Astor's 'Titanic' Pocket Watch Could Soon be Yours
- 35 minutes ago
- 2 min read
The business magnate's timepiece has stayed in his family for over 120 years since the ill-fated ship sank in April 1912.
John Jacob Astor IV was an American businessman, investor, inventor and author, perhaps best known for developing the Astoria Hotel in 1897, later incorporated into the Waldorf-Astoria. So, it’s perhaps fitting that the wealthiest man aboard the Titanic (and one of the richest people in the world, at the time) carried a Patek Philippe pocket watch. And now it could be yours.
Astor’s 18-carat gold Patek is heading to the auction block on 22 April at Freeman’s. As the story goes, Astor and his wife Madeleine hopped aboard the Titanic in France, after they had spent time abroad on their honeymoon, just days before the supposedly unsinkable ship sank. After the Titanic’s collision with an iceberg, the New York magnate helped his pregnant spouse aboard a lifeboat, but was told women and children were to board the vessels first - so, he calmly said goodbye and stayed on deck as the evacuation proceeded, according to the disaster’s survivors. Days after the ocean liner sank into the murky depths of the frigid Atlantic, a cable ship recovered Astor’s body, along with personal trinkets such as the pocket watch.
Astor had originally bought the Patek pocket watch back in 1904 from Tiffany & Co. in New York City, complete with his engraved monogram on the caseback. Upon its retrieval, the memento was given to Astor’s son, Vincent, who wore the watch until his death in 1959. From there, Vincent’s wife Brooke owned the pocket watch until her death, in 2007; the trinket was then passed to Brooke’s son Anthony before finally landed in the hands of Charlene Marshall, Anthony’s wife. Now, it’s Charlene’s estate that is offering up the heirlooms. The Patek is expected to fetch from $300,000 to $500,000 at auction.