A pocket watch that belonged to businessman Isidor Straus, co-owner of Macy’s, was sold for £1.78 million ($2.3 million) at an auction. It is the highest Titanic memorabilia has ever sold for, according to auctioneers.
His wife Ida gifted him the 18-carat timepiece in 1888. Both died when the doomed Titanic sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg. But their story has been immortalized. It is known that Isidor was offered a seat on the lifeboat, but he let other men go before him, and Ida refused to leave his side. The couple died after the ship sank, and they were among the very few first-class passengers who lost their lives in the disaster.
The pocket watch was found on his body—Ida’s body was never recovered—and it had stopped at 02.20. It was returned to the family and it passed through generations. It was sold at an auction along with other Titanic possessions, which altogether fetched £3 million ($3.92 million).
