An American buyer has purchased a gold watch that once belonged to the wealthiest passenger on the Titanic at an auction in the United Kingdom for 1.36 million euros. The watch, engraved with the initials JJA and believed to be worth between 120 thousand and 180 thousand euros, exceeded its estimated value during the auction held at Henry Aldridge & Son.
The sale of this historic artifact highlights the ongoing fascination with the Titanic tragedy and the stories of its passengers. The watch belonged to American businessman John Jacob Astor, who was one of the richest men in the world at the time of the Titanic sinking in 1912. Astor, with a fortune of 87 million dollars, equivalent to several billion today, tragically perished on the ship after helping his wife into a lifeboat. His body was found a week later, with the 14-karat gold pocket watch among his personal effects.
The sale of this item surpassed the previous record set in 2013 for an item from the sunken ship when a violin was sold for almost 1.3 million euros. Today, that musical instrument’s case was sold for 425,000 euros at another auction held by Henry Aldridge & Son.
