It’s the final weekend in Orlando for the traveling exhibit “Jewels of the Titanic” appearing in the International Drive location – Titanic The Experience. This special display closes Tuesday, March 12 and will travel to Las Vegas where it opens March 22nd at the Luxor Hotel’s “Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition”. While these jewels have appeared in other museums or displays this is the first time they have been on display together.
“Jewels of the Titanic” showcases fifteen pieces of jewelry recovered 75 years after Titanic’s sinking. They were all within a leather Gladstone bag (similar to the bag we recall with doctors house visit) discovered during the first expedition to the sunken ship by RMS Titanic Inc. It is believed that when the order to abandon ship came the Purser’s Office gathered the valuables within the ship’s safes into bags like these in preparation for the evacuation. Somehow the chemicals in the tanning process for the bag help with preservation as even fragile paper currency and tags were preserved.
RMS Titanic Inc is the only salvage company permitted to collect from Titanic’s debris field. They do not bring items from within the ship nor pull things off of her. They gather items from the area between the bow and stern which have settled about 2.5 miles from each other and the surrounding region.
While many of the items owners’ are unknown viewing the pieces offers a more personal look at Titanic’s passengers. Alongside the ship’s china patterns, deck chairs, etc. the opportunity to view such personal items forced one to pause and once again consider the impact of her tremendous loss.
Sapphire and Diamond Ring — popular combination with the British Royals Princess Diana chose one for her engagement ring and Prince William presented that same ring to Kate Middleton to celebrate their engagement.
Filigree Pendant — platinum pendant featuring 75 small old rose cut diamonds accented by nine stones (missing presumed to be pearls).
Gold Nugget Necklace – Perhaps a gift from J.J. Brown to his wife Margaret (Molly) Brown in celebration of their Little Jonny Mine – one of the richest gold strikes in history.
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Pocket Watch — Second class passenger Thomas William Solomon Brown was relocating to Seattle from Cape Town, South Africa along with his wife Elizabeth and 15 year old daughter Edith. When Titanic began to sink he put his wife and daughter on Lifeboat 14 and remained aboard. He didn’t survive. When the watch was recovered it was presented to his daughter in December 1993. She willed it to the collection upon her death, bequeathing it as a memorial to her father.
While the limited engagement “Jewels of the Titanic” closes soon, Orlando’s Titanic the Experience will continue its daily operations as a “living” museum where some of Titanic’s famous passengers guide you various exhibits designed to showcase the excited anticipation of Titanic’s creation, the wondrous fun in the early days of her voyage across the Atlantic and ultimately her tragic fate.