Titanic: magnate John Jacob Astor IV's watch found, goes up for auction in Chicago
The body of Astor, builder of the Astoria Hotel in New York and with a fortune of around $80 million at the time, was recovered a week later by the ship Mackay-Bennett
The pocket watch that belonged to John Jacob Astor IV, US tycoon and one of the wealthiest passengers on the Titanic, will be auctioned on Wednesday 22 April in Chicago by Freeman's auction house. The item, an 18-carat yellow gold Patek Philippe sold by Tiffany & Co. in 1904, is estimated at between $300,000 and $500,000. Also at auction was a 14-carat gold pencil found with the watch, valued at between $10,000 and $20,000.
Honeymooners
Astor, builder of the Astoria Hotel in New York and with a fortune of around $80 million at the time (over $2 billion in today's terms), had embarked his wife Madeleine, almost thirty years younger, to France in 1912 to return to the United States after a long honeymoon. The couple was trying to escape the media attention their marriage had attracted; Madeleine was pregnant and wanted to give birth in America. The voyage, however, ended tragically on the night of 14-15 April 1912, when the Titanic struck an iceberg in the Northwest Atlantic.
He stayed on the deck of the Titanic until the end
Astor helped his wife into a lifeboat and complied with the evacuation rules for women and children, remaining on deck until the end. His death has remained one of the most remembered moments of the tragedy. Astor's body was recovered a week later from the Mackay-Bennett ship, along with his watch, pencil and other personal effects. Although another watch attributed to the tycoon was sold at auction in 2024 for $1.5 million, records from 1912 indicate that Astor owned only one watch, reinforcing the authenticity of the piece now for sale. The watch remained in the family for generations: worn by his son Vincent, then his daughter-in-law, finally passed on to his grandson and wife Charlene, who passed away last year.
