Titanic treasure sells for over $2 Million: the heartbreaking story behind a Titanic passenger’s gold watch
Recovered from the body of Isidor Straus, one of the ship’s wealthiest passengers, the 18-carat gold pocket watch stopped at the moment the Titanic sank.
A gold pocket watch recovered from the body of a passenger on the Titanic recently sold at auction for $2.3 million, making it one of the most valuable artifacts from the doomed ship. The watch belonged to Isidor Straus, a wealthy businessman and co-owner of Macy’s, who perished alongside his wife Ida among more than 1,500 victims when the ship struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912.
The watch and its legacy
The watch, an 18-carat Jules Jurgensen model, was found among Straus’s personal effects after his body was recovered in the days following the disaster. It remained in the Straus family for generations before being auctioned by Henry Aldridge and Son in Devizes, United Kingdom.
Straus had been a prominent entrepreneur and politician in New York. On the night of the sinking, his wife Ida reportedly refused a seat on a lifeboat to stay with her husband, choosing to remain by his side until the end. Her body was never recovered.
Other auction highlights
The auction also featured a letter written by Ida Straus on Titanic stationery, which sold for roughly $131,000. The total proceeds from Titanic-related items reached around $3.3 million. Remarkably, the watch had stopped at 2:20 a.m., the exact moment the Titanic slipped beneath the Atlantic, and it is believed Ida gave it to Isidor as a gift for his 43rd birthday in 1888.
Isidor’s great-grandson restored the mechanism before the auction. According to auctioneer Andrew Aldridge, the price reflects the enduring fascination with the Titanic, while the story of the Straus couple continues to symbolize loyalty and devotion.
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