A watch once owned by Elvis Presley is to be sold at auction.
Elvis Presley
The vintage Omega, purchased by RCA Records in 1961 to celebrate Elvis reaching sales of 75 million, will go on sale at Phillips in Geneva on May 12.
The engraving on the case reads: "To Elvis, 75 Million Records, RCA Victor, 12-25-60," to mark Elvis hitting the major sales milestone on Christmas Day 1960 and the watched is expected to sell for between $50,000 to $100,000.
Paul Boutros, senior vp and head of watches for the Americas for Phillips told The Hollywood Reporter: "This was a big moment in Elvis' life, and this watch celebrates that. He had just been discharged from the Army, which had drafted him at the peak of his career, and even though he was out of the limelight, his records were still selling like crazy. He crossed the 75-million mark and was being welcomed back to record more music and make more movies. This is the watch that documents that fascinating moment in time."
And Boutros calls it the "most elegant" of all of the watches owned by the extravagant star.
He said: "It's a very nice, very slim dress watch that's well-suited to its period. I would consider it the most elegant of all his watches that we've come across in our research."
The watch is crafted from 18-karat white gold, with 44 diamonds.
Elvis swapped the watch with a stranger at the Sahara in Las Vegas in the early 1960s and the nephew of the man has decided to put it up for sale.
Boutrol said: "The watch has hardly been worn over the years; it's in excellent condition and, given the crispness of the engravings on the case back, doesn't look like it's been polished.
"He'd been sitting on the watch for years, and after reading about the record-breaking result of [October's Paul Newman Daytona auction], he got in touch with us. He'd spoken with other houses previously, but he felt they didn't understand the watch's importance."
The timepiece will come with a certificate of authenticity from the Elvis Presley Museum at Graceland.
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