A gold pocket watch recovered from the body of Titanic passenger Isidor Straus has sold for £1.78 million, setting what auctioneers described as a record-breaking price. Straus, one of the wealthiest passengers onboard, was among more than 1,500 people who died when the ship struck an iceberg on 14 April 1912 while travelling from Southampton to New York.
Item Recovered After the Sinking
Straus’s body was found in the Atlantic several days after the disaster. Among the items recovered with him was an 18-carat gold Jules Jurgensen pocket watch. The piece, which had remained within the Straus family for more than a century, was auctioned on Saturday by Henry Aldridge and Son in Devizes, Wiltshire.
Mr Straus was a Bavaria-born American businessman, politician and co-owner of Macy’s department store in New York. His wife, Ida, was also onboard the Titanic.
Family History and Tragedy
During the sinking, Ida Straus is believed to have refused a seat in a lifeboat because she did not want to leave her husband. Witness accounts suggest she chose to remain with him, and her body was never recovered.
The pocket watch had stopped at 02:20, the time the Titanic disappeared beneath the ocean. It is believed to have been a gift from Ida to Isidor for his 43rd birthday in 1888 and is engraved with his initials. After being returned to the family, the watch was passed down through generations. Kenneth Hollister Straus, Isidor’s great-grandson, later had the movement repaired and restored.
Other Titanic Items Sold
The same auction featured additional memorabilia. A letter written by Ida Straus on Titanic stationery and posted while she was onboard sold for £100,000. A passenger list fetched £104,000. A gold medal awarded to crew members of the RMS Carpathia by survivors sold for £86,000. In total, Titanic-related items brought in £3 million.
Auction House Remarks
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said the watch’s selling price reflects ongoing interest in the Titanic story. He emphasized that each passenger and crew member had a personal history that continues to be shared through surviving artifacts. Aldridge described the Strauses’ story as notable, citing Ida’s decision to stay with her husband of 41 years as the ship went down.
Last year, a gold pocket watch presented to the captain of the Carpathia, the ship that rescued more than 700 survivors, sold for £1.56 million, then a record for Titanic-related timepieces.
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