Turns Out Tiffany & Co. Bought That ‘Titanic’ Pocket Watch for $1.97 Million
Tiffany & Co. has announced the acquisition of a Titanic piece of history. The storied American jewelry house is adding to its great heritage with a pocket watch recently acquired by the LVMH-owned brand at a Henry Aldridge & Son Ltd. auction in the U.K. in November. The watch was once gifted to the captain of the R.M.S. Carpathia for saving the lives of nearly 700 passengers of the ill-fated Titanic ship in 1912. Tiffany paid $1.97 million for the piece it retailed in 1912, solidifying the timepiece as the most expensive memorabilia related to the historic event ever sold.
Adding to the tale of this palm-sized treasure is the provenance of the three society women of the era who originally purchased it: Madeleine Talmage Astor, Marian Longstreth Thayer, and Eleanor Elkins Widener. Mrs. Astor was one of the most famous survivors of the Titanic. Her husband, John Jacob Astor the IV perished aboard the ship. Mrs. Thayer, also a survivor of the sinking, was the wife of John Borland Thayer II, a director and second vice president of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Mrs. Widener was the wife of George Dunton Widener, who ran the Philadelphia Traction Company (known for developing cable and electric streetcars). She also survived, but her husband and eldest son, Harry Elkins Widener, perished. The three women purchased the pocket watch from Tiffany & Co. in 1912 to gift to Captain Arthur H. Rostron as a thank-you for saving their lives and hundreds of others in the wake of the tragedy in April of that year.
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Cementing the piece to the event, which 112 years later remains unforgettable, is an endearing inscription. It is engraved, “Presented to Captain Rostron with the heartfelt gratitude and appreciation of three survivors of the Titanic April 15th 1912, Mrs. John B. Thayer, Mrs. John Jacob Aster, and Mrs. George D. Widener” along with Captain Rostron’s initials “AHR.” The date, of course, commemorates the day the ship sunk in the North Atlantic.
The price tag paid for this slice of history may seem astronomical, but when you consider modern watches sometimes go for even more, it is clearly a coup for the watch and jewelry house. Heritage departments are becoming increasingly crucial to storied brands not only for archival purposes but also for bragging rights and publicity, as well as museums. “Tiffany & Co. jewelry and objects have been a cornerstone of global luxury since the mid-nineteenth century, and that Tiffany was entrusted to help give thanks in the wake of the unthinkable Titanic tragedy reminds us of our humble role in the lives of our clients,” said Tiffany & Co. executive Christopher Young. “Captain Rostron’s pocket watch is an incredible expression of thanks and gratitude, and we are humbled to welcome this extraordinary treasure home to Tiffany & Co.”
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