The King of Rock 'n' Roll: What were Elvis Presley's favourite watches?
Hands up if you’ve seen the new Elvis film. It sure has reignited everyone’s love for the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” which has given us a great idea to take a look at some of Elvis Presley’s most loved watches. If you’d like to take a look at Elvis’ iconic collection, keep on reading.
OMEGA Constellation
In 1958 Elvis was drafted into the US Army where he was often seen wearing his black and gold Omega Constellation. The watch features a black dial with gorgeous gold dauphine hands, and gold capped indices and date window. It was paired with a black leather strap and a stainless steel case back which held a Calibre 504 manual winding chronometer movement. Elvis gifted the watch to friend Charlie Hodge who he was serving with, as Charlie apparently always admired the watch. In 2012 the watch was put up for auction and was sold for $52,500.
The Tiffany OMEGA
Elvis was gifted his Tiffany Omega watch in 1961 by his record label RCA Records. The gift was to celebrate Elvis reaching 75 million record sales with the soundtrack from “G.I. Blues”. The watch has a white dial with white gold hands and indices. The 33mm case is made from 18K white gold and features 44 round brilliant cut diamonds on the bezel. A watch fit for a superstar. To really make the watch one-in-a-million the case back is engraved with “To Elvis, 75 Million Records, RCA Victor, 12-25-60.” This watch is powered by a manually wound Omega calibre 510 which is a notable vintage movement. The watch was sold at auction in 2018 for a whopping $1.8 million.
Hamilton Ventura
This is arguably the most famous watch from Elvis’ collection as it was even given the nickname “The Elvis Watch”. Elvis actually acquired this watch by trading his Tiffany Omega for it after he had admired it for some time, he apparently really liked the unusual triangular case shape. The watch was actually the world’s first electric watch! Impressive. The watch became heavily associated with Elvis when he was seen wearing it in the 1961 film “Blue Hawaii”. Elvis loved it so much that he would often buy more to give as gifts.
Rolex Submariner
In 1962 Elvis showcased his Rolex Submariner 6538 Big Crown in the film “Girls, Girls, Girls”. The watch had a black bezel, steel casing, a large crown and housed the Calibre 1030 movement. This watch was probably one of his most expensive watches at the time but its unsure where the watch is now. Of course these watches are still made today (with a few updates) proving how iconic the Rolex Submariner has always been.
Rolex King Midas
Next to join his impressive collection was his Rolex King Midas. This watch was a real star and definitely his most priceless piece. This watch was only 1 of a 1000 made making it very rare. Elvis received this watch in 1970 as a gift from the officers of the Houston Astrodome Livestock Show & Rodeo for playing 6 consecutive sold out concerts at the Houston Astrodome. The watch was made of 18K gold, had an asymmetrical rectangular shape with an integrated bracelet and a hand wound movement.
Corum Buckingham
A gorgeous solid 18K gold watch with a square dial and a leather strap. As the story goes Elvis took off the watch and asked his good friend, Richard Davis, to take a look at the back of the watch, as he believed there was an issue with it. When Richard looked at the back there was an inscription reading “To Richard from E.P.”, aww. The watch was sold in 2016 at auction for $22,000.
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And there we have it, that's all of Elvis' most recognisable watches. It's no doubt of course that he had a whole load more gorgeous watches but unfortunately we probably won't get to ever see them. I hope you've enjoyed taking at look at one of the most famous musical artists impressive watch collection, thanks for reading & have a good day!