Saturday, June 9, 2012

At auction : Elvis Presley's Omega Constellation


Photo from Antiquorum


So we brought you John Wayne's Rolex King Midas and Clark Gable's Rolex Oyster which went for USD23,116. Now Elvis is in the building. An Omega Constellation that previously belonged Elvis will be up for auction at Antiquorum’s New York auction on Tuesday, June 12, 2012. 

The Omega Black Dial Constellation Calendar watch belongs to Elvis' longtime friend and Charlie Hodge, a musician who played with Presley and who himself was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. Hodge recalls, "... several times I told Elvis how beautiful his watch was ... and he took it off his wrist and gave it to me." 

Elvis' Constellation Calendar dates from about 1960. At 35mm and 12mm thick, it is pink gold-capped with a black dial featuring baton indices, applied pink gold Omega logo and applied pink gold star at 6 o’clock. The dauphine hands are luminous. Inside is the M.Cal. 504 movement. The dial, case and movement are all signed. The watch’s strap has a gold-plated Omega buckle. 


 Photo from Antiquorum


The caseback is stainless steel with an applied pink gold-plated Constellation logo. 

It is expected to sell for $10,000 - $20,000, and the successful bidder will get a letter of attestation signed by Hodge. Elvis had a well-known relationship with Hamilton Watches, so if you’re an Elvis fan, having a watch owned by him that’s not a Hamilton probably rates more highly. 

The collection will be previewed in New York from June 9 – 11 but you can see the catalogue here and place an absentee bid if you wish. Happy bidding!



[AP]

1 comment:

erik said...

I'm sorry to link to another blog, but there was a great investigation on this auction done by the folks over at Perpetuelle not a few days back. To iteriate their main points:

This watch was sold by Heritage Auctions in December, 2011, for $15,535. The pre-sale estimate for the current, Antiquorium, lot is $10,000 - $20,000.

Further, the pink gold crown was recently replaced with an 18k yellow gold crown. The watch had a 14k pink gold crown when sold in 2011.

Finally, the dial has "had some servicing," though neither Perpetuelle or Antiquorium elaborate.