A pocket watch that once belonged to one of the Titanic's most renowned passengers has sold at an auction for $2.3 million — a record price for memorabilia related to the historic shipwreck, according to the auction house.

The 18-carat gold watch was gifted to its original owner, Isidor Straus, by his wife, Ida Straus, for his 43rd birthday, said Henry Aldridge and Son, the auction house that sold it on Saturday. It was recovered from his body after the Titanic sunk in the North Atlantic in April 1912.

Isidor Straus was an American businessman and politician who owned the Macy's department store in New York City. He and his wife were first-class passengers on the Titanic during its maiden voyage from England to New York, and the couple are remembered for their final act of selflessness

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