A gold watch found on the body of the Titanic’s richest passenger was sold this Saturday for 1.175 million pounds (1.37 million euros) at auction, a record for an object linked to the famous ship.
According to British auction house Henry Aldridge & Son, the amount paid by an American buyer exceeded the estimate of 100,000 to 150,000 pounds (116,000 to 175,000 euros) published before the sale.
It surpasses the previous record, for a Titanic artifact at auction, of 1.1 million pounds achieved in 2013 for a violin, according to the auction house.
The violin case was sold today for 360,000 pounds (420,000 euros) at the same auction as the watch.
Engraved with the initials JJA, the watch belonged to American businessman John Jacob Astor, who died at the age of 47 in the sinking of the Titanic, in the early hours of April 15, 1912.
Considered one of the richest men in the world at the time, with a fortune of 87 million dollars, equivalent to several billion today, he died on the ship after seeing his new wife, Madeleine, board a lifeboat.
He was described in his last moments smoking a cigarette with another passenger, the American writer Jacques Futrelle, both among the 1,500 killed on the Titanic.
His body was found on April 22, 1912, along with his 14-karat gold pocket watch.
“The watch was fully restored after being returned to the family” of John Jacob Astor and worn by his son, making it a unique and one of the most important pieces in the history of the Titanic, said the auction house.
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Tags: Gold watch belonging richest man board Titanic sold million euros
