Titanic’s Richest Passenger’s Gold Pocket Watch Sells for Record $1.46 Million at Auction

This amount paid by the American buyer exceeded the estimates published before the auction for the price of the watch, which was between 100,000 and 150,000 British pounds ($124,000 to 187,000 dollars).

The amount paid also exceeded the highest price ever achieved for anything related to the Titanic at auction, which was 1.1 million pound, which was paid in 2013 to buy a violin, according to the auction house.

The violin case was sold on Saturday for 360,000 pounds ($449,000) at the same auction in which the watch was sold.

Who has the watch?

• This watch belonged to the American John Jacob Astor, and was engraved with the initials of this businessman who died at the age of 47 when the Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912.

• At that time, Astor was considered one of the richest people in the world, because his wealth was estimated at about 87 million dollars, which is equivalent to several billions today his wife, Madeleine , leaving her on a lifeboat.

• It was reported that in his last moments he smoked a cigarette in the company of another passenger, the American writer Jack Futrell, both of whom were among the 1,500 who died on the Titanic.

• His body was found on April 22, 1912, carrying a 14-carat gold pocket watch.

• The auction house explained that “the watch was completely restored after being returned to the Astor family and worn by his son, making it a unique piece of Titanic history and one of the most important watches associated with the world’s most famous ship.”