Titanic Rescuer's Gold Watch Fetches Record £1.56m at Auction

The auction of a gold pocket watch given to the captain who saved over 700 Titanic survivors reflects ongoing interest in maritime history.

A remarkable gold pocket watch that once belonged to Sir Arthur Rostron, the captain of the RMS Carpathia, has achieved a record auction price of £1.56 million ($1.97 million). The exquisite 18-carat Tiffany & Co timepiece was presented to Captain Rostron by grateful survivors of the Titanic disaster. Auction house Henry Aldridge and Son, located in Wiltshire, announced that this sale marks the highest amount ever recorded for Titanic memorabilia, acquired by a private collector from the United States.

The watch symbolizes the enduring legacy of the Titanic tragedy, where Captain Rostron and his crew altered the Carpathia's course in response to the distress signal from Titanic’s wireless operator on April 15, 1912. They navigated through perilous waters and arrived two hours post-sinking, rescuing a significant number of the more than 1,500 individuals who perished when the ship collided with an iceberg.

Sir Arthur Rostron received the watch from the widow of prominent Titanic passenger John Jacob Astor, along with two other widows of wealthy victims. The watch bears an inscription: “presented to Captain Rostron with the heartfelt gratitude and appreciation of three survivors of the Titanic, April 15th 1912, Mrs. John B Thayer, Mrs. John Jacob Astor, and Mrs. George D Widener.” This loving tribute was given during a luncheon at the Astor family estate in New York, acknowledging Rostron's courageous actions that ensured the survival of many.

Previously, the record for the sale of Titanic-related items was held by another gold pocket watch recovered from John Jacob Astor's body, which was sold for £1.175 million earlier this year. Prior to that, a violin played during the ship's sinking maintained the record for its considerable price of £1.1 million since 2013. Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge noted that the repetitive breaking of records this year reflects the declining availability and heightened interest in Titanic memorabilia, signaling a trajectory of skyrocketing auction values.