The gold watch was given to the captain of the Carpathia, the ship that responded to the Titanic’s distress call and rescued hundreds of people.

LONDON (AP) — A gold pocket watch given to the ship captain who rescued 700 survivors from the Titanic sold at auction for nearly $2 million, setting a record for memorabilia from the ship wreck.

A gold pocket watch given to the British boat captain who rescued more than 700 passengers from the Titanic has sold at auction for a record-breaking £1.56m ($1.97m). The 18-carat Tiffany & Co timepiece was given to Sir Arthur Rostron, then captain of passenger ship RMS Carpathia, by survivors he rescued.

The 18-carat Tiffany & Co. watch was presented to Rostron by three women survivors, including Madeleine Astor, in gratitude for his bravery in rescuing survivors after the Titanic sank in 1912.

A gold watch gifted to Arthur Rostron, the captain of the Carpathia who saved 700 Titanic passengers, has sold in a private sale.

A gold pocket watch presented to Captain Arthur Rostron, who led the rescue of 700 Titanic survivors, has set a new auction record.

The captain was gifted the pocket watch at the widow’s mansion on Fifth Avenue in New York City one year after the ship set sail. In addition to the timepiece, Rostron receieved the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal from President William Howard Taft and was later knighted by King George V.

A gold pocket watch given to the ship captain who rescued 700 survivors from the Titanic sold at auction for nearly $2 million, setting a record for memorabilia from the ship wreck.

Auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Son, who sold the watch to a private U.S. collector on Saturday, said it’s the most paid for a piece of Titanic memorabilia.