Newz Desk, Durgapur: A pocket watch that froze in time at the very moment the RMS Titanic slipped beneath the North Atlantic has become the most expensive piece of Titanic memorabilia ever sold. The 18-karat gold timepiece, once owned by American businessman Isidor Straus, was auctioned in Wiltshire, UK, over the weekend for $2.3 million, auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son confirmed.
Straus—co-owner of the Macy’s retail empire—was travelling first class with his wife, Ida Straus, when the luxury liner struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912. The watch’s hands are permanently fixed at 2:20 a.m., the recorded time the Titanic disappeared beneath the icy waves.
According to the auction house, the watch bears Straus’s initials and commemorates his 43rd birthday. His body was recovered nearly two weeks after the disaster; Ida’s remains have never been found. Their unwavering devotion to each other—refusing to be separated during the evacuation—has been immortalised in countless retellings of the tragedy.
Alongside the watch, an intimate letter penned by Ida on Titanic stationery also drew intense bidding, selling for $131,000. In the letter, she marvelled at the grandeur of the ship, calling it “so huge and so magnificently appointed,” and praising their lavishly decorated staterooms.
Henry Aldridge & Son, known globally for handling rare Titanic artefacts, has set multiple records in recent years. Last year, the company sold two other Titanic watches for $1.9 million and $1.46 million, and previously auctioned the violin believed to have been played as the ship sank for $1.3 million.
The enduring story of the Straus couple—who reportedly chose to remain together rather than take a lifeboat—has long captured public imagination. Their final moments inspired a poignant scene in James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster Titanic, depicting an elderly couple holding each other as water floods their cabin.
In a modern-day connection to the historic tragedy, a descendant of the Straus family made headlines in 2023 when an experimental tourist submersible imploded near the Titanic wreck site. One of the victims, Stockton Rush, was married to Wendy Rush, the great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus.
The sale of the timepiece once again underscores the powerful emotional and historical connection that century-old Titanic relics continue to evoke—objects that serve as frozen moments from one of history’s most haunting maritime disasters. NYT
Image courtesy@internet
