A gold pocket watch given to the captain of the ship that rescued 700 survivors from the Titanic has sold for nearly $2 million at auction, setting a record for shipwreck memorabilia.
The 18-carat Tiffany & Co. watch was given by the three surviving women to Captain Arthur Rostron to divert his passenger ship, the RMS Carpathia, to save them and others after the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic Could. Travel in 1912.
Auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son, which sold the watch on Saturday to a private collector in the United States for 1.56 million British pounds ($1,968,408 USD), said it was the highest price ever paid for a piece of Titanic memorabilia. The price includes taxes and duties paid by the buyer.
The watch was given to Rostron by the widow of John Jacob Astor, the richest man who died in the disaster, and the widows of two other wealthy merchants 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 previously held the record for the highest price paid for a Titanic gift, fetching almost $1.5 million (1.17 million pounds) from the same auction house. Had done. april.
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said the fact that Titanic memorabilia has set two records this year reflects the enduring fascination with the story and the dwindling supply and high demand for the value of ship artefacts.
He said, “Every man, woman and child has a story to tell and those stories are told through souvenirs more than a century later.”
Rostron was hailed a hero for his actions the night the Titanic sank and his crew were recognized for their bravery.
Carpathia was sailing from New York to the Mediterranean Sea when in the early hours of April 15, 1912, a radio operator heard a distress call from Titanic and woke Rostron in his cabin. He turned his boat around and headed at full speed towards the doomed ship, passing through ice rocks to reach it.
By the time Carpathia was reached, Titanic had sunk and 1,500 people were killed. But the crew located 20 lifeboats and rescued more than 700 passengers and took them back to New York.
Rostron was awarded the US Congressional Gold Medal by President William Howard Taft and was later knighted by King George V.
Madeleine Astor, whom her husband had helped into a lifeboat, 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 heartfelt gratitude and praise of the three survivors”. It includes Astor’s married name, Mrs. John B. Thayer and Mrs. George D. Widener are listed.
“It was presented primarily in gratitude for Rostron’s bravery in saving those lives,” Aldridge said. “Without Mr. Rostron, those 700 people wouldn’t have made it.”
