The gold watch that belonged to the wealthiest passenger on the Titanic has been sold at an auction in the United Kingdom for 1.36 million euros. This amount exceeded 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, the case of that musical instrument was sold for 425,000 euros.
John Jacob Astor, an American businessman who perished on the Titanic after helping his wife into a lifeboat, owned the engraved watch with initials JJA. At the time of his death, Astor had a fortune of 87 million dollars, equivalent to several billion today. His body was found a week later, along with the 14-karat gold pocket watch among his personal effects.
The sale of this historic artifact highlights the ongoing fascination with the Titanic tragedy and its passengers’ stories.