Businessman John Jacob Astor died at the age of 47 in the sinking of the famous transatlantic liner in 1912, after he managed to get his wife, Madeleine, into a lifeboat.
Instead of trying his luck by getting on another lifeboat (on board which children and women got on first – ed.), the American tycoon, impeccably dressed that day and a prominent member of the wealthy Astor family , chose to stay on the Titanic and was last seen alive while smoking a cigarette and talking with another passenger on a deck of the ship.
The man’s lifeless body was recovered from the Atlantic Ocean seven days later
His lifeless body was recovered from the Atlantic Ocean seven days later, along with a Waltham pocket watch, a splendid model, plated with 14 carat gold and engraved with the acronym “JJA”.
The watch could be sold for between 100,000 and 150,000 pounds at an auction that will be organized on Saturday by Henry Aldridge & Sons in the town of Devizes in the English county of Wiltshire. “Astor is well known as the richest passenger on board the RMS Titanic and was considered one of the richest men in the world at the time, with a net worth of approximately US$87 million, equivalent to several billion dollars in the days our”said the director of the auction house, Andrew Aldridge.
“At 22:40 GMT on April 14, 1912, the Titanic struck an iceberg and began to take on water. At first Astor did not believe the ship was in serious danger, but later it became apparent that that she was sinking, and the captain began the rescue operation after midnight, so he helped his wife into lifeboat number 4.”he added.
The watch was fully restored after returning to the Astor family
Mrs. Astor survived, and her husband’s body was recovered on April 22, not far from the wreck. The watch was given by Astor’s son Vincent to the son of his father’s executive secretary, William Dobbyn.
“The watch itself was fully restored after it returned to the Astor family and was worn for a time by the tycoon’s son, making it a unique part of the Titanic story and one of the most important objects in watch history , being associated with the most famous ship in the world”added Andrew Aldridge.
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