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Isidor Straus’s Titanic Pocket Watch Heads to Auction With £1 Million Estimate

Consigned by Straus descendants, the 18‑carat heirloom recovered from his body with its hands at 2:20 a.m. carries a seven‑figure estimate.

Overview

  • Henry Aldridge & Son will sell the watch in Devizes, Wiltshire, on November 22, after the family brought it to market for the first time.
  • The Jules Jurgensen piece was a gift from Ida Straus for Isidor’s 43rd birthday in 1888, bears his initials, and was logged among effects recovered with his body.
  • The movement had stopped at 2:20 a.m., the recorded time the Titanic went under, and it was later repaired by great‑grandson Kenneth Hollister Straus.
  • A letter Ida wrote on Titanic stationery shortly after departure, postmarked onboard and praising the ship’s luxury, is included with an estimate of about £150,000.
  • Auctioneers say the watch ranks among the most significant Titanic artifacts to reach sale, noting past benchmarks such as the Carpathia captain’s watch at £1.56 million and Wallace Hartley’s violin at £1.1 million.