John Jacob Astor, one of the wealthiest passengers on the Titanic, had a gold pocket watch that was recently sold at an auction in the United Kingdom for 1.36 million euros. The auction, held at Henry Aldridge & Son, saw an American buyer win the bid, which exceeded the estimated value of the watch, between 120 thousand and 180 thousand euros. This amount surpassed the previous record set in 2013 for an item from the sunken ship when a violin was sold for almost 1.3 million euros.
The case of that musical instrument was sold for 425,000 euros today. The gold watch, engraved with Astor’s initials JJA, belonged to him and is now in private hands. Astor had a fortune of 87 million dollars at the time of his death in 1912 after perishing on the Titanic while helping his wife into a lifeboat. His body was found a week later with this precious artifact among his personal effects. The sale of this historic item highlights the enduring fascination with the Titanic tragedy and its passengers’ stories.