Titanic bidding war sees price of rare watch gifted to captain of ship that saved 700 passengers from certain death sale to £1.6million
A gold watch that was gifted by three widows to the captain of the ship that saved 700 passengers from the Titanic has sold for a record-breaking £1.
A gold watch that was gifted by three widows to the captain of the ship that saved 700 passengers from the Titanic has sold for a record-breaking £1.57million at auction.
The sale marks the most any piece of Titanic memorabilia has ever fetched at auction.
Madeleine Astor, Marian Thayer and Eleanor Widener bought the Tiffany & Co timepiece after they returned safely to New York following the sinking.
Their husbands – three of the richest men in the world – all perished in the 1912 tragedy.
They presented the timepiece to Arthur Rostron, the captain of rescue ship RMS Carpathia, as an expression of gratitude.
The watch was consigned for sale with Wiltshire auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Son of Devizes by a private collector in the US.
It had a pre-sale estimate of between £80,000 to £120,000 but a bidding war saw it go for the hammer price of £1.31million.
The gold watch gifted to Arthur Rostron after he saved around 700 people from certain death
Arthur Rostron, captain of the Carpathia Captain which rushed to the rescue of Titanic passengers in 1912
The watch has become the most expensive item of Titanic memorabilia ever to sell at auction
With fees added on, the total amount paid by the anonymous buyer was £1.57million.
The sum exceeds the £1.1million paid in 2013 for the violin belonging to a member of the band that famously played on as the Titanic sank.
John Astor was the richest passenger on the doomed liner and was worth the equivalent of £2.2billion today.
The businessman and property magnate did not make it into a lifeboat and drowned.
Fellow businessman John Thayer was last seen ‘looking pale’ and heading for the stern of the ship with other passengers moments before she vanished.
Alongside him was George Widener, who gave a dinner party in honour of the Titanic captain, Edward Smith, on the evening of the disaster.
Their wives were loaded into the same lifeboat.
Mr Rostron was showered with gifts from first-class passengers afterwards. He was also awarded the American Congressional Gold Medal for his actions.
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: ‘It is an incredible piece of Titanic history and shows the enduring appeal surrounding not just the Titanic but all those people who were connected with her.
‘Arthur Rostron was a hero of the hour and saved many lives by getting to the wreck site as fast as possible.’
John Thayer, who died aboard Titanic, was last seen ‘looking pale’ and heading for the stern of the ship when it sunk
John Jacob Astor was the wealthiest passenger to go down with the ship, he was worth the equivalent of £2.2billion today
John Jacob Astor and his wife Madeline. Madeleine was five months pregnant at the time of the disaster
The inscription on the watch says Presented to Captain Rostron with the heartfelt gratitude and appreciation of three survivors of the Titanic April 15th 1912. Mrs John B.Thayer, Mrs John Jacob Astor, Mrs George D.Widener
A year before the disaster, Mr Astor caused controversy after divorcing his first wife and marrying Madeleine, who was just 18. The couple had enjoyed a six-month European honeymoon and were returning to the US.
Mr Astor paid almost $9,000 for their one-way first class cabins – about £45,000 in today’s money.
Madeleine was five months’ pregnant at the time. She gave birth to a son on August 14, 1912, and called him John Jacob Astor V in memory of her husband and the boy’s father.
Mr Widener and his wife were also returning to New York from a trip to Paris where he had gone to find a chef for his new hotel – the Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia.
Also going under the hammer was another pocket watch that was frozen in time when its owner, Ramon Gomez, went down with the Titanic. It sold for £100,000.
