Titanic Passenger Isidor Straus’s Gold Pocket Watch Sells for Record Price at Auction

A gold pocket watch belonging to Isidor Straus, one of the passengers who perished in the Titanic disaster, has been sold at a record price in an auction held by Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes. The 18-carat Jules Jurgensen watch was recovered from Straus’s body after the ship sank on April 14, 1912, during its voyage from Southampton to New York.

Straus and his wife Ida were among the more than 1,500 people who lost their lives in the tragedy. While Isidor’s body was recovered days later along with the watch, Ida’s body was never found. She had refused to board a lifeboat, choosing instead to remain with her husband until the end. The watch has been preserved by the Straus family for four generations before being put up for auction.

The sale also featured other rare Titanic artifacts. A letter written by Ida Straus on Titanic stationery fetched £100,000, while a passenger list sold for £104,000. In addition, a gold medal awarded to sailors of the RMS Carpathia, the ship that rescued survivors, was sold for £86,000.

The auction highlighted the enduring fascination with Titanic memorabilia and the deeply human stories tied to the ill-fated voyage.