A gold pocket watch recovered from Isidor and Ida Straus — the elderly couple immortalised in the 1997 film Titanic — is expected to sell for at least £800,000 when it goes under the hammer

later this month.

The 18-carat Jules Jurgensen timepiece was found on the body of Isidor Straus after the 1912 disaster and returned to his family along with other personal effects. Straus, born into a Jewish family in Otterberg, Bavaria in 1845, had emigrated to the United States at the age of nine and went on to become a co-owner of the New York department store Macy’s. The watch had been presented to him in 1888 for his 43rd birthday — the same year he became a partner in the retail empire.

The Strauses, travelling first class, were among the few wealthy passengers who did not survive the sinking. According to accounts, the couple reached the boat deck as the Titanic foundered. Isidor declined a place on a lifeboat, insisting he would not leave before other men, while Ida refused to abandon her husband. Witnesses later recalled the pair sitting side-by-side in deck chairs as the ship slipped beneath the Atlantic, a scene echoed in James Cameron’s blockbuster.

The watch, along with a letter written by Ida Straus on Titanic stationery and posted during the voyage, will be offered by Henry Aldridge & Son Auctioneers in Devizes, Wiltshire.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge described the Straus items as “one of the most iconic Titanic-related collections ever to come to market,” calling their story “the ultimate love story”. He added that the watch is “one of the most important Titanic items in existence” and said the family has safeguarded it for more than 113 years.

The Strauses had travelled to Jerusalem in January 1912 aboard RMS Caronia before boarding the Titanic in Southampton for their return journey to the US.

Both items are expected to draw significant international interest when they appear at auction later this month. Photo by Henry Aldridge and Son Ltd/PA Wire.