Pocket Watch Nearly Lost To Titanic Sinking Fetches Over $100K At Auction

Talk about capturing a historic moment in time. A golden pocket watch that somehow survived the tragic fate of the RMS Titanic recently fetched £98,000 (US$116,000) at auction, some 110 years after the ship sunk. 

The timepiece, which was literally frozen in time upon entering the freezing waters, belonged to postal clerk Oscar Scott Woody, and was recovered from his body days later before being returned to his wife. 

Sadly, Woody had just celebrated his 44th birthday aboard the ship, and died trying to save sacks of letters from the flooded storage room along with his fellow mail clerks. 

According to Robb Report, the watch went under the hammer with its screen shattered, and both its minute and second hands missing. Interestingly, there is a faint imprint of a hand visible between the numbers four and five on its face, backing up reports from the time that the ship met its end at 2:21 am. 

Other memorabilia from the doomed ship were up for grabs at the sale, including a first-class menu that sold for £50,000 (US$60,600) and an ornate dessert plate that fetched £20,000 (US$24,000). 

Auction house Henry Aldrige & Sons, which facilitated the sale, is known for selling items found on board the Titanic. Back in 2017, it auctioned off a fur coat owned by a first-class stewardess for £150,000 (US$181,000), while a letter penned by a passenger sold for £126,000 (US$152,000).

[via Robb Report and Henry Aldrige & Sons, images via Henry Aldrige & Sons]