Elvis' jeweler says the King liked his bling

Jun. 3—Elvis Presley liked his bling. He liked having it, and he liked giving it away.

So says Lowell Hays. He would know; Hays was Presley's jeweler from 1969 until his death in 1977.

Hays was 30, working at his father's jewelry store, which was highly regarded in Memphis. But on Christmas Eve of 1969, Hays got a call that he needed to go to the Memphian Theater to meet a special customer.

And that customer was none other than Elvis.

Yes, THAT Elvis. The King of Rock n' Roll. The Tupelo-born singer who had called Memphis home for years, living in his Graceland mansion.

"His doctor, Dr. Nick, was my dad's friend, his doctor, and I had gotten to know him pretty well as a friend and customer as well," Hays said, referring to George Nichopoulos, the legendary and controversial primary physician for Presley.

Hays was summoned to the Memphian because Elvis had not gotten any Christmas presents for his family. He was told to bring a selection of jewelry for Elvis to peruse.

"He knew I was a jeweler because of my reputation in Memphis, and Dr. Nick had recommended that he call me," Hays said. "He did, and I got out of bed, got dressed and headed over to the Memphian Theater."

With his brown leather case in hand, Hays was ushered into the theater. But there wasn't a private space for Elvis to look at the jewelry Hays had bought. So, he took Hays into the men's restroom.

"He folded down a toilet seat and sat on it and asked me to set my case on his lap, which I did," Hays said. "He went through the selection I had brought, and he bought three diamond pieces. One for his father, one for his Aunt Delta, and the third was for his girlfriend. That was my first sale to Elvis."

While that was the first time Hays had done business with Elvis, it wasn't the first time they'd met.

"Dr. Nick had taken me to Graceland one night earlier in the year. It was raining and it was cold," Hays recalled. "When we got there he in his backyard, and was laying down in a prone position and shooting at a target in his dad's office.

"And that's how my relationship with Elvis started," Hays said.

It would be fair to say Hays was Elvis' on-call jeweler; whenever the singer had the urge to buy something, he would call Hays. Throughout their nearly eight-year relationship, Hays estimates Elvis made some 200 purchases from him.

Hays would also get to see Elvis perform frequently. When Elvis began performing in Las Vegas in 1970, he had sent a Lear Jet to bring Dr. Nick to Sin City. Hays got to go along as well.

"He called me and asked if I would like to go, and I said 'You bet I would,'" Hays said. "So, Elvis and I got to know each other pretty well in 1970, and then I would fly back to Vegas occasionally."

Elvis told Hays that whenever he visited him in Memphis to bring his case of jewelry.

"He said he was always looking to buy new pieces and gifts for friends," Hays said. "So, wherever I went with Elvis, I always brought a case of jewelry with stuff he liked to get."

Elvis liked was diamonds and gold. Sapphires were his precious stone of choice, along with emerald and rubies.

"He like the bling," Hays said with a laugh.

Besides his trips back to Vegas, Hays flew around with Elvis to concerts across the country, each time making sure he had a case of jewelry. He said Elvis bought far more jewelry to give away to friends than he kept for himself.

"He gave away almost all the jewelry he bought and hardly had any jewelry for himself when he died," Hays said.

Because his father's jewelry shop also made jewelry rather than buy it from other jewelers, Hays could create custom pieces for the King. Hays kept all the original molds for the jewelry he made for Elvis and sells copies of them on his online store. He closed his brick-and-mortar location, which was in the family for 68 years, in 2005.

"People all over the world buy them," he said.

The most popular piece is the TCB necklace, which Elvis asked Hays to make in 1970. They range in from $250 for the 14K gold charm necklace to $3,000 for the necklace decorated with 1 carat's worth of diamonds. The website also has various rings, necklaces, earrings and even crosses.

Hays said his visits to Elvis while he was in Memphis was always late at night, so he would call for a police escort.

"There would be as many as possible there because they wanted to meet him, too," Hays said.

Elvis paid Hays for the jewelry he bought, of course. Although, once, he didn't pay him with money.

"One time, Elvis wanted me to make him a ring that people would immediately identify as Elvis," Hays said. "So I made it, and he liked it — but he ended up giving it away. So, then he told me he was going to Hawaii, and asked me to make a really nice show ring for Hawaii. So, I did that and by George, he gave that away."

Feeling a bit frustrated, when Elvis returned to Memphis, Hays sat down with him to figure out what exactly he wanted to have made so he would keep it.

As it turns out, Elvis wanted a big ring centered around his trademark TCB logo. He liked black, and he wanted some bling, Hays said.

"So, I designed the big onyx TCB ring that became iconic," Hays said. "I made it, took it to Graceland, and we sat at the dining table under that beautiful chandelier, and he just lit up when he saw it. He said, 'Man, even Sammy Davis Jr. doesn't have a ring like this. And wait until Liberace sees this thing.'

"So I left that day with an invoice for the ring and a brand-new Lincoln Mark IV that he had out front," Hays said. "He knew how hard I worked on it, and he said he (wanted) to give it to me."

Hays didn't have the car for long — it was too big and hard to drive, nothing like the Porsche 911S he primarily drove.

"If I kept it, it would be worth a fortune," he said.

At 84, Hays said he has no plans to stop making and selling jewelry.

"It's just blowing and going right now, and it's hard to keep up," he said. "I sell a lot of jewelry at Graceland, which sells it at their gift shop. I'm having too much fun. I've got family that's in business with me, and it's going to keep on for a long time."

Hays looks back fondly at those heady days in his 30s spent traveling with Elvis, garnering many memories and countless stories with the King of Rock and Roll.

"It was wild fun and crazy time in my life," he said.

dennis.seid@djournal.com