An 18k gold watch belonged Titanic passenger Isidore Straus It became a big surprise at an auction in England. His wife Ida gave it to him for his 43rd birthday. The piece fetched 1.78 million pounds, the equivalent of $2.3 million, setting an all-time record for objects related to the famous shipwreck.
Andrew Aldridge, director of the auction house, emphasized the symbolic significance of these objects: “The Pocket watches They are deeply personal articles.. “Each passenger had a story that is still expressed today in the items left behind.”
The director added that plays like this bring the past closer to the present and that “they keep history alive by allowing us to connect with the memory of one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century.”
The journey of Isidor and Ida Straus was one of them most common stories of Titanic by the couple’s decision stay together in the meantime shipwreck.
According to RMS Titanic Inc., the Strauss – a couple of German descent who lived in New York – occupied a prominent place on board because of their social influence and the history that united them since 1871.
Isidor’s journey to the United States began in his childhood after his family arrived from Germany. After working with his father’s companies in the South, he moved to New York, where he strengthened the commercial activities of the Straus Group and took a key role with his brother Nathan at RH Macy & Company.
Even in the city He consolidated his family life with Ida Blun, with whom he shared seven children. A cousin of Isidore described this relationship as follows: “The love of man and woman was beautiful. Two more devoted lovers could hardly be found.”
After a trip to Germany, The Strauss bought first class tickets for the Titanic. When the ship hit the iceberg, several Passengers tried to convince Ida to board boat eightwhich already had around 25 people on board.
Isidor received an offer to go up due to his age, but declined because other men remained on deck. Ida, seeing that her husband did not want to accept the place, uttered a sentence that would go down in history: “I will not separate from my husband; as we have lived, we will die together.”
Witnesses last saw them on two lounge chairs next to each other. Isidor’s body was later found and rests in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. Ida never showed up.
Her legacy is preserved in monuments such as Straus Park in Manhattan and on the plaque at the entrance to the Macy’s store.
Henry Aldridge & Son confirmed that the transaction was worth the equivalent of $2.3 million. This amount surpassed the previous record of $1.97 million set a year earlier for the watch given to the captain of the RMS Carpathia by three Titanic survivors.
It also crowded out another relevant sale: As of April 2024, John Jacob Astor’s watch had reached $1.5 million.
The auction included other items directly related to Titanic passengers. The most notable include:
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