28 April 2024 , 18:52
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A gold pocket watch recovered from the body of the richest man on the Titanic has sold for a world record £1.175million.
The 14-carat Waltham timepiece belonged to 47-year-old American hotelier John Jacob Astor IV. He was among more than 1,522 people who died after the “unsinkable” ship struck an iceberg on April 15, 1912. Mr Astor went down with the ship after helping his pregnant wife Madeleine into a lifeboat. He was reportedly last seen smoking a cigarette on the starboard wing of the bridge while chatting to a fellow first-class passenger. His watch, which bears his initials JJA, was later restored by his son Vincent.
A bidding war led to it selling for almost eight times its estimate, making it the most valuable item of Titanic memorabilia ever sold. It beat the £1.1million paid in 2013 for the violin played by Wallace Hartley, who was the doomed liner’s bandmaster. The leather case that protected Hartley’s violin from the freezing water of the Atlantic also sold in the same auction for £360,000. Hartley placed the wooden instrument in the valise which he then strapped to his body, possibly for added buoyancy, as he plunged into the water.
John Jacob Astor was the richest man on the Titanic (BNPS)The two items were among dozens of Titanic-related pieces of memorabilia that went under the hammer at Henry Aldridge & Son, of Devizes, Wiltshire. Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said that the prices fetched were “absolutely incredible”. He added: “They reflect not only the importance of the artefacts, but they also show the fascination with the Titanic story.”
Last year, a 32ft plan of the Titanic which was used for the official inquiry into the tragedy sold for £195,000, while a fur coat worn by survivor Mabel Bennett went for £181,000 in 2017.
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