As many rich passengers were there on the RMS Titanic, it was already considered to be a symbol of wealth and luxury even before it sank. Even today, it is still considered so because of all the artifacts which were found in it which belonged to the wealthy passengers which are the subject of bidding wars.
On Saturday, a 14 carat gold pocket watch was recovered from the sunken ship which originally belonged to the Titanic’s richest passenger and it was then auctioned in Wiltshire in England for about $2 million.
This pockket watch had the former owner’s name engraved on it who was John Jacob Astor IV and it has got the highest price ever at an auction for any piece of Titanic memorabilia. The watch was fetched from Astor’s body several days after he died when the Titanic had submerged on April 14, in the year 1912.
The auctioneers Henry Aldridge & son, sold the pocket watch to an unnamed buyer from the U.S. for more than C$1.5 million) but this was not the exact amount as it went further up due to the taxes and fees which crossed the million pound mark.
This gold pocket watch was initially estimated to be sold for around $171,500 to nearly $257,300.
This watch was later worn by his son Vincent after it was retrieved from his father, Astor’s body.
Henry Aldridge & Son claimed that the pocket watch was “a unique part of the Titanic story and one of the most important pieces of horological history relating to the most famous ship in the world.”
A copy of a baptismal certificate belonging to William Dobbyn V, Astor’s executive secretary, was included in the auction lot. Vincent’s signature is on the certificate.
The lot also included a copy of a letter from Astor’s second wife, who was on the Titanic with him, and a photograph copy of Vincent.
Magazine
info@luminarytimes.com
+1-8308642693
