The sinking of the Titanic has captured the imagination of the world for decades. Because of that interest anything associated with the ship takes on additional weight. An ongoing legal battle over ownership of the remnants of the ocean liner is currently heating up.

Thousands of artifacts have been recovered from the ship which went down in the north Atlantic in 1912 killing 1,522 people. The artifacts could be worth over $100 million. There have been several voyages down to the ship to recover various items. The company RMS Titanic (RMST) has emerged as the owner of the salvage rights. RMST is considering a seventh dive next year, its first since 2004 although other dives, including one financed by "Titanic" director James Cameron, have taken place. RMST has already recovered 5,900 artifacts from the ship during the first six dives. Legally the company does not own the ship nor the recovered items and it has gone to court in pursuit of limited ownership as a way to make up for the huge salvage costs. RMST shareholders would like the company to be more profitable. An agreement between Britain and the U.S. protects the Titanic as an international memorial and protects the site from unauthorized treasure hunters.

RMST would like to be declared the legal owner of the existing Titanic collection in order to recover some of the costs of salvage which have not been covered by revenues from the touring exhibition which has been shown at various museums. If RMST were declared the owner it could also sell the collection to a museum. If it cannot get the rights, RMST has asked a salvage reward of $225 million.

The US state department and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington would like to limit ownership rights and keep the collection as a single entity. Robert Ballard, the oceanographer who first discovered the site in 1985 has come out against repeated tourist dives and salvage operations because he is concerned that these actions are hastening the complete destruction of the wreck. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has said that the remaining structure may collapse within the next 50 years.

One of the first releases in the DNA of Famous Legends collection by Romain Jerome was the Titanic DNA watch, featuring oxidized steel salvaged from the real Titanic. The collection is rapidly expanding with several different models now available featuring everything from rust to jewels, but perhaps one of the most noteworthy is the "Day&Night" watch. It doesn't tell the time, it just tells you whether it's day or night.

It may seem like a silly idea but it's really just a reflection of the times -- watches are less and less about actually telling the time (we all have cell phones and PDAs for that now) and more about style and luxury. The Day&Night watch sells for $300,000 and the first lot sold out in just 48 hours. Apparently there are a lot of people looking to know whether it's day or whether it's night -- from their watch.

This Titanic lamp looks exceptionally simple and downright plain in design other than the fact that it's "sinking" right into the table like its famous namesake ship did into the sea so many years ago. It's made of lacquered wood with a cotton and steel shade, plus it does turn on to provide light so it appears more like a normal lamp that just happens to be sinking than it does some molded sculpture -- but you'll have to resist the urge to "save" it by setting it back up straight. Available in white only from Viable London.

Watch company Romain Jerome has taken a page from the book of Krone Pens with their new DNA of Famous Legends collection. As Krone did previously, Romain Jerome is creating products that have a connection to iconic figures in history. Their first model in this series is the Titanic DNA watch. It is partially made of oxidized steel from the Titanic and titanium from the future Titanic II at the Harland and Wolff shipyards in Belfast. The watch uses an automatic La Joux-Perret 8235 movement with a 42-hour power reserve. The hands were inspired by the anchor of the Titanic and the dial's deep black is meant to reference the coal collected from the wreck. The watch is being done is an edition of 2012 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Titanic in 2012 which is when Titanic II will be launched in Belfast. It is available in a case of platinum or white or pink gold with elements of steel and titanium.

A deck chair from the Titanic is up for auction at Bonhams & Butterfields. The beech wood chair is one of only six surviving in the world and has the five-pointed star that was White Star's trademark emblazoned onto the headboard. The chair was not snatched off the deck during the last moments of the ship, but was taken as a souvenir by a newspaper photographer, Mr. Thomas Barker, when he did a piece about the ship at its last docking point on April 11, 1912. After the shop sank, Barker wanted nothing to do with the chair and it changed hands several times over the years. It is offered by a private collector. Nothing special in and of itself, as a relic of the Titanic, it is estimated to be worth $75,000 to $100,000.

[Image Bonhams]