A gold watch once owned by John Jacob Astor, the wealthiest passenger on the Titanic, has been sold at an auction in the UK for 1.36 million euros. The American buyer outbid others and surpassed the estimated value of the watch, which was between 120 thousand and 180 thousand euros. This sale exceeds the previous record set in 2013 when a violin from the sunken ship was sold for almost 1.3 million euros.
John Jacob Astor was one of the richest men in the world at the time of the Titanic sinking in 1912, with a fortune of 87 million dollars equivalent to several billion today. He tragically perished on the ship after helping his wife into a lifeboat and his body was found a week later with his prized possession, a 14-karat gold pocket watch engraved with his initials JJA.
The sale of this historic artifact highlights our enduring fascination with the Titanic tragedy and its passengers’ stories. Despite being over a century old, these items continue to capture our imagination and inspire us to appreciate their historical significance.