Overview
- Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes sold the piece for £1.78 million, eclipsing the previous Titanic memorabilia record of £1.56 million.
- The engraved 18-carat Jules Jurgensen was a 43rd birthday gift to Isidor Straus in 1888, the year he became a partner at Macy's.
- Recovered from Straus's body after the 1912 sinking, the watch stayed in the family for generations, with a descendant reported to have restored its movement.
- Additional lots included an Ida Straus letter (£100,000), a passenger list (£104,000), and a Carpathia medal (£86,000), lifting the auction total to about £3 million.
- Witness accounts say Isidor and Ida Straus chose to remain together as the ship went down; one outlet also claimed the watch stopped at 2:20 a.m., a detail not widely corroborated.