Pocket gold watch of richest Titanic passenger sells for record price
Al Jazeera
A US buyer wins the bidding war, exceeding – by more than 10 times – the auctioneer’s presale estimate.
A gold watch found on the body of the richest passenger on the Titanic has been auctioned in the United Kingdom for 1.17 million British pounds ($1.46m) – a record sum paid for an object linked to the infamous 1912 shipping disaster.
The watch, engraved with the initials JJA after the United States-based business magnate John Jacob Astor, was sold on Saturday by the auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son.
A US buyer won the bidding war, exceeding – by more than 10 times – the auctioneers’ presale estimate of between 100,000-150,000 pounds ($126,000-189,500).
Astor was 47 when he died as the Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912, one of 1,500 people on board who died. He was reputed to be one of the richest men in the world at the time.
