27 apr 2024 om 23:29 Update: 13 min. geleden
A gold pocket watch once owned by a wealthy Titanic passenger was auctioned in London on Saturday for 1.175 million pounds (1.37 million euros). That is a record amount for a gadget from the ship.
The Titanic sank in 1912 after colliding with an iceberg. More than 1,500 people were killed. Including the original owner of the clock, 47-year-old John Jacob Astor. Astor was a wealthy American businessman and reportedly the richest man on board.
At first Astor would have believed that it wasn’t all that bad when the Titanic hit the iceberg. But later he put his pregnant wife in a lifeboat. According to eyewitnesses, he asked if he could accompany her, but he was not allowed. Women and children were saved first.
The businessman was last seen smoking a cigarette and chatting with a fellow passenger. Like 1,500 other passengers and crew members, he did not survive the disaster. His body was found on April 22.
Auctions of objects from the Titanic have been attracting great interest for years. The previous record, almost 1.3 million, dated from 2013 and was for a violin that was still being played when the ship disappeared into the waves. The value of the now sold and restored pocket watch, with the initials JJA engraved, was previously estimated at 116,000 to 175,000 euros.
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