A Tiffany & Co. Pocket Watch That Belonged to a ‘Titantic’ Hero Just Sold for a Record $1.97 Million
Over a century after the Titanic disaster, the ship’s memorabilia continues to set records.
This past weekend, U.K. auctioneers Henry Aldrige and Son sold a gold pocket watch with ties to the famous shipwreck for a record-setting ￡1.56 million (or approximately $2 million), the highest amount ever paid for a Titanic collectible, BBC reported. The 18-carat Tiffany & Co timepiece belonged to British steamship captain Sir Arthur Rostron of the RMS Carpathia. At the time, he was given the watch by three survivors that he rescued after the ocean liner hit an unseen iceberg during its maiden voyage and sank less than three hours later in the North Atlantic.
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“It was presented principally in gratitude for Rostron’s bravery in saving those lives, because without Mr. Rostron, those 700 people wouldn’t have made it,” auctioneer Andrew Aldridge explained to BBC. According to reports, the Carpathia was originally traveling from New York to Europe when the ship’s radio operator received a distress call. Rostron immediately turned his vessel around and moved full steam ahead; however, by the time he arrived, nearly 1,500 passengers had already died. Rostron and his crew were able to put 700 people into lifeboats, including the pregnant wife of John Jacob Astor IV—most famously known as the richest man aboard the Titanic.
The captain was gifted the pocket watch at the widow’s mansion on Fifth Avenue in New York City one year after the ship set sail. In addition to the timepiece, Rostron receieved the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal from President William Howard Taft and was later knighted by King George V. The inscription on the timepiece reads: “Presented to Captain Rostron with the heartfelt gratitude and appreciation of three survivors of the Titanic April 15th 1912 Mrs John B Thayer, Mrs John Jacob Astor and Mrs George D Widener.”
Before hitting the auction block, the previous record for the priciest Titanic collectible was set in April when another gold pocket watch hammered down for $1.5 million at an earlier Henry Aldrige and Son event. The 14-karat Waltham timepiece was actually one of Astor’s personal effects recovered from his body, along with gold cufflinks and a diamond ring. “The fact the world record price for Titanic memorabilia has been broken twice this year demonstrates the ever-decreasing supply and an ever-increasing demand for memorabilia related to the ship,” Aldrige told CNN.
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