Captain’s Gold Watch That Played a Crucial Role in Titanic Rescue Auctioned
A gold pocket watch, presented to the captain who orchestrated the rescue of 700 Titanic survivors, has been sold at auction for nearly two million dollars (£1.56m). This sale has set a new record for Titanic memorabilia, according to the auction house Henry Aldridge and Son.
The Gift to Captain Arthur Rostron
The 18-carat Tiffany watch was given to Captain Arthur Rostron by three survivors he saved after the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage in 1912. The three survivors were the widows of John Jacob Astor, the richest man to perish in the disaster, and two other well-off businessmen who also did not survive the incident. The watch was given to express their gratitude for Rostron’s heroic decision to divert his passenger ship, the RMS Carpathia, to rescue them and other survivors.
Record-Breaking Auction
The watch was sold to a private collector in the United States, and the auction house confirmed that this is the highest price ever paid for a piece of Titanic heritage. The price includes the taxes and commissions paid by the buyer. The previous record was also for a Titanic-related item – Astor’s pocket watch, which fetched almost $1.5m (£1.17m) at the same auction house in April.
Andrew Aldridge, an auctioneer, explained that the setting of two records this year by Titanic memorabilia underscores the ongoing fascination with the story and the increasing value of artifacts from the ship. He further noted that every person involved in the Titanic’s story had a narrative to share, and these stories continue to be told over a century later through memorabilia.
Rescue of the 700 Titanic Survivors
On the night the Titanic sank, the RMS Carpathia, commanded by Rostron, was en route from New York to the Mediterranean. Upon receiving a distress call from the Titanic, Rostron immediately turned his ship around and navigated through icebergs to reach the sinking vessel. By the time the Carpathia arrived, the Titanic had already sunk, taking 1,500 lives with it. However, Rostron and his crew managed to rescue over 700 passengers and safely transported them back to New York.
In recognition of his bravery, Rostron was decorated with the US Congressional Gold Medal by President William Howard Taft and was later knighted by King George V. The watch was presented to him by Madeleine Astor at a luncheon held in her Fifth Avenue mansion in New York. The inscription on the watch acknowledges the “sincere gratitude and appreciation of three survivors.”
