A Titanic passenger’s gold pocket watch fetched nearly $1.5 million in a sale
A gold pocket watch linked to the Titanic’s wealthiest passenger, John Jacob Astor IV, was sold for almost $1.5 million, surpassing predictions by over sevenfold. Initially estimated at $189,000, the watch’s final sale price far exceeded expectations at $1.485 million during an auction held by Henry Aldridge and Son. The information provided is concise and effectively summarizes the key details of the sale of the gold pocket watch associated with John Jacob Astor IV, the wealthiest passenger of the Titanic.
A gold pocket watch that belonged to the Titanic’s wealthiest passenger has sold for almost $1.5 million, over seven times more than what it was predicted to sell.
The watch, which belonged to John Jacob Astor IV, had been estimated to sell for $189,000 at an auction over the weekend. However, the watch ended up selling for $1.485 million, far exceeding expectations, according to the Henry Aldridge and Son auction house.
The pocket watch of #Titanic‘s richest passenger sold at auction for more than $1.4 million.
The watch was owned by 47-year-old John Jacob Astor. He was considered one of the richest men in the world in 1912 and had a fortune of $87 million at the time of his death. pic.twitter.com/6WTKbE0e3F
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) April 28, 2024
The sale marks a “new world record for Titanic memorabilia,” according to the managing director of the auction house, Andrew Aldridge.
“These prices for these unique pieces of history reflect not only their importance but also the ongoing interest into the Titanic story and the memory of her passengers and crew,” Aldridge said.
Astor had the watch with him aboard the Titanic before the ship sank on April 15, 1912, with the watch bearing his initials “JJA.” The New York real estate developer had helped his pregnant wife onto a lifeboat before dying aboard the sinking ship at the age of 47.
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The watch was later recovered from the Titanic’s wreckage and was given to Astor’s son, Vincent Astor. In 1935, the younger Astor gave the watch to the son of William Dobbyn IV, who was his father’s executive secretary.
Astor’s watch is not the only Titanic relic that oversold its expectations, as the bag belonging to violinist Wallace Hartley also sold for $454,949 at the auction this past weekend. Initial predictions had the bag selling for $150,000.
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