A pocket watch recovered from the wreck of Titanic has earned more than Rs 12 crore in the auction, destroying all expectations. The gold pocket watch was the property of John Jacob Astor, the richest passenger aboard the ill-fated ship. Auctioneers estimate that the price after applying taxes and other charges should be a world record. This price has been estimated to be around Rs 12 crore 38 lakh.
When it was auctioned in Wiltshire, it was expected that its price would be around 150,000 pounds i.e. 15810000 rupees. Instead, it went for £900,000, or Rs 9,480,000, six times the anticipated sale price, matching the price of another artefact recovered from the wreck.
After taxes and duties, it is believed that the pocket watch will be the most expensive, priced at 1175000 pounds, i.e. Rs 12,38,00,000, due to which auctioneer Andrew Aldridge described it as a world record.
This watch belonged to John Jacob Astor, a passenger on that ship who had chosen to stay on his own ship to save his wife. (Photo: Instagram/savetitaniclighthouse)
Meanwhile, among the most notable artifacts sold from the doomed ship is the violin case of Wallace Hartley, who led the orchestra. After taxes, it was sold for around Rs 3 crore 86 lakh on the first day. The orchestra famously played as the ship sank. The Titanic was in the North Atlantic during its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in 1912 when it collided with an iceberg.
According to the BBC report, 47-year-old Astor’s last act was to put his wife in a lifeboat and smoke one last cigarette before going down from the ship. David Bedard, president of the British Titanic Society, said that unlike many of the Titanic’s watches, which were frozen in time on that fateful night, that watch was acquired and worn by Mr. Astor’s son, Vincent.
J.J. Astor’s watch was in his pocket when he left his young, pregnant bride in a lifeboat. And knowing that he would not survive, he retreated to ensure his wife’s life.
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Tags: Amazing news, Bizarre news, OMG News, Weird news
FIRST PUBLISHED: April 28, 2024, 17:12 IST
