R.M.S. Titanic: R.M.S. Titanic: One of the finest Titanic o...

Hammer

£82,000

R.M.S. Titanic:

R.M.S. Titanic: One of the finest Titanic onboard watches we’ve ever auctioned. It belonged to First Class Uruguayan Titanic victim Ramon Artagaveytia Gomez and was recovered from his person.

Artagaveytia boarded the Titanic in Cherbourg, having been in Europe visiting his nephew who was the Uruguayan Consul General in Berlin. He was travelling to the United States on Titanic for a visit before returning to his home in Argentina. Two months before boarding Titanic he wrote to his cousin expressing confidence in a safe crossing. He had previously survived the fire and sinking of the ship America by jumping off the deck. He wrote that with the advent of wireless, a ship in distress would be able to instantly communicate with the whole world.

On the night of the sinking Artagaveytia was seen on deck quite alarmed over the events which were unfolding. Witnesses purportedly reported seeing him jumping off the deck holding a deck chair. Artagaveytia did not survive.

Artagaveytia’s body was recovered by the Cable Ship MacKay-Bennett about a week after the disaster and was assigned Body Number 22. The MacKay-Bennett’s crew recovered effects from Artagaveytia’s body including, most notably, the watch offered here. The watch is included on the official body effects list maintained by the Nova Scotia provincial secretary. It is a Zenith Swiss pocket watch with a white dial and Arabic numerals. Its case consists of two covers, silver and gilt, Case No. 2641765, 52 mm. Movement No. 1689891. It is missing the glass and second hand owing to its obvious trauma and submersion in salt water. The hour and minute hands are present and are stopped at the time 4:53, 2 hours and 33 minutes from the time of the sinking. The time indicated arises from numerous possibilities including whether Artagaveytia had reset his watch during the voyage, the one-hour time zone difference in Uruguay at the time or a testament to the tenacity of a Zenith timepiece.

In an article dated May 2, 1912, appearing in La Tribuna Popular the Uruguayan Consul sent a wire from Halifax noting, among other things, that Artagaveytia’s watch read seven minutes to five (i.e. 4:53). Copies of the article referencing the consul’s wire in its original Spanish and in English accompany the lot. This contemporaneous account provides a level of unprecedented corroboration.

In a very unusual series of events, the Consul General of Uruguay in New York came to Halifax to claim Artagaveytia’s body which, along with his body effects, were brought to New York. From there they were forwarded on to Artagaveytia’s brother in Uruguay. The bag containing Artagaveytia’s effects was handed to the Consul General directly from the Mackay- Bennett by way of a handwritten receipt specifically referencing the watch along with the other effects. It can only be assumed that this very unusual direct diplomatic interdiction was the result of Artagaveytia’s nephew being the Consul General in Berlin. A copy of the receipt provided to the Mackay- Bennett on official Commercial Cable Company letterhead dated April 30th 1912, the very day Mackay-Bennett arrived in port, accompanies this lot.

Provenance is directly from the family of Ramon Artagaveytia Gomez. No repair or restoration of the watch has been undertaken. It is in the same condition as when it was removed from the North Atlantic, the hands frozen in time.

This is one of the most provenanced watches from a Titanic victim which has ever been offered. It is a true museum piece and can easily represent the centrepiece of any Titanic or antique watch collection.