Titanic passenger’s pocket watch sold for record £1.78m at auction

The gold pocket watch belonged to Isidor Straus, who was a partner in the New York department store Macy’s. Photograph: Henry Aldridge and Son Ltd/PA

A gold pocket watch that belonged to a man who died onboard the Titanic when it sank has sold for a record sum.

The watch, which belonged to 67-year-old Isidor Straus, went for £1.78m at auction, the highest amount ever paid for Titanic memorabilia. He was given the watch – an engraved 18-carat Jules Jurgensen – as a gift on his 43rd birthday in 1888.