Gear

Watches Made from the Titanic: Poor Taste for Rich People

The rarity value of bits of coal and steel from the Unsinkable Ship can't be denied, but to make a watch from those remains is certainly in questionable taste.... The watches come in steel, gold or platinum and will set you back from $7,800 to $173,100, so we'll pass for now Next year the gimmick will continue.

TitanIf it's not brand names tricking the rich into laying out their cash, it's novelty. The rarity value of bits of coal and steel from the Unsinkable Ship can't be denied, but to make a watch from those remains is certainly in questionable taste.

Yvan Arpa, chief of Geneva watchmakers Romain Jerome SA, certainly knows his market:

It is very luxurious and very inaccessible [...] So many rich people buy incredibly complicated watches without understanding how they work, because they want a story to tell.

The watches come in steel, gold or platinum and will set you back from $7,800 to $173,100, so we'll pass for now Next year the gimmick will continue. Arpa plans to base the next collection on another famous legend.

Post your guesses in the comments. I'm calling pieces of the Hindenberg.

Pieces of Titanic transformed into luxury watches [Reuters]