A gold pocket watch given to the captain of the ship that saved 700 Titanic survivors has sold at auction for nearly $2 million, setting a record for memorabilia from the ship’s wreck.
The 18-karat Tiffany & Co. watch was given by three female survivors to Captain Arthur Rostron for hijacking his passenger ship, the RMS Carpathia, to save them and others after the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic during its inaugural. trip in 1912.
Andrew Aldridge/Henry Aldridge and Sons via AP
Auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Son, who sold the watch to a private collector in the United States on Saturday for £1.56 million, said it was the highest paid Titanic memorabilia . Price includes taxes and fees paid by buyer.
The watch was gifted to Rostron by the widow of John Jacob Astor, the richest man to die in the disaster and the widows of two other wealthy businessmen who went down with the ship.
Astor’s pocket watch, which was on his body when it was recovered seven days after the ship sank, had already set the record for the highest price paid for a Titanic memorabilia, reaching nearly 1,000 euros. $5 million (£1.17 million) from the same auction house in 2017. April.
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said the fact that Titanic memorabilia set two records this year demonstrates the enduring fascination with history and the value of falling supply and high demand for the ship’s artifacts.
“Every man, woman and child had a story to tell, and those stories are told more than a century later through memories,” he said.
Rostron was hailed as a hero for his actions the night the Titanic sank and his crew was recognized for their bravery.
Andrew Aldridge/Henry Aldridge and Sons via AP
The Carpathia was sailing from New York to the Mediterranean Sea when a radio operator heard a distress call from the Titanic in the early hours of April 15, 1912 and woke Rostron in his cabin. He turned around and headed full steam ahead toward the doomed ship, navigating through icebergs to get there.
By the time the Carpathia arrived, the Titanic had sunk and 1,500 people had perished. But the crew located 20 lifeboats, rescued more than 700 passengers and returned them to New York.
Rostron received the US Congressional Gold Medal from President William Howard Taft and was later knighted by King George V.
Madeleine Astor, who had been helped into a lifeboat by her husband, presented the watch to Rostron during a luncheon at his mansion on Fifth Avenue in New York.
The inscription states that it was given “with the sincere gratitude and appreciation of three survivors.” It lists Mrs. John B. Thayer and Mrs. George D. Widener alongside Astor’s married name.
“It was presented primarily as a thank you for Rostron’s courage in saving these lives,” Aldridge said. “Without Mr. Rostron, these 700 people would not have succeeded.”
