The watch given to the captain who saved 700 shipwrecked people from the Titanic goes for a high price

It's a little piece of history that the lucky winner of the auction organized on Saturday November 16 by Henry Aldridge and Son in London offered himself. A private American collector has sold a Tiffany & Co. 18-karat gold pocket watch for £1.56 million, setting the record for the most expensive item ever sold at auction in connection with the Titanic. This is probably due to the very unique story behind this jewel.

On April 15, 1912, as the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg midway through its maiden voyage, Captain Arthur Rostron took it upon himself to divert his ship, the RMS Carpathia, in an attempt to save the shipwrecked, after hearing the liner's distress call on the radio. By his action, the man saved some 700 people (of the 2,200 passengers) from certain drowning, including the widow of John Jacob Astor, the richest man to have perished in the disaster.

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To thank Captain Arthur Rostron, who was subsequently considered “a hero”, the latter had joined forces with the widows of two other rich businessmen who died in the sinking of the Titanic to offer him this famous gold pocket watch.

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A “lasting fascination”

The sale comes just months after another Titanic-related item broke auction records. In April, Henry Aldridge and Son sold John Jacob Astor's pocket watch – which was recovered from the man's body seven days after the sinking – for £1.17 million, or £1.4 million. euros. Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge told ABC News that the fact that Titanic collectibles set two records this year demonstrates “the enduring fascination with the history” of the liner.