Gold watch of – allegedly – richest man on Titanic auctioned for 1.38 million euros: the story of John Jacob Astor

A remarkable auction at the Henry Aldridge & Son auction house today: numerous items from the late Titanic went under the hammer.

The piece that raised the most is a 14-carat gold watch inscribed “JJA” – the initials of one John Jacob Astor IV, a notable passenger of the Titanic. The watch was sold for no less than 1.38 million euros. According to the auction house, this is a record for a Titanic item.

Photo: auction house Henry Aldridge & Son Ltd

John Jacob Astor IV, scion of the Astor family, was an American businessman, real estate developer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish-American War, writer and investor. In his time one of the richest people in the world – and therefore probably the richest man on the Titanic, where he embarked in April 1912 with his second wife Madeleine.

Their marriage was not without controversy, especially due to the 29-year age difference: he was 47 at the time, she was 18. To escape the controversy, they celebrated their honeymoon in Europe and Egypt. But during their honeymoon, Madeleine became pregnant and because the couple wanted their baby to be born in the United States, they booked a ticket for the Titanic crossing. A salient detail: they were accompanied by Margaret Brown, who would later become known as The Unsinkable Molly Brown because she saved the lives of several passengers on the ship.

John Jacob Astor IV with his wife Madeleine
The Titanic Collection/UIG/Bridgeman Images

Late in the evening of April 14, 1912, the Titanic hit the infamous iceberg. At first Astor believed it wasn’t all that bad, but a little later he put his pregnant wife on a lifeboat. He also allegedly asked if he could accompany them, but that was met with a “no”. Women and children first, you know. He asked exactly which lifeboat Madeleine was in (number 4 for those interested). Whether that was to easily find his wife later or to sue the company, no one will ever know.

The Titanic
Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Astor himself was last seen smoking a cigarette and chatting with a fellow passenger. Like 1,500 other passengers and crew members, he did not survive the disaster. His body was found on April 22. Identification wasn’t that difficult: his jacket label had his initials on it. He also had several other things in his pocket, including the gold watch that is now being auctioned, but also cufflinks, a diamond ring with three stones, banknotes, a pocketbook…

Various theories are circulating about the state of his body. One states that his body was found badly damaged and covered in soot. According to that theory, he would have died when a chimney fell down. Other reports say he appeared relatively unscathed.

Madeleine survived the disaster and gave birth to a son 4 months later: John Jacob Astor VI.

The watch itself went to Vincent Astor, John Jacob’s son from his first marriage. He completely restored the gem and, according to the auction house, in turn gave it to William Dobbyn’s son at his baptism in 1935. Dobbyn was a director of Astor. The family kept the watch until the 1990s, when it was auctioned off to an unknown collector. Since then it has been on display in various museums.

In addition to the watch, cufflinks, unused bank checks, his first class plan (with notes) and a photo of Astor were also auctioned.

Watch: The fascination with the Titanic is largely through the stories of the people on board

It is not the only masterpiece that was auctioned today. The bag containing the world-famous violin of orchestra leader Wallace Hartley also went under the hammer for 420,000 euros.

Photo: auction house Henry Aldridge & Son Ltd

The band continued to play during the sinking of the ship to reassure the passengers. Just before the ship actually sank, Hartley put the violin in this bag to protect it from the water. Ten days after the disaster, his body and the violin were found. The instrument was then sent to his fiancée.

Left: the famous violin, right: Wallace Hartley

After her death it was unclear for a long time where exactly the violin had ended up. Ultimately, it turned out that he ended up with a violin teacher through the Salvation Army. In 2006 she was found in an attic in Yorkshire, but that remained a closely guarded secret for years.

All the while, tests were being done to determine whether it was indeed the violin. Experts ultimately ruled that this was indeed the case, including through examination of the wood damaged by salt water and Wallace Hartley’s bag.

The violin itself was auctioned by the same auction house in 2013 and fetched a record amount of 1 million euros. That was the highest amount ever linked to the Titanic. Until now.

A pocketbook from the secretary of the director of White Star Line was also sold today. The book, with a red leather cover and water damage, lists the sailings of the Titanic up to and including December 28, 1912. It also lists the rates with and without meals.

Photo: auction house Henry Aldridge & Son Ltd

A total of 286 lots were sold. Would you like to browse through the memorabilia yourself? That’s possible here.