Gold pocket watch given to captain who rescued Titanic survivors sells for record price of nearly $2 million

A gold pocket watch given to the captain of the ship that rescued 700 survivors from the Titanic has sold at auction for nearly $2 million, setting a record for shipwreck memorabilia.

Tiffany & Co. 18 carat. The watch was given by three surviving women to the captain. Arthur Rostron for diverting his passenger ship, the RMS Carpathia, to save them and others after the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic on its maiden voyage in 1912.

Auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Son, which sold the watch to a private collector in the United States on Saturday for 1.56 million British pounds ($1,968,408), said it is the highest paid for a piece of Titanic memorabilia. Price includes taxes and fees paid by the buyer.

The watch was given to Rostron by the widow of John Jacob Astor, the richest man who died in the disaster, and the widows of two other wealthy businessmen who went down with the ship.

Astor’s pocket watch, which was on his body when it was found seven days after the ship sank, had previously set the record for the highest price paid for a piece of Titanic memorabilia, fetching nearly $1.5 million (1.17 million pounds) from the same auction house in April

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said the fact that Titanic memorabilia has set two records this year shows the enduring fascination with history and the value of dwindling supply and high demand for ship artefacts.

“Every man, woman and child had a story to tell, and those stories are told over a century later through memories,” he said.

Rostron was hailed as a hero for his actions the night the Titanic sank and his crew were recognized for their bravery.

The Carpathia was sailing from New York to the Mediterranean Sea when a radio operator heard a distress call from the Titanic in the early hours of April 15, 1912, and woke Rostron in his cabin. He turned his boat around and headed full steam towards the doomed ship, sailing through the ice floes to get there.

By the time the Carpathia arrived, the Titanic had sunk and 1,500 people had died. But the crew found 20 lifeboats and rescued more than 700 passengers and brought them back to New York.

Rostron was awarded the US Congressional Gold Medal by President William Howard Taft and later knighted by King George V.

Madeleine Astor, who had been helped to a lifeboat by her husband, presented the watch to Rostron at a luncheon at her Fifth Avenue residence in New York.

The inscription states that it was given “with the heartfelt gratitude and appreciation of the three survivors.” Mrs. are listed there. John B. Thayer and Mrs. George D. Widener next to Astor’s married name.

“It was presented primarily in recognition of Rostron’s courage in saving those lives,” Aldridge said. “Without Mr. Rostron, those 700 people wouldn’t have made it.”