A “fantastic” $1.5 million price for the watch of the richest man who was on board the Titanic!🚢

A gold pocket watch recovered from the body of the richest man aboard the Titanic sold for a record price of nearly $1.5 million, according to The Guardian.

The watch was sold to a private collector from the United States of America, on Saturday, at an auction held by Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes, Wiltshire, Britain, at the highest price ever paid for a souvenir from the Titanic. An auction house spokesman said the $1.5 million per watch includes fees and taxes paid by the buyer.

The original owner of the watch is businessman John Jacob Astor, who sank with the ship in 1912 at the age of 47, after helping his new wife, Madeleine, into a lifeboat. An auction house in 2013 sold the violin played during Titanic's sinking for $1.3 million, which was the highest price ever paid for Titanic memorabilia.

The auction also sold the case of the aforementioned violin for $450,000, including fees and taxes.

Auctions director Andrew Aldridge told the PA news agency that the prices achieved for Titanic memorabilia at auction were "absolutely unbelievable."

“It reflects not only the importance and rarity of the artefacts themselves, but also demonstrates the continuing appeal and excitement of the Titanic story,” he said.

John Jacob Astor's body was recovered from the Atlantic Ocean seven days after the Titanic sank, and his luxurious 14-carat gold pocket watch was found, bearing his initials.

“Astor is well known as the richest passenger on the ship, and was thought to be among the richest people in the world at the time, with a net worth of about $87 million, the equivalent of several billion dollars today,” Aldridge said.