Gold Watch Of John Jacob Astor IV, Richest Passenger Aboard Titanic, To Be Sold At Li

The watch is among the notable items offered for sale on Saturday at Henry Aldridge & Son auction house in Wiltshire, UK. It’s about the suitcase that contained the violin the orchestra leader played while the ship was sinking and a pocket diary documenting the Titanic’s scheduled voyages.

The violin was sold for $1.7 million through the same auction house in 2013 and is the best-selling item on the ship of all time.

The watch is expected to sell for between £100,000 and £150,000 ($125,000-$188,000) and the suitcase for between £100,000 and £120,000 ($125,000-$150,000), according to Andrew Aldridge, managing director of auction house Henry Aldridge & Son. The auctions start on April 27, at 12:00 local time (2:00 p.m. Romanian time, no), Aldridge told CNN.

The watch was among the personal effects found with Astor’s lifeless body after the sinking of the Titanic, according to the auction house. He also had on him, among other things, gold cufflinks, a diamond ring, money and a pocket book.

Businessman John Jacob Astor died at the age of 47 in the sinking of the famous ocean liner in 1912, after he managed to get his pregnant wife, Madeleine, into a lifeboat.

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”.

After Astor’s body was recovered, these possessions were sent to the family. His son, Vincent Astor, fully restored the clock to working order, and in 1935 gave it as a christening gift to the son of William Dobbyn IV, John Jacob Astor’s executive secretary.

Aldridge said the Dobbyns kept the watch until the late 1990s, when it was auctioned.

An anonymous collector from the United States bought the watch in this auction and is the current seller. Since then, the object has been exhibited in several museums.

“So over time, millions of people have seen it, which is fabulous,” Aldridge said.

John Jacob Astor IV’s cufflinks and Titanic’s first-class accommodation document are also up for grabs in Saturday’s auction. The cufflinks are expected to sell for between £5,000 and £8,000 ($6,250-$10,000) and the accommodation document for between £20,000 and £30,000 ($25,000-$37,500) .

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