Pocket watch that went down with the Titanic goes on sale for £80,000

A pocket watch that was frozen in time when its owner went down with the Titanic will go under the hammer for £80,000.

Ramon Gomez was one of 1,521 passengers who died when the ill-fated ship hit an iceberg and sank in 1912.

Gomez, a Uruguayan first class passenger, supposedly jumped off the vessel whilst holding a deck chair in an attempt to save himself.

But it proved futile as his body was recovered from the sea a week later by the Cable Ship MacKay-Bennett. 

His possessions were removed so they could be sent back to his family, including the Zenith Swiss silver and gilt watch. 

The watch has remained 'frozen in time' at 4.53am, which was two hours and 33 minutes after the ship sank at 21 minutes past two on April 15, 1912. 

The family has kept hold of the watch for 112 years but are now selling it at auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son, of Devizes in Wiltshire.

Gomez had previously survived another ship disaster, a fire aboard the America, by jumping off the deck.

Two months before the Titanic's departure, he confidently wrote to his cousin that he was expecting a 'safe crossing'.

He said this was because the advent of wireless meant a ship in distress could communicate with the whole world.

After the disaster the Consul General of Uruguay in New York went to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, to claim Gomez’s body and personal effects, which were forwarded to his brother in Uruguay. 

The auctioneers say his watch is 'one of the most emotionally powerful' mementos of the disaster they have ever sold.

The watch has a rust-covered white dial and Arabic numerals and is missing the glass and second hand.

A Henry Aldridge & Son spokesperson said: '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, two hours and 33 minutes from the time of the sinking. This could be a testament to the tenacity of a Zenith timepiece.'

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge added: '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.

'Here is a man with the utmost confidence in the latest technology that Titanic was showing would keep the ship safe.

'The fact that the watch is frozen in time by the cold North Atlantic that took both him and the Titanic confirms it as one of the most emotionally powerful objects that we have sold from the ship.

'It is a true museum piece and can easily represent the centerpiece of any Titanic or antique watch collection.'

The sale takes place on November 16.