Business magnate John Jacob Astor was aboard the doomed voyager when it sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in 1912.

3

3

Despite being one of the world’s wealthiest men, Astor remained on the ship after ensuring his pregnant wife Madelaine was escorted onto a lifeboat.

He had previously tried to escape the ill-fated ship, but was turned away by First Officer Charles Lightoller.

Astor was last seen smoking a cigarette in a blue suit and brown flannel shirt and chatting to a fellow passenger.

The businessman’s body was recovered from the north Atlantic a week after it had submerged.

Astor’s 14 carat gold Waltham pocket watch, inscribed with his initials, has been put up for sale for an eye-popping £150,000 by specialist Titanic auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son Auctioneers of Devizes, Wiltshire.

John’s son Vincent took the watch to be repaired it before wearing it himself until 1935.

He then passed it down to his godson, William Dobbyn.

The gold watch was acquired from the Dobbyn family by the private collector of Titanic memorabilia in the 1990s.

Since then it has been displayed at various museums including the National Geographic Exhibition in Washington DC and Titanic Museum ‘The World’s Largest Titanic Attraction’ in Missouri, US.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: “The watch is one of the most remarkable items of Titanic memorabilia we have come across.

“It is an exquisite timepiece that is in superb condition which is unsurprising considering who its original owner was.

“Yet it spent seven days in the freezing water of the Atlantic in the aftermath of the disaster and would almost certainly have stopped working and suffered all sorts of damage.

“It was obviously of great sentimental value to Vincent Astor who had it restored and wore it for the next 23 years.

“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.”

The sale takes place on Saturday.

3