1.The Tiffany Omega
Elvis was gifted the special ‘Omega by Tiffany & Co’ timepiece in 1961 by his record label (RCA) to celebrate his incredible achievement of having sold 75 million records – an unheard-of number by any musician before Elvis’ achievement. To mark the occasion, the case back of the 18k while gold watch is inscribed, “To Elvis, 75 Million Records, RCA Victor, 12-25-60.” The watch is powered by a manually-wound Omega calibre 510 – one of the most robust and desirable movements by vintage Omega watch collectors. It wouldn’t be a watch fit for a king without some bling, and this model in particular boasts 44 brilliant cut diamonds in its bezel. This watch made headlines in 2018 when it sold at auction for $1.8 million – a record for an Omega watch.
2. Omega Constellation
Elvis was clearly an Omega fan as the Tiffany Omega wasn’t his only watch of that brand in his collection – the Constellation featured prominently during the years he served for the US Army (late 1950’s). The watch itself is an Omega Constellation with a black face, “sniper” dial with gold dauphine hands, and gold capping showing the date at 3 o’clock with raised indices and a stainless steel case back. Movement is controlled by a Cal. 504 manual winding chronometer.
During 1958 to 1960 he was stationed in Germany with his longtime friend Charlie Hodge, who he later gifted the watch to as a present. The watch was auctioned in 2012 for $52,500 .
3. Hamilton Ventura
Elvis swapped his Tiffany Omega for a Hamilton Ventura – the world’s first battery-powered watch. He wore it regularly, and the timepiece became iconic when he wore it in his 1961 film Blue Hawaii. Presley loved the Ventura so much that he bought other variants later, and often gifted them to his friends and bandmates. It’s now known as “the Elvis watch.”Hamilton re-released the Ventura in 2017 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the initial 1957 release. The new Classic Ventura features a case with dimensions 32.3mm x 50.3mm, quartz movement and a leather strap.
4. Rolex King Midas
Probably the most impressive timepiece in Elvis’ watch collection was his very, very rare limited-edition Rolex King Midas, which was given to Elvis as a token of appreciation after playing six consecutive sold-out concerts in 1970 at the Houston Astrodome. Only 1,000 pieces of the model were produced and at the time, the King Midas was the most expensive Rolex money could buy. The unique timepiece was nothing like any other Rolex of the time – or even today. The watch had an asymmetric rectangular case, made of 18K solid gold, featuring a hand wound movement and an integrated bracelet. Some say it looked more like a large bracelet than a watch.
5. Rolex Submariner
One of the most expensive timepieces Elvis owned was the Rolex Submariner 6538 Big Crown, which he proudly wore in the 1962 movie “Girls, Girls, Girls.” Coincidentally, Sean Connery also wore the Submariner Big Crown in the first Bond film, “Dr. No.” which also premiered in 1962.
As the name suggests, the timepiece features an oversized winding crown without any crown guards. Controlled by Rolex’s Calibre 1030 movement, the early Submariner’s dial focuses on simplicity, as they don’t have day or date functions as these only came in later models (1960 onwards).