Tiffany & Co. has reacquired a significant piece it created more than a century ago: the 18k gold pocket watch belonging to the commander of the RMS Carpathia, the ship that rescued over 700 survivors from the Titanic disaster in 1912.
At a recent auction in the U.K., Tiffany secured the watch—which was given to Capt. Arthur H. Rostron by three Titanic survivors—with a winning bid of £1.56 million (approximately $1.97 million), setting a new record for Titanic memorabilia.
This timepiece was a token of thanks for the captain from three prominent society women—Madeleine Talmage Astor, Marian Longstreth Thayer, and Eleanor Elkins Widener—who lost their husbands in the tragedy. It bears Rostron’s initials enameled on the back and an inscription inside the case expressing “heartfelt gratitude and appreciation.”
“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 the auction house that held the sale, Henry Aldridge & Son Ltd., in a statement. “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.”
“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.,” added Christopher Young, Tiffany & Co.’s vice president of creative visual merchandising, events, and the Tiffany archives.
The watch will be showcased at LVMH Watch Week 2025 next month in Los Angeles and is expected to appear at select Tiffany & Co. events and stores thereafter.
(Photos courtesy of Tiffany & Co.)
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