Titanic Timepiece Goes for a Record-Breaking £1.17 Million: The Story Behind John Jacob Astor’s Gold Watch

The sale of a gold watch discovered on the body of the wealthiest passenger aboard the Titanic was reported by AFP on April 27. It was sold for a whopping £1.17 million ($1.46 million) at an auction in England, breaking records for an item associated with the tragic 1912 shipwreck, announced Henry Aldridge & Son, the auction house.

The buyer from the United States emerged victorious in a bidding war, surpassing the estimated price of £100,000 to £150,000 set by the auctioneers. The watch, which bore the initials JJA, belonged to American tycoon John Jacob Astor. At 47 years old when he perished on April 15, 1912 during Titanic’s sinking, Astor was considered one of the wealthiest men in the world at that time.

Despite his death when helping his wife Madeleine onto one of lifeboats, Madeleine herself survived while her husband’s body was found a week later along with other effects including this watch. According to AFP, it had been fully restored after being returned to Colonel Astor’s family and worn by his son before being sold at auction.