A gold pocket watch worn by Titanic’s richest passenger has been sold for 900 thousand pounds (R$ 5.7 million, at current prices), at an auction this Saturday (27), in the city of Devizes, England, reported the BBC. Henry Aldridge & Son auction house organized the sale.
Adding taxes and fees, the buyer will pay a total of £1.175 milliona cost that auctioneer Andrew Aldridge described as a “world record”.
The watch belonged to businessman John Jacob Astor, who was aboard the Titanic when the ship struck an iceberg and sank in 1912. Seven days after the sinking, Astor’s body was found floating in the sea. At the time, a pocket watch was found on him.
According to English media, the watch was expected to sell for between 100,000 and 150,000 pounds.
Who was John Jacob Astor
In a report in the English newspaper “The Guardian”, auctioneer Andrew Aldridge stated that Astor was not only the richest passenger on board the Titanic, but also one of the richest men in the world, with an estimated net worth of around US$87. million – the equivalent of billions of dollars today.
He was the great-grandson of a man who became wealthy from the fur trade in the 19th century.
Aldridge also said that when the Titanic hit the iceberg at around 11:40 p.m., Astor did not think the risk was serious.
When the millionaire realized that the danger was real and people began to be removed from the ship, Astor helped the woman board a lifeboat. He was last seen smoking and talking to another passenger.
Astor’s wife, who was pregnant, survived.
Astor’s son, Vincent, initially kept the watch, but later gave it as a gift to the executive secretary who worked with his father, William Dobbyn.
The auctioneer claims that the clock has been restored and that it is an important item linked to the history of “the most famous ship in the world”.
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