History is a remarkable thing, and when we stumble upon something with historical significance, it’s a rare opportunity to learn more about past events.
That’s why when a gold pocket watch which belonging to the richest man on the sunken Titanic was recovered, it was a day like no other.
The RMS Titanic tragedy of 15 April, 1912 is an event that we will be taught for decades to come, with over 1,500 passengers having lost their lives that fateful night.
Dubbed the ‘unsinkable ship’, it was a shock to the world that just four days into its voyage after encountering an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean, it would sink to the bottom of the seabed.
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With wealthy passengers on board the ship looking to make their way to the United States, it’s no surprise that something as valuable as an expensive gold watch would be found.
However, the watch has made headlines after it was sold on 27 April to a private collector in the States at Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes, Wiltshire, for the highest amount ever paid for Titanic memorabilia.
How much do you think it sold for?
If you answered £1.175 million, you'd be spot on.
Originally it belonged to businessman John Jacob Astor, 47, who perished in the wreckage after escorting his wife Madeleine onto a lifeboat.
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge told the PA news agency that the sale prices were ‘absolutely incredible’.
He said: “They reflect not only the importance of the artefacts themselves and their rarity but they also show the enduring appeal and fascination with the Titanic story.
“112 years later, we are still talking about the ship and the passengers and the crew.
“The thing with the Titanic story, it’s effectively a large ship hits an iceberg with a tragic loss of life, but more importantly is 2,200 stories.
“2,200 subplots, every man woman and child had a story to tell and then the memorabilia tells those stories today.”
Astor’s body was found seven days after the sinking and his 14-carat gold Waltham pocket watch, engraved JJA, was found alongside him.
Aldridge said: “Astor is well known as the richest passenger aboard 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 US dollars – equivalent to several billion dollars today.
“At 11.40pm on April 14 1912, the Titanic hit an iceberg and started to take on water.
“At first, Astor did not believe the ship was in any serious danger, but later it was apparent she was sinking and the captain had started an evacuation after midnight, so he helped his wife into lifeboat 4.”
Astor’s son Vincent passed the watch to the son of his father’s executive secretary, William Dobbyn, before being sold at the auction.
Britt Jones