Since June 22, Elvis, the biopic dedicated to the famous King with Austin Butler and Tom Hanks, has made its rock’n’roll debut in cinemas and traces the rocker’s triumphant rise, the passions he unleashed and his cultural impact. and society in the United States from the 1950s to the 1970s. In addition to his success on the screens of dark rooms, Elvis Presley also made many emulators with passionate collectors ready to spend crazy sums to acquire objects having belonged to the star.

Indeed, the King has become an object of worship with its accessories which are resold today at exorbitant prices. When one of them goes under the hammer or resurfaces, madness seizes the singer’s fans eager to become owners of his stage costumes, his guitars, his weapons, his belts, but, also and above all, of its various watches. For example, in April 2018, the Geneva operator Phillips set a record for a 1961 Omega worn by Elvis Presley and offered to a fan. The piece in white gold and diamonds flew for 1.5 million euros, more than 20 times its estimate.

After having put up for auction in 2020 a Universal Genève watch from the 1970s worn personally by the King – and sold for more than 30,000 euros – the American antique dealer M.S. Rau, based in New Orleans, offers on its website a new timepiece, once owned by Elvis Presley.

A watch from the Ebel brand, a Swiss manufacturer founded in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1911 by the couple Eugène Blum and Alice Lévy. This piece with an original shape, reminiscent of the seventies, adorned with 14-carat yellow gold and set with 26 white diamonds is estimated at 495,000 euros. A unique artifact delivered with its certificate of authenticity and a photograph of the artist wearing the mount.

Very attracted to gospel music, Elvis Presley formed a close friendship with American gospel singer J. D. Sumner, whom the King admired when he was a teenager. J. D. Sumner, who became a mentor to Presley, and his quartet would serve as his backup singers in 1971. The group toured with Elvis Presley for six years until his death in 1977. Over the course of his career, the King offered often gifts to family and friends. The Ebel watch auctioned by antique dealer M.S. Rau is surely one of the most extravagant gifts he has ever made. Proof of this act of generosity on the part of the King is an engraving on the back of the watch that reads: “From Elvis to J. D. Sumner, 1974.”

Besides this gold Ebel, Elvis Presley owned some beautiful frames, starting with a cult Hamilton: the Ventura. Original in its shape, the latter is known to be the first battery-operated electric watch. The King notably wore it during his military service in Germany and on the set of the film Blue Hawaii in 1961.

Another treasure from his collection? An Omega Constellation from the 1950s (sold at Antiquorum for more than 41 million euros), an extremely rare Rolex King Midas (ref. 9630), one of the most expensive watches of its time and whose production was limited to 1,000 copies .