Watch recovered from body of richest man on the Titanic to go on sale
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A gold pocket watch recovered from the body of the richest man on the Titanic is to go on sale.
Business magnate John Jacob Astor was one of the world’s wealthiest men when he stepped on board the ship in 1912, and was last seen smoking on the bridge as the ship sank,
The 47-year-old went down with the ship after seeing his pregnant wife Madeleine into a lifeboat. He was turned back by First Officer Charles Lightoller and, rather than try his luck with another lifeboat, the impeccably dressed Astor was last seen smoking a cigarette on the starboard wing of the bridge while chatting to a fellow first-class passenger.
Astor’s body was recovered from the north Atlantic seven days later dressed in a blue suit and brown flannel shirt. He was later identified by the initials JJR sewn on the lapel of his jacket.
His 14-carat gold Waltham pocket watch which was also engraved J.J.A was removed from the American’s body.
The timepiece, along with his £55 million estate (£7 billion today), was left to his 20-year-old son Vincent.
It is not known what condition the watch was in at the time but it would have stopped working at 2.20am – the moment the Titanic and Astor disappeared into the Atlantic.
Vincent Astor later had the watch restored and repaired and wore it until 1935 when he gifted it to his godson, William Dobbyn.
Dobbyn’s father, also William, had been Astor’s executive secretary and was also close to Vincent.
Cufflinks and plan of first-class accommodation also up for sale
The newly married Astor and Madeleine boarded Titanic at Cherbourg on April 10, 1912 to return to America but Dobbyn stayed behind in France, a move that saved his life.
The gold watch was acquired from the Dobbyn family by the private collector of Titanic memorabilia in the 1990s. It is now being sold at specialist Titanic auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son Auctioneers of Devizes, Wiltshire. It is tipped to sell for between £100,000 and £150,000.
Along with the watch there is a pair of gold cufflinks owned by Astor and his plan of first-class accommodation on Titanic.
The foldable 30 inches-by-40 inches document, that was used by William Dobbyn in Paris to plan the Astors’ trip and confirm the staterooms they were in, is valued at £30,000.
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: “The watch is one of the most remarkable items of Titanic memorabilia we have come across.
“It is an exquisite timepiece that is in superb condition which is unsurprising considering who its original owner was.
“Yet it spent seven days in the freezing water of the Atlantic in the aftermath of the disaster and would almost certainly have stopped working and suffered all sorts of damage.
“It was obviously of great sentimental value to Vincent Astor who had it restored and wore it for the next 23 years.”
The sale takes place this Saturday.
