Watch Owned by Doomed Titanic Passenger Sets $2.35M Auction Record

By Annie Davidson Watson | November 25, 2025

A gold pocket watch recovered from the body of a heroically romantic Titanic passenger has shattered the price record for Titanic memorabilia, selling for an astounding £1.78 million ($2.35 million) at auction last weekend.

The 18k gold Jules Jürgensen timepiece—the headline lot in Henry Aldridge & Son’s maritime-themed sale on Nov. 22—belonged to American business magnate Isidor Straus, who perished with his wife, Ida, after she famously refused a spot on a lifeboat, declaring, “As we have lived, so will we die together.” The couple was last seen on deck, arms linked, as the ship sank into the freezing Atlantic on April 15, 1912.

With the watch’s sale, Henry Aldridge & Son eclipsed its own world record—set just last year—for highest price ever paid for a single piece of Titanic memorabilia. The watch had been recovered from Isidor’s body during the grim days following the ship disaster and was returned to the Straus family, where it remained for over a century before coming to auction.

titanic pocket watch — *Isidor Straus’ watch is inscribed with the date he received it as a birthday gift from his wife, Ida.*

Straus, the co-owner of Macy’s department store, and his wife are immortalized in history not just for their wealth but for their tragic, unwavering devotion to one another. The pocket watch had been a gift from Ida for Isidor’s 43rd birthday in 1888.

“Pocket watches are incredibly personal items,” said Andrew Aldridge, managing director of Henry Aldridge & Son, in a statement. “Every man, woman, and child passenger or crew had a story to tell, and they are told 113 years later through the objects that they owned. Items like this keep the story alive and bring us closer to the memory of one of the biggest tragedies of the 20th century.”

Aldridge’s sale highlights a surging market for high-end Titanic artifacts. Last year, the U.K. auction house sold a gold Tiffany watch gifted by Titanic survivors to Capt. Arthur Rostron, commander of the rescue ship RMS Carpathia, for a then-record £1.56 million ($1.97 million). Earlier in 2024, a watch belonging to John Jacob Astor IV, who died on Titanic, had sold for £1.175 million.

Aldridge & Son realized a total of £3 million in last weekend’s auction. A letter written aboardship by Ida Straus, bearing the exceptionally rare “TransAtlantic7″ postmark, achieved £122,500. Other significant lots included a first-class passenger list owned by victim Frederick Sutton, which sold for £103,700, and a bag containing Sutton’s personal effects, which went for £67,375.

“Some of the prices seen at this sale indicate the continued fascination with this amazing story,” Aldridge said. “I’m delighted that we remain the go-to salesroom for iconic collectibles of this type.”

The auctioner’s next specialist sale for Titanic and White Star Line memorabilia is scheduled for April 18, 2026.

(Photos courtesy of Henry Aldridge & Son)

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