A gold pocket watch given to the captain who rescued Titanic survivors sells for record price

This undated photo made available by Henry Aldridge and Son shows a gold pocket watch that was given to Capt. Arthur Rostron, captain of RMS Carpathia that rescued 700 survivors of the Titanic. (Andrew Aldridge/Henry Aldridge and Son via AP)

LONDON, United Kingdom — A gold pocket watch given to the ship captain who rescued 700 survivors from the Titanic sold at auction for nearly US$2 million, setting a record for memorabilia from the ship wreck.

The 18-carat Tiffany & Co. watch was given by three women survivors to Capt. Arthur Rostron for diverting his passenger ship, the RMS Carpathia, to save them and others after the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank in the north Atlantic on its maiden voyage in 1912.

Auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Son, who sold the watch to a private collector in the United States on Saturday for 1.56 million British pounds, said it’s the most paid for a piece of Titanic memorabilia. The price includes taxes and fees paid by the buyer.

The watch was given to Rostron by the widow of John Jacob Astor, the richest man to die in the disaster, and the widows of two other wealthy businessmen who went down with the ship.

Astor's pocket watch, which was on his body when it was recovered seven days after the ship sank, had previously set the record for the highest price paid for a Titanic keepsake, fetching nearly US$1.5 million (1.17 million pounds) from the same auction house in April.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said the fact that Titanic memorabilia has set two records this year demonstrates the enduring fascination with the story and the value of the dwindling supply and high demand for ship artifacts.

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“Every man, woman and child had a story to tell, and those stories are told over a century later through the memorabilia," he said.

Rostron was hailed a hero for his actions the night the Titanic sank and his crew was recognized for their bravery.

The Carpathia was sailing from New York to the Mediterranean Sea when a radio operator heard a distress call from the Titanic in the early hours of April 15, 1912 and woke Rostron in his cabin. He turned his boat around and headed at full steam toward the doomed vessel, navigating through ice bergs to get there.

By the time the Carpathia arrived, the Titanic had sunk and 1,500 people perished. But the crew located 20 lifeboats and rescued more than 700 passengers and took them back to New York.

Rostron was awarded the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal by then-U.S. president William Howard Taft and was later knighted by King George V.

Madeleine Astor, who had been helped into a lifeboat by her husband, presented the watch to Rostron at a luncheon at her mansion on Fifth Avenue in New York.

The inscription says it was given “with the heartfelt gratitude and appreciation of three survivors.” It lists Mrs. John B. Thayer and Mrs. George D. Widener alongside Astor's married name.

“It was presented principally in gratitude for Rostron’s bravery in saving those lives,” Aldridge said. "Without Mr. Rostron, those 700 people wouldn’t have made it.”