It was estimated at between 116 thousand and 175 thousand euros and was auctioned for 1 million and 370 thousand euros. The sale of the gold watch that belonged to one of the victims of the shipwreck of Titanic, which occurred on April 15, 1912, set a new record for an object related to the famous ship, according to the British auction house Henry Aldridge & Son. The monstrous amount was paid by an American buyer who therefore set a new record, surpassing the previous auction record, recorded with the sale of a violin for 1 million and 287 thousand euros in 2013. During the same auction which saw the watch went away for just under a million and a half, the case of that violin was also sold for 420 thousand euros.
Whose watch was it?
Engraved with the initials JJA, the object belonged to the American businessman John Jacob Astor, who died at the age of 47 in the sinking of the Titanic on 15 April 1912. Considered one of the richest men in the world at the time, with a fortune of 87 million dollars. He was described in his final moments as smoking a cigarette in the company of another passenger, the American writer Jacques Futrelle, both of whom were among the 1,500 who died in the shipwreck. His body was found on April 22, 1912, along with his pocket watch 14 karat gold. “The watch was completely restored after being returned to the family of John Jacob Astor” and worn by his son, making it a unique piece of the history of the Titanic and one of the most important pieces in the “history of watchmaking”, underlines the house of auctions.
Astor and the rescue of his wife
As reported by the Guardian, quoting the words of auctioneer Andrew Aldridge, «at first Astor did not believe that the ship was in danger, but later it became clear that the Titanic was sinking. The captain had started the evacuation and it was Astor who helped his wife get into lifeboat 4.” Madeleine, her beloved, survived while her husband’s body was recovered a week later, not far from where the tragedy had occurred.
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