A gold pocket watch recovered from the body of one of the Titanic’s wealthiest passengers has sold for a “record-breaking” £1.78m at auction.

Who did the watch belong to?

The 18-carat Jules Jurgensen watch belonged to Isidor Straus, a prominent American businessman, politician, and co-owner of New York’s Macy’s department store. Straus and his wife, Ida, were among the more than 1,500 people who perished when the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank on 14 April 1912 during its voyage from Southampton to New York.

Straus’s body was recovered from the Atlantic several days after the tragedy, and the watch was found among his personal effects. It had remained in the family ever since, passing through generations before being offered for sale at Henry Aldridge and Son Auctioneers in Devizes, Wiltshire.

The piece eventually realised £1.78m, with the auction house describing the sum as a world record for such an item.

The devoted bond between Isidor and Ida Straus has long been remembered as one of the most poignant stories of the disaster. Ida is believed to have refused a place in a lifeboat, telling rescuers she would not leave her husband’s side. Her body was never recovered.

What other things were sold at the auction?

Also sold at the auction was a letter written by Ida Straus on Titanic stationery and posted while she was onboard, which fetched £100,000. A Titanic passenger list brought in £104,000, while a gold medal presented to the crew of the RMS Carpathia—the ship that rescued more than 700 survivors—sold for £86,000.

In total, the sale of Titanic-related artefacts reached £3m.

The pocket watch itself had stopped at 02:20, the moment the Titanic slipped beneath the waves. Believed to have been a 43rd birthday gift from Ida to Isidor in 1888, it bears his engraved initials. After being returned to the family, it was eventually restored by Kenneth Hollister Straus, the couple’s great-grandson.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said the record price “illustrates the enduring interest in the Titanic story”. He added: “The Strauses were the ultimate love story, Ida refusing to leave her husband of 41 years as the Titanic sank, and this world record price is testament to the respect they are held in.”

The previous record for a Titanic-linked timepiece was set last year, when a gold watch presented to the captain of the Carpathia sold for £1.56m.