Gold pocket watch found on body of Titanic's richest passenger is up for auction
by CBS News
CBS News— A pocket watch that belonged to the wealthiest passenger aboard the Titanic is up for auction and could sell for as much as 150,000 pounds, or nearly $190,000. The auction for John Jacob Astor IV's 14-carat gold Waltham pocket watch begins Saturday, with a starting bid of 60,000 pounds, according to auction house Henry Aldridge & Son. The watch, engraved with the initials JJA, was found along with Astor's body when his remains were recovered several days after the Titanic sank. He was also found...
Daily Mail—Auction house hits back in row over sale of gold pocket watch recovered from the body of the richest man on the Titanic for £1million. 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, 19772.
CNN—Gold watch worn by richest passenger aboard Titanic to be sold at auction. A gold watch worn by John Jacob Astor IV, a member of the wealthy Astor family and the richest man aboard the Titanic, will go up for sale at an auction of memorabilia from the doomed ship. Astor was one of around 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912 after hitting an iceberg. His pregnant wife, Madeleine, survived. The watch is among a number of notable items on offer at auction house Henry Aldridge & Son in Wiltshire, England, on Saturday, including the valise that held...
Fox Business—Gold pocket watch recovered from Titanic’s wealthiest passenger sells for nearly $1.5M. A gold pocket watch worn by the richest passenger aboard the Titanic when the ill-fated ocean liner sank was sold at auction on Saturday for a record-breaking sum of nearly $1.5 million. The timepiece belonged to John Jacob Astor IV, a New York business magnate and real estate developer, and was expected to sell for about $189,000 at auction, according to auction house Henry Aldridge and Son in Wiltshire, England. The watch’s casing is engraved with Astor’s initials "JJA." The 14-carat heirloom,...