A historic 18K gold pocket watch belonging to American businessman Isidor Straus, who perished aboard the Titanic with his wife Ida in 1912, has sold at auction for a record-breaking £1.78 million (around RM9.66 million), making it the most expensive Titanic artifact ever sold.
Straus, co-owner of Macy’s department store and a former U.S. congressman, and his wife Ida boarded the Titanic on April 14, 1912, traveling from Southampton to New York. When the ship struck an iceberg, Ida reportedly refused a seat on a lifeboat to stay with her husband, honoring their 41-year marriage until the very end—a moment remembered as one of the Titanic’s most poignant love stories.
When Straus’ body was recovered days after the disaster, he still carried the Jules Jurgensen pocket watch, a gift from Ida on his 43rd birthday in 1888. The watch stopped at 2:20 a.m., the exact time the Titanic sank. Preserved by the family over generations, the watch was later restored by Straus’ great-grandson, Kenneth Hollister Straus, before being put up for auction.
The sale took place at Henry Aldridge & Son in Wiltshire, UK, drawing keen interest from Titanic collectors worldwide. Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said the record-breaking price reflects the enduring fascination with Titanic stories. “Every passenger and crew member had their own story, and these artifacts bring those stories back to life 113 years later,” he said. “The Straus couple symbolizes unwavering love, and this historic sale reflects the respect people hold for them.”
Other Titanic items also fetched high prices at the auction: a letter written by Ida Straus on Titanic stationery sold for £100,000 (RM542,800), while a passenger list fetched £104,000 (RM564,000). A gold medal awarded to RMS Carpathia crew members who rescued survivors sold for £86,000 (RM466,200). In total, the Titanic-related auction raised £3 million (RM16.28 million).
Last year, another gold pocket watch belonging to the Carpathia’s captain sold for £1.56 million (RM8.46 million), a record now surpassed by the Straus family heirloom.
