A gold pocket watch recovered from the body of the richest man who died on the Titanic has gone up for auction.
John Jacob Astor, 47, was the wealthiest man aboard the ship and would have been a billionaire by today’s standards, with an estimated net worth of $87 million at the time – roughly $2.75 billion today.
While his young wife, Madeline, 18, managed to survive the sinking alongside their unborn child, Astor did not, although he reportedly did ask to accompany her because of her “delicate condition” but was refused.
He was last seen alive smoking a cigarette with Jacques Futrelle, an author who also died in the sinking.
His body was later recovered on 22 April and he was identified thanks to initials sewn into his jacket.
Alongside his body, a number of items were found, including his gold pocket watch.
His eldest son Vincent, then 20, subsequently kept and wore the watch religiously until he gifted it to his godson, William Dobbyn in 1935.
The watch remained in the Dobbyn family until it was acquired by a collector in the 1990s.
Like his jacket, the 14 carat gold Waltham pocket watch was engraved with Astor’s initials.
The watch is believed to have stopped working at 2:20 am, which is around the time that the Titanic sank to her grave at the bottom of the North Atlantic.
Once damaged from the sinking, it has since been restored to its former glory and featured in a number of exhibitions from the disaster, such as the ‘The World’s Largest Titanic Attraction’ in Missouri.
The watch is now set to be sold for an estimated £150,000 by Henry Aldridge & Son Auctioneers of Devizes in Wiltshire, who specialise in Titanic memorabilia.
The watch’s authenticity is proven in a signed affidavit from William Dobbyn Snr’s daughter-in-law, who confirmed that it was gifted to her husband by Astor’s son.
The affidavit specifies that the watch had been worn by Astor during the sinking.
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: “Astor is well known as the richest passenger aboard the RMS Titanic and was thought to be among the richest people in the world at that time, with a net worth of roughly 87 million US dollars – equivalent to several billion dollars today.
“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.
“It is a unique part of the Titanic story and one of the most important pieces of horological history relating to the most famous ship in the world.”
The watch is not the only item belonging to Astory up for auction.
So too are a pair of his gold cufflinks and a plan of the first class accommodation he stayed in with wife and staff.
The cufflinks are valued at £5,000 to £8,000 while the map of the staterooms could sell for as much as £30,000.
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