A pocket watch tied to one of the most hotly contested survival stories from the Titanic disaster is heading under the hammer, with bids expected up to £50,000.

The 18ct gold Sutherland & Horne half hunter, to be sold at John Nicholson’s on May 20, is tied to the disputed survival story of the Caldwell family – a tale that has fuelled debate, books and online speculation for decades.

At the heart of it all is one explosive question: did passenger Albert Caldwell use the watch to secure a place in a lifeboat for his family as the Titanic went down in 1912?

According to long-circulated accounts, the watch was handed to a crew member during the chaotic evacuation. Some believe it was a desperate bribe. Others insist it was a gesture of gratitude in the confusion of the sinking. The truth has never been confirmed.

What is clear is that the Caldwell family’s survival story has always raised eyebrows. After being rescued, they slipped away without appearing on official survivor lists, quietly returning to Illinois and resuming life as if nothing had happened.

Their sudden exit from a Presbyterian mission in Siam shortly before the voyage has only deepened suspicion, with questions still lingering over illness claims and whether financial pressures played a role in their departure.

Albert Caldwell himself later gave shifting versions of events. In one interview, he described lifeboats being launched half-empty, before stokers alerted passengers to the reality of the disaster, triggering a rush to board lifeboat 13.

The watch itself is engraved as a 1896 presentation piece to James Caldwell and has passed through generations of the family before resurfacing at auction in 1998 and again today.

Accompanied by family research and a signed letter of provenance, it remains one of the most intriguing and hotly debated Titanic artefacts ever to reach the auction room.