The timepiece belonged to John Jacob Astor IV, a US business magnate who was among more than 1,500 people who died when the ship struck an iceberg in the early hours of April 15, 19772.
The watch belonged to US-based businessman, John Jacob Astor IV. READ MORE:Titanic enthusiasts have expressed concern after the pocket watch of the richest man on the ship - recovered when his body was fished out of the Atlantic seven days after the tragedy - was sold for a record-breaking £1.175 million this month.
However, the auction house has said that it's a misunderstanding to assume that such artefacts end up in private collections, with many going on display in museums around the world. The preservation group Titanic Memorial Lighthouse wrote: 'We are increasingly uneasy with the auctioning of recovered Titanic family artifacts. We hope John Jacob Astor's watch now finds its way to a museum and not into the hands of a private collector never to be seen again.'
John Jacob Astor - the lieutenant colonel whose ancestors made a fortune from the bloody fur trade became the most famous victim of the Titanic Astor was reportedly last seen smoking a cigar on the deck of the doomed luxury liner and later recovered from the freezing Atlantic Ocean on April 22. By the time he died aged 84 in 1848, he was worth $30million which is equivalent to over $1billion today.
'These pieces are bought by collectors and then put on show. It’s completely inaccurate to say that all these items disappear into private collections and are never seen again. In many cases it’s totally the opposite.' 'Either it belongs in a museum or it goes back to the descendants. No ifs ands or buts about it,' said another.
It was accompanied by a signed affidavit from William Dobbyn Snr's daughter-in-law confirming it has been a gift to her husband from Vincent. Astor's body was recovered from the north Atlantic seven days later dressed in a blue suit and brown flannel shirt Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: 'The watch is one of the most remarkable items of Titanic memorabilia we have come across.
'It is a unique part of the Titanic story and one of the most important pieces of horological history relating to the most famous ship in the world.'
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