an American collector was almost ten times the estimated value of the watch (100,000-150,000 pounds sterling, i.e. 116,000-175,000 euros).
This broke the previous record for an object from the Titanic wreck. It was the violin which was sold at auction in 2013 for £1.1 million. The violin case sold for £360,000 (€420,000) at the Henry Aldridge & Son auction.
Engraved with the initials JJA, the gold pocket watch belonged to American businessman John Jacob Astor. John, however, met his death at the age of 47 in the Titanic shipwreck in the early morning hours of April 15, 1912.
He was one of the richest people in the world at that time. With a fortune of $87 million that today would be worth several billion dollars.
Shortly after helping his wife Madeleine board a lifeboat, John Jacob Astor was seen smoking a cigarette with American author Jack Futrell, according to descriptions from surviving passengers.
His lifeless body was found on 22 April 1912. On him was found the 14-carat gold pocket watch.
«The clock was fully restored after it was returned to John Jacob Astor's family and worn by his son.» As the auction house stated in the presentation. It also stressed that it is ‘a unique piece of Titanic history. But also one of the greatest pieces in the history of watchmaking associated with the most famous ship in the world.«.
Source: athensvoice.gr
