A gold pocket watch worn by the richest passenger on the Titanic has sold for six times its asking price, topping £900,000.
The clock belonged to businessman John Jacob Astor and is expected to sell for £150,000 when it goes up for auction in Wiltshire.
It matches other Titanic artefacts but when taxes and fees are taken into account, buyers will pay £1.175 million. Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge described the total cost as a “world record”.
The previous highest amount paid for a Titanic artefact was for a violin which also sold for £900,000, but with taxes and fees at the time this rose to £1.1 million.
This means the watch is now the highest amount ever paid for a single item from the unfortunate ship.
A violin case belonging to the man who conducted the orchestra on deck when the ship sank in 1912 also sold for £290,000, or £366,000 when taxes and fees were added, at a previous auction.
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The two items of maritime memorabilia are part of a sale in Devizes of more than 280 lots relating to passenger ships.
The Titanic was sailing from Southampton to New York when it struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic on the night of April 14, 1912. The ship sank with the loss of more than 1,500 lives.
The disaster is one of the most famous in maritime history, inspiring books, plays, songs and Hollywood films.
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The watch and brown leather violin case belonged to two people who became part of Titanic folklore.
Mr. Astor, 47, went down with the ship, following putting his young wife, Madeleine, into a lifeboat and smoking a last cigarette.
Meanwhile, Wallace Hartley, from Colne in Lancashire, and his orchestra of eight renowned players “kept playing” to calm passengers as disaster unfolded around them.
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Both items were recovered when the owner’s body was recovered from the water.
“In comparison with many of the clocks from the Titanic that froze on that unfortunate night, this clock was recovered and worn by Mr Astor’s son, Vincent,” said David Beddard, chairman of the British Titanic Society.
“To be able to look at JJ Astor’s watch, knowing that it was in his pocket when he put his young, pregnant wife in a lifeboat and withdrew, knowing that she would not survive, is extraordinary,” he added.
Mr Hartley went down with the ship, but not before he put his violin back into a leather violin case, which he strapped to his body, presumably for buoyancy.
Several days following the drowning, Mr Hartley’s body was found with the bag still attached to him.
“The bag held up pretty well, despite the water damage,” Mr Beddard said.
“Many tests were carried out over regarding five or six years before the violin and its case were validated.
“Recovery of items from victims’ bodies is always a controversial issue when included in collections.
“However, we are very fortunate with the Titanic community that even when items like this are purchased by individuals, whether they be millionaires or just ordinary people, they seem to be very generous and they rent or lend these artifacts for display.”
Mr Aldridge, managing director at Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes, said: “There were more than 2,200 people on that ship, so you have more than 2,200 subplots and 2,200 chapters to the story.
“Each of these people has a different story. We were interested in him because of who was on the ship. You might argue that the Titanic is the most famous ship that ever sailed.”
The violin, considered the “rarest and most iconic piece” of Titanic memorabilia, according to Mr Aldridge, was auctioned separately in 2013 and sold for a then-record price of £900,000.
The bag and watch were auctioned along with a rare service order for Mr Hartley’s funeral held on 18 May 1912 in Colne, Lancashire. (BBC/Z-3)
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