Nov. 23 (UPI) -- A gold pocket watch owned by Isidor Straus, a first-class passenger who died with his wife when the famed ship sank, has sold for $2.3 million at auction.
Straus, a German-born American businessman and politician who co-owned the department store Macy's, had been offered a seat on a lifeboat because of his age but chose to let others go first as his wife, Ida, stayed arm-in-arm by his side.
The Strauses were depicted in James Cameron's fictional retelling of the shipwreck, played by Lew Palter and Elsa Raven.
The 18-carat Jules Jurgensen watch was purchased in 1888 to mark Straus' 48th birthday, the same year he and his brother became co-owners of Macy's.
Isidor and Ida Straus, co-owners of Macy's, were offered spots on a lifeboat during the Titanic sinking in 1912. Isidor refused to board before other men, and Ida refused to leave his side, telling him, "Where you go, I go." Both lost their lives together in the disaster. pic.twitter.com/duQJCNUoyc— Past Preserved (@PastPreserved) August 13, 2025
