Titanic couple's pocket watch sells for £1.78m

A GOLD pocket watch recovered from an elderly couple who drowned during the sinking of the Titanic has sold for a record-breaking £1.78 million at auction.

- ROD MINCHIN

It was the highest amount ever paid for Titanic memorabilia, the auctioneers said. The previous record was set last year when another gold pocket watch presented to the captain of a boat which rescued more than 700 passengers from the liner sold for £1.56 million.

The 18-carat Jules Jurgensen engraved watch was owned by first class passenger Isidor Straus, who drowned when the ship sank in April 1912, costing 1,500 lives. He and his wife Ida were portrayed in James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster Titanic film as the couple cradling each other as the Titanic goes down.