A pocket watch that belonged to one of the most famous passengers on the Titanic sold for $2.55 million at Henry Aldridge on Saturday, setting a record for any item associated with the infamous ship.
The record price includes buyer's premium and VAT.
The watch was given to Macy's magnate Isidor Straus in 1888, the same year he and his brother Nathan took majority share in the iconic New York City store. It was found on his body when he was recovered from the water following the disaster.
The auction house estimated the 18-karat gold Jules Jurgensen pocket watch with Straus' initials engraved in it to be worth between $800,000 and $1 million — but it more than doubled those estimates.
While John Jacob Astor IV and Benjamin Guggenheim were worth more, the Strauses (worth approximately $230 million in today's dollars) were undoubtedly the most famous couple on the ship. They became more famous after tales of how their lives ended together were published.
Isidor and Ida were 65 and 63, respectively, when they sailed on the Titanic. Ida famously didn't want to board a lifeboat with all the women until Isidor had a seat. Isidor didn't want his age to be an excuse and didn't want to go before other men. So the two died together.
Isidor was found by the Mackay-Bennett, and his body was shipped to New York. Ida's body was never found.
A memorial plaque inside Macy's reads: "Their lives were beautiful and their deaths glorious."
The watch was recovered from Straus' body and sent to his eldest son. It has remained with the family since.
Just last year, Henry Aldridge sold a pocket watch that belonged to the captain of a ship that saved lives from the Titanic for $1.9 million, the former record for a Titanic item. The watch that belonged to Carpathia captain Arthur Rostron was gifted to him by three widows whose husbands perished on the Titanic. The $1.9 million winner was revealed as jewelry company Tiffany & Co.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectibles market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.