Engraved with the initials JJA, the gold pocket watch belonged to American businessman John Jacob Astor, who died at the age of 47 in the wreck of the Titanic in the early hours of April 15, 1912.
A gold pocket watch that belonged to the Titanic’s richest passenger sold at auction on Saturday for £1.175m (€1.37m), 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 sterling, i.e. 116,000-175,000 euros).
It broke the previous record for an item from the Titanic wreck, which was a violin that sold at auction in 2013 for £1.1m. The violin case was sold yesterday Saturday 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, who died aged 47 in the wreck of the Titanic in the early hours of April 15, 1912. He was one of the richest men in the world at the time , with a fortune of 87 million dollars that today would correspond to several billions.
Moments after helping his wife Madeleine into a lifeboat, John Jacob Astor was seen smoking a cigarette with American author Jack Futrell, according to accounts from surviving passengers.
His lifeless body was found on April 22, 1912. His 14 carat gold pocket watch was found on him.
“The watch was fully restored after it returned to the family” of John Jacob Astor “and was worn by his son,” the auction house said in the presentation. He emphasized that this is “a unique piece of Titanic history and one of the greatest pieces in watchmaking history associated with the most famous ship in the world.”
Source :Skai
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
