Gold pocket watch recovered from the body of the richest man on the Titanic

Daily Mail ^ | April 27, 2024 | Peter Henn and Richard Percival

[mairdie]

The pocket watch of the richest man on the Titanic – recovered when his body was fished out of the Atlantic seven days after the tragedy – was sold a record-breaking £1.175 million yesterday.

The timepiece belonged to John Jacob Astor IV, a US business magnate who was among more than 1,500 people who died when the ship struck an iceberg in the early hours of April 15, 1912.

His 14-carat gold Waltham watch was sold at Henry Aldridge & Son auction house in Wiltshire for a record-breaking £1.175 million, six times the guide price, matching the record paid for a Titanic artifact – the violin played by bandmaster Wallace Hartley.

The pocket watch of the richest man on the Titanic – recovered when his body was fished out of the Atlantic seven days after the tragedy – was sold a record-breaking £1.175 million yesterday.

The timepiece belonged to John Jacob Astor IV, a US business magnate who was among more than 1,500 people who died when the ship struck an iceberg in the early hours of April 15, 1912.

His 14-carat gold Waltham watch was sold at Henry Aldridge & Son auction house in Wiltshire for a record-breaking £1.175 million, six times the guide price, matching the record paid for a Titanic artifact – the violin played by bandmaster Wallace Hartley.

[scrabblehack]

I thought I had read 40-ish. Some of the survivors’ stories are doubted:

https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/plucked-from-the-sea.html

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks mairdie.

The other GGG topics added since the previous digest ping, alpha:

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• Drowned land off Australia was an Aboriginal hotspot in last ice age, 4,000 stone artifacts reveal [04/23/2024]
• Discovery in Maya pyramid reveals dramatic dynasty collapse, archaeologists say [04/23/2024]
• For 100 Years, Horse Diving Was A Thing, And Was Every Bit Crazy As It Sounds [04/22/2024]
• Humans and their livestock have sheltered in this Saudi Arabian cave for 10,000 years [04/23/2024]
• King Charles' funeral plans reportedly being updated regularly after cancer diagnosis: 'He is really very unwell' [04/26/2024]
• Life in 1960s America, By the Numbers: While the tumult of the decade played out on the evening news, most people were living normal everyday lives [04/24/2024]
• Long-lost Gustav Klimt painting sells at auction for £26 million [04/24/2024]
• The Persian Conquest of Jerusalem (614 CE) -- An Archaeological Assessment [04/24/2024]
• Pompey the Great [Prominent People of Ancient Rome] [04/25/2024]
• Rare ancient tree discovery has scientists 'gobsmacked'. [04/25/2024
• Stone Age Skeletons Show Women Were Likely Sacrificed in Mafia-Style Killings, Say Archaeologists [04/23/2024]
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• The Titles of British Nobility, Explained: From Barons to Earls to Dukes [04/21/2024]
• 'Unprecedented' discovery of mysterious circular monument near 2 necropolises found in France [04/23/2024]
• Woke NPR Places 'Trigger Warning' on Declaration of Independence [04/23/2024]

[GrandJediMasterYoda]

From what I remember, the sea water was something like 25 F which can kill a person in 15 minutes, so I can’t see how anyone survived who was thrown in the water or jumped unless they were immediately picked up.

[NWFree]

Grave robbers

[MayflowerMadam]

I got a Waltham for graduation in the ‘60s. Very nice.

[MayflowerMadam]

I’ve heard that story often over the years. Brings years to my eye6.

[MayflowerMadam]

Really. A terrible movie.

“A Night To Remember” was on TV a couple weeks ago, and Hubby watched it. I couldn’t. I saw it decades ago and won’t watch it again; is too upsetting.

[mairdie]

Isn’t it the same as after a crime investigation the victim’s effects are returned to the family?

I’ve been thinking about grave articles recently. Other than the value and quantity, what is so different about what is put in ancient Egyptian and Chinese graves from the toys we put into a child’s casket, or the well-loved and used items that went into my mother’s casket. My grandfather’s will asked that his mother’s photo be placed in his ashes urn. For some reason, there’s something instinctive in us to want our loved ones to go with the things they found dear.

[MayflowerMadam]

I’ll have ashes of 3 cats with me.

[scrabblehack]

That’s my thought also. There was also the lifeboat that lost their oars — it was found a month later with 3 dead bodies on it.

https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/the-finding-titanic-life-raft.html

[mairdie]

My friend has already made that arrangement with a funeral director. I need to think how to accomplish it.

[SaveFerris]

She threw the necklace back into the ocean 🌊🌊🌊!!

😆😅🤣😜

[SaveFerris]

“A Night To Remember”

Best one I ever saw

[SaveFerris]

29 F

From what I’ve heard (like it makes any difference)

Then there’s the drunk bread-baker on the Titanic....

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Joughin

[Texas resident]

The Waltham I have was my great grand fathers. It is a railroad watch with the minutes denoted.

[Bob434]

Yep— i only heard abotu it recently- but yeah- it’s heartwarming to read abotu his selflessness-

[MayflowerMadam]

“Best one I ever saw”

Definitely the best I’ve ever seen, too.

It made “Titanic” look like a cartoon.

[SaveFerris]

I remember when the bow dipped below the surface.

It was truly fearful (for a movie)

[Jimmy Valentine]

Picking “artifacts” off of the Titanic is nothing more than grave robbing.