American jewelry company Tiffany & Co. set a new record by paying $1.97 million for the golden watch of Captain Arthur Henry Rostron, the commander of the “Carpathia,” the first ship to respond to the distress call from the Titanic and assist its passengers.
The Tiffany watch, manufactured in 1912, was gifted to Captain Rostron by three passengers rescued by his ship as a token of gratitude. The item, auctioned by the British company Henry Aldridge & Son Ltd., initially did not reveal the buyer’s identity. However, Tiffany later officially confirmed its involvement in the purchase.
Previously, the most expensive artifact related to the Titanic was a pocket watch owned by John Jacob Astor, one of the wealthiest passengers on the ship. The watch, recovered from Astor’s body, was sold in 2024 for $1.485 million. Astor helped his wife secure a place in a lifeboat but perished in the disaster.
