A gold watch discovered on the body of the wealthiest passenger aboard the Titanic was sold at an auction in England for a whopping £1.17 million ($1.46 million), as reported by AFP on April 27. The amount broke records for an item associated with the tragic 1912 shipwreck, announced the auction house, Henry Aldridge & Son.
A buyer from the United States emerged victorious in the bidding war, surpassing the estimated price of £100,000 to £150,000 set by the auctioneers. The watch, which bore the initials JJA, belonged to the American tycoon John Jacob Astor. Astor, who was 47 when the Titanic went down on April 15, 1912, was considered one of the wealthiest men in the world at the time.
As the ship sank, Astor perished after assisting his wife, Madeleine, onto one of the lifeboats. Remarkably, Madeleine survived the catastrophe. Astor’s body was located a week following the tragedy, with the watch among his effects. According to AFP, the auction house stated that the watch had been fully restored after being returned to Colonel Astor’s family and worn by his son.