Sinai Kantor, a Russian immigrant, was one of the more than 1,500 people who lost their lives when the Titanic plunged into the North Atlantic. Recovery workers later retrieved his body from the ocean and found a number of items that had been on his person when he perished. Among those items was a pocket watch marked with Hebrew letters. That watch recently sold at an auction for $57,500.
A Pocket Watch From the Titanic Surfaces and Sells for $57,500 — https://t.co/iqeJc2SlzC pic.twitter.com/5NvxsFX9b7
— Mental Floss (@mental_floss) August 30, 2018
The watch is not in great shape, having spent days immersed in saltwater. According to Smithsonian Magazine, the silver that once covered its case has worn away to show the brass below, and the hands are basically gone. The whole mechanism is rusted. But the watch’s elaborate decoration is still visible. The back cover has a design that shows Moses receiving the 10 Commandments, while the face has Hebrew letters instead of numerals. Sinai and his wife, Miriam, were Jewish. She made it onto a lifeboat when the ship started sinking.
The watch was bought by John Miottel, owner of the private Miottel Museum in California. He owns a number of timepieces that belonged to other Titanic victims.
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