Gold pocket watch recovered from body of Titanic’s richest passenger to be auctioned

A gold pocket watch recovered from the body of the richest man on the Titanic was put up for auction, on Saturday (Apr 27). The pocket watch, however, will be one of the most valuable items up for bid as the violin case belonging to the man who led the orchestra as the ship was sinking will also be a part of the auction.

About the pocket watch

The 14-carat gold Waltham pocket watch which once belonged to wealthy business magnate, John Jacob Astor, 47, is expected to fetch up to $189,562 in the auction by Henry Aldridge & Son in Wiltshire.

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Astor, who went down with the ship in 1912 was said to be one of the world’s richest men at the time. He was reputedly the richest man aboard the ship and a prominent member of the Astor family.

According to auctioneer Andrew Aldridge, Astor’s net worth was around $87 million, at the time, which would be equivalent to several billion dollars today.

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“At first, Astor did not believe the ship was in any serious danger but later it was apparent she was sinking and the captain had started an evacuation after midnight, so he helped his wife into lifeboat 4,” said Aldridge.

Astor was reportedly last seen smoking a cigarette and talking to another passenger after he safely seated his pregnant second wife Madeleine into a lifeboat. She latersurvived.

The gold pocket watch has “JJA” engraved on it and was found when Astor’s body was recovered from the Atlantic Ocean seven days after the ship sank on its maiden voyage to New York.

Notably, the watch was claimed by John’s son Vincent who then passed it on to the son of his father’s executive secretary, William Dobbyn.

“The watch itself was completely restored after being returned to Mr Astor’s family and worn by his son, making it 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,” said Aldridge.

Wallace Hartley’s bag

The second item up for auction would be Wallace Hartley’s bag. He was known for being a part of the famous eight-piece band which kept playing as the ship sank to keep the passengers calm as the disaster unfolded around them.

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Hartley also went down with the ship but not before putting his violin back in its leather valise which he had strapped to himself.

The bag was still attached to him days after the ship sank and his body was recovered. The violin case is expected to fetch more than $151,650.

(With inputs from agencies)