While Elvis has long been hailed as the King in rock’n’roll circles, his contribution to the world of haute horology has been somewhat less celebrated. It does, however, appear that when he was not rocking jailhouses or worrying about scuffing his distinctively coloured footwear, he was apt to collect precision timepieces, a number of which recently went up for auction in Geneva, including the rocker’s personal favourite – a white-gold Tiffany & Co Omega watch.
Described as the “most historically significant Presley-owned watch to ever to come up for auction” the 18K gold wristwatch – complete with a manually-wound calibre 510 movement and 44 brilliant-cut diamonds – was originally presented to Elvis by RCA in February 1961, as the label looked to commemorate the fact that their single best asset had passed the 75 million mark in terms of global record sales. Among his album releases in 1960, the hits that propelled him to the peak of his career that year included Are You Lonesome Tonight and It’s Now Or Never.
The incredible provenance of the Omega watch was further confirmed by photos of Presley wearing the watch, as well as a certificate of authenticity from Jimmy Velvet, the Founder/CEO of the Elvis Presley Museum.
Ultimately going for a whopping US$1.5 million, following an intensive round of highly competitive bidding, the watch set a new all-time record for an auctioned Omega. Despite the many keen offers from lifelong Presley fans, however, it was ultimately purchased by Switzerland’s Omega Museum.
Text: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay