Titanic Passenger’s Gold Pocket Watch Sells for a Record £1.78 Million at Auction
A gold pocket watch belonging to an elderly couple who tragically died when the Titanic sank has been sold for a record-breaking £1.78 million.
The 18-karat gold watch was owned by first-class passenger Isidor Straus, who lost his life in April 1912 when the legendary ocean liner went down in the North Atlantic.
Straus and his wife, Ida, became widely known through the Titanic film, where they were portrayed as the couple who held each other tightly in bed as the ship slipped beneath the waves.
According to historical accounts, Straus was offered a place on a lifeboat due to his age. He refused, saying he would not take a seat before other men. His wife Ida also declined to leave without him, choosing instead to stay by his side until the very end.
The pocket watch was recovered from Straus’s body along with several other personal belongings and later returned to his family. More than a century later, it has become one of the most valuable Titanic artifacts ever sold at auction.
