A women's pocket watch, recovered from the personal effects of 27-year-old Danish second-class passenger Hans Christensen Givard, is expected to fetch as much as £50,000 (approximately €58,000 or $66,000) when it goes under the hammer at Henry Aldridge and Son on April 26.
The watch, bearing traces of corrosion caused by seawater, was discovered when Givard's body was recovered from the North Atlantic after the Titanic's tragic sinking on April 15, 1912.
"The mechanism of the watch is frozen in time, at the moment when the cold waters of the North Atlantic swallowed not only its owner but also the most famous transatlantic ship of all time, the Titanic, on April 15, 1912," said Andrew Aldridge, auctioneer at Henry Aldridge and Son.
All of Givard's belongings were later sent to his brother in Denmark and have been kept in the family since that day. It is his descendants who are now selling the pocket watch. The watch was one of the central pieces of the 2012 commemorative exhibition at Tivoli in Copenhagen, curated by Claes Goran Wetterholm, demonstrating its historical importance.
Givard was traveling to the United States with two friends, Einar Windeløv and Martin Ponesell, who also perished in the disaster. In his pockets were found a savings book, keys, some cash in a wallet, a silver watch, a compass, and a passport, in addition to a pair of gilded ladies' pocket watches with traces of corrosion from salt water.
The incident of Givard inspired curator Jesper Hjermind and his niece, journalist Mette Hjermind McCall, to publish the book Titanic – De Danske Fortællinger (Titanic – The Danish Stories), which includes Givard's story.
The Titanic, the most famous transatlantic liner in history, sank in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg while traveling from Southampton to New York, resulting in the loss of more than 1,500 lives. Givard was one of those victims. After his body was recovered from the North Atlantic, he was buried in Halifax, Canada.
The upcoming auction of Givard's pocket watch is expected to draw attention from collectors and Titanic enthusiasts alike. The over 100-year-old pocket watch is a tangible connection to one of the most infamous maritime disasters in history.
Notably, the same British auction house sold another pocket watch last year that belonged to the richest passenger on the Titanic, American businessman John Jacob Astor. The watch was found in Astor's pocket when his body was recovered from the water, and it was sold for £900,000, equivalent to nearly eight million kroner.
Givard first went to New York in 1907, then returned to Denmark, and lived in Argentina for a while. Before boarding the Titanic, Givard visited Norway. It is believed that he hid his journey from his family because he could not say goodbye to his mother.
Givard and his companions boarded the Titanic on April 10, 1912, in Southampton on the English south coast to set course for New York. They never reached their destination.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system
