The most valuable single item onboard the Titanic was, however, a 1912 painting by Merry-Joseph Blondel,
Collective value of recovered jewels: $200 million (£143.6m)
It's assumed that the accessory belonged to one of two women named Amy who had been on board. To add up all the astonishing jewels recovered from the Titanic wreckage, it's rumoured they have a combined value of $200 million (£143.6m).
The 2000 expedition by RMS Titanic Inc. carried out 28 dives during which over 800 artifacts were recovered, including the ship's engine telegraphs, perfume vials and watertight door gears.
White Star paid nothing until December 1915, when they agreed to pay compensation of $664,000 to to be be divided amongst the survivors. Worked out at about $950 per person. Adjusted for inflation, that works out to be $22,000.
Robert Hichens: How 'man who sank the Titanic' spiralled into depression before being jailed for attempted murder. The man at the wheel of the Titanic when it struck a fateful iceberg in 1912 has not been remembered well throughout history.
After the Titanic sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912, hundreds of the survivors, families of victims, and owners of cargo filed claims against the White Star Line for loss of life, property, and for injuries sustained. Their claims totaled $16.4 million.
The most valuable single item onboard the Titanic was, however, a 1912 painting by Merry-Joseph Blondel, La Circassienne au bain. Based on the insurance claim made after the fact, the work was estimated to be $100,000, equivalent to just over $3 million dollars today.
“The Big Piece” as it is referred, weighed nearly 20 tons and measured approximately 27′ x 20′ when it was recovered from the RMS Titanic wreck-site debris field. It was originally located on the starboard side of the ship between the 3rd and 4th funnels of the B and C decks.
A blue sapphire ring mounted in a setting surrounded by 14 diamonds, and a gold locket were just two pieces found among the wreckage.
Cameron has visited the wreck 33 times and said he has seen "zero human remains" during his extensive explorations of the Titanic. "We've seen pairs of shoes, which would strongly suggest there was a body there at one point. But we've never seen any human remains,” said Cameron.
On today's date in 1912, the body of James McGrady, a saloon steward aboard the RMS Titanic, was interred in Halifax, N.S., where he's buried at Fairview Lawn Cemetery. Recovered in the preceding weeks, McGrady's body was the last body recovered from the tragic sinking that took place about two months prior.
Oceanographers have pointed out that the hostile sea environment has wreaked havoc on the ship's remains after more than a century beneath the surface. Saltwater acidity has been dissolving the vessel, compromising its integrity to the point where much of it would crumble if tampered with.
Where are the Titanic victims buried? Around two-thirds of the bodies recovered after the sinking were transported to Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada for burial, whilst a third were buried at sea.
Pablo Picasso paintings
None of his paintings were on the ship.
The perfume vials were eventually recovered 2 to 2.5 miles beneath the ocean's surface, where it was discovered that many of the samples amazingly still contained their oils. The vials of essential oils that were recovered from the Titanic are what inspired the scent behind QVC's The Titanic Legacy 1912 Fragrance.
Since no one owns the Titanic, people are free to recover items from the ship if they are able. The United States granted “salvor-in-possession” status to RMST giving them the legal and exclusive rights to retrieve items from the wreck.
After the Titanic sank, searchers recovered 340 bodies. Thus, of the roughly 1,500 people killed in the disaster, about 1,160 bodies remain lost.
Most of the time, it was $5 per British pound, so third-class tickets would cost $35 in 1912, with first-class accommodations coming in at $4,000. Even when you account for inflation, the cost is staggering. It would cost $133,132 to travel in a first-class suite on the Titanic.
Despite hundreds of claims seeking more than $16 million in damages, negotiations outside of court led to a total settlement of $664,000 in July of 1916.
On the night of 14 April, after Titanic had hit the iceberg, Isidor and Ida were directed to lifeboat eight. However, the ageing Isidor refused to board the lifeboat while there were younger men being prevented from boarding. Ida also refused to get into the lifeboat saying, 'Where you go, I go'.
U.S. law forbids the sale of relics from the Titanic, and allows only for salvaged items to be put on public display, not on the black market. Yet, experts say that dozens of expeditions to the Titanic have plundered the ship, and taken their toll on the liner.
Third-class passenger Rhoda Abbott jumped from the Titanic deck along with her two sons. The two boys drowned, but Abbott was the only female Titanic survivor to be pulled from the water.