A gold pocket watch given to the ship captain who rescued 700 survivors from the Titanic was recently sold at auction for nearly $2 million in London. This sale set a record for memorabilia from the shipwreck.
The 18-carat Tiffany & Co. watch was a gift from three women survivors to Capt. Arthur Rostron for diverting his passenger ship, the RMS Carpathia, to save them and others after the Titanic sank in 1912. The auctioneers, Henry Aldridge and Son, confirmed that the watch was sold to a private collector in the United States for 1.56 million British pounds, which includes taxes and fees paid by the buyer.
The watch was given to Rostron by the widow of John Jacob Astor, one of the wealthiest men to perish in the disaster, and the widows of two other affluent businessmen who also went down with the ship. Previously, Astor’s pocket watch, recovered seven days after the sinking, had set a record for the highest price paid for a Titanic keepsake at nearly $1.5 million from the same auction house in April.
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge mentioned that the record-breaking prices paid for Titanic memorabilia this year highlight the enduring fascination with the story and the high demand for ship artifacts due to a limited supply.
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âEvery man, woman and child had a story to tell, and those stories are told over a century later through the memorabilia,â he said.
Rostron was hailed a hero for his actions the night the Titanic sank and his crew was 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 at full steam toward the doomed vessel, navigating through ice bergs to get there.
By the time the Carpathia arrived, the Titanic had sunk and 1,500 people perished. But the crew located 20 lifeboats and rescued more than 700 passengers and took them back to New York.
Rostron was awarded the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal by President William Howard Taft and was later knighted by King George V.
Madeleine Astor, who had been helped into a lifeboat by her husband, presented the watch to Rostron at a luncheon at her mansion on Fifth Avenue in New York.
The inscription says it was given âwith the heartfelt gratitude and appreciation of three survivors.â It lists Mrs. John B. Thayer and Mrs. George D. Widener alongside Astorâs married name.
âIt was presented principally in gratitude for Rostronâs bravery in saving those lives,â Aldridge said. âWithout Mr. Rostron, those 700 people wouldnât have made it.â
By Brian Melley
