Tiffany & Co announces its record-breaking acquisition of a historic pocket watch from 1912. Acquired at auction in the UK for $1.97 million, the 18k gold pocket watch is the highest-valued piece of Titanic memorabilia ever sold.
The Tiffany & Co timepiece was given by three prominent women, Madeleine Talmage Astor, Marian Longstreth Thayer and Eleanor Elkins Widener, as a gesture of thanks to Captain (later Sir) Arthur H. Rostron, captain of the passenger ship R.M.S. Carpathia, who saved them – along with nearly 700 other passengers – when R.M.S. Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage in April 1912.
A ledger in The Tiffany Archives records that the watch was purchased by G. D. Widener, one of the three women. It is engraved with the inscription “Presented to Captain Rostron with the heartfelt gratitude and appreciation of three survivors of the Titanic April 15th 1912, John B. Thayer, John Jacob Astor and George D. Widener” and carries the enameled monogram AHR on its caseback.
The watch was presented to Captain Rostron at a luncheon hosted by Astor at her residence in New York City. An intimate and significant occasion with fellow Titanic survivors, the event was reported in local newspapers at the time.
“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 Christopher Young, Vice President of Creative Visual Merchandising, Events and The Tiffany Archives, Tiffany & Co. “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”
“Every man, woman and child on the Titanic had a story to tell and we tell those stories a century later through their memorabilia,” said Andrew Aldridge, Managing Director at Henry Aldridge and Son Ltd, the auction house that held the sale of the watch.
“This watch is a testament to the bravery of Sir Arthur Rostron and the regard he was held in by the widows of three of the most influential men on the Titanic. The fact that Tiffany & Co. purchased the piece 112 years after selling it shows the circle being completed and it going home.”
The pocket watch is an important symbol of Tiffany & Co.’s horological legacy, which dates back to 1847, when the jewelry house began to retail watches and clocks. In 1874, the House opened its own Manufacture in the heart of Geneva where it produced timepieces that featured a variety of complications and were often richly decorated with enamel, engraving and gemstones. The acquisition of Rostron’s pocket watch uplifts Tiffany & Co.’s longstanding legacy of commemorating acts of love and timeless bonds.
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