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Does a Heisman Trophy Ring Qualify As a "Real" Championship Ring?

This is a tough call but in my book, no this is not a legitimate "Championship Ring", here's why: (and it has nothing to do with the design of the ring)

(Click picture below for a larger picture)

heisman12.jpg

First off, I am not implying that the ring shown above, or any of the Heisman Trophy rings (including the one selling on ebay this week) are fakes or replicas.

Like the Heisman trophy itself, the rings are made by the Herff Jones company. The ring is made of 14K solid yellow gold and contains an assortment of real diamonds.

What I am stating, in my opinion, is that the Heisman Trophy, championship style rings, are not really championship rings and the strongest reason I have is that the majority of these rings were made and given to award winners decades after they won their award. I forget the exact year the rings were designed and created, but I believe it’s been during the last two decades.

The Downtown Athletic Club of New York, has been awarding the Heisman trophy since 1935. When they started to award rings along with one of the most iconic trophies in all of sports, they retroactively made and distributed rings to all the previous winners. If the player had already passed, the ring was given to their family.

Another reason I don’t believe these rings should be considered championship rings, is that players don’t covert the ring. The trophy is amazing (the player gets one and their school gets one). Besides the trophy, there is tremendous prestige in being named the best college player in the country. Can you recall who was the NFL most valuable player 10 years ago? Probably not, but you probably can name the Heisman trophy award winner though. Unlike a Super Bowl ring or a World Series ring, the Heisman Trophy ring is an afterthought.

So, in my opinion no, a Heisman Trophy ring is not a true championship ring, but perhaps other collectors and championship ring enthusiasts see things differently.

What do you think?

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Does a Heisman Trophy Ring Qualify As a "Real" Championship Ring?

This is a tough call but in my book, no this is not a legitimate "Championship Ring", here's why: (and it has nothing to do with the design of the ring)

(Click picture below for a larger picture)

heisman12.jpg

First off, I am not implying that the ring shown above, or any of the Heisman Trophy rings (including the one selling on ebay this week) are fakes or replicas.

Like the Heisman trophy itself, the rings are made by the Herff Jones company. The ring is made of 14K solid yellow gold and contains an assortment of real diamonds.

What I am stating, in my opinion, is that the Heisman Trophy, championship style rings, are not really championship rings and the strongest reason I have is that the majority of these rings were made and given to award winners decades after they won their award. I forget the exact year the rings were designed and created, but I believe its been during the last two decades.

The Downtown Athletic Club of New York, has been awarding the Heisman trophy since 1935. When they started to award rings along with one of the most iconic trophies in all of sports, they retroactively made and distributed rings to all the previous winners. If the player had already passed, the ring was given to their family.

Another reason I dont believe these rings should be considered championship rings, is that players dont covert the ring. The trophy is amazing (the player gets one and their school gets one). Besides the trophy, there is tremendous prestige in being named the best college player in the country. Can you recall who was the NFL most valuable player 10 years ago? Probably not, but you probably can name the Heisman trophy award winner though. Unlike a Super Bowl ring or a World Series ring, the Heisman Trophy ring is an afterthought.

So, in my opinion no, a Heisman Trophy ring is not a true championship ring, but perhaps other collectors and championship ring enthusiasts see things differently.

What do you think?

I'd call it an accomplishment ring, like a hall of fame or career achievement ring.

The Heisman is a great honor, but it's a trophy not a championship.

Belts.jpg
PotD May 11th, 2011
looooooogodud: June 7th 2010 - July 5th 2012

 

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I'd call it an accomplishment ring, like a hall of fame or career achievement ring.

The Heisman is a great honor, but it's a trophy not a championship.

Great point - I totally agree.

I should have been clearer. My fault.

I don't believe a Heisman award is the same thing as winning a championship, however, a Hall of Fame ring, and other rings do fall into the "Championship ring" category because many championship ring collectors also collect Hall of fame rings, and other accomplishment rings.

Also, the Heisman ring does look like a championship ring so I was trying to state, that in my opinion, even though it looks like a championship ring and could be collectible, does this belong in the category of championship rings.

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I did not realize players received a ring when they won the Heisman.

Sims' ring is really nice. Are all the rings of a similar design or have they grown bigger and more flashy over the years (like championship rings)?

The ring has not changed, it's the exact same ring given to each recipient. Only the year changes.

Perhaps, like Hall of Fame rings, the ring could grown in future years and change.

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Herff Jones did make the Heisman Trophy and the Heisman Ring. HJ lost the contract to make the statue a few years ago. I would guess that HJ prob doesnt make the Heisman Rings anymore since they dont make the Trophy. If you go to the Herff Jones website there is NO photos of the Trophy on their website. I was informed of this by a HJ rep who said that Jostens went crazy and threw crazy money at the Heisman people for the rights to make the trophy and prob the rings. HJ had to take off all of the images of the Trophy on their website and on their advertisements since they no longer make it. Its sad that they cant even say they made it the past 50 years or so and designed the origianl Heisaman rings. The idea of making the "Heisman Trophy" prob was something that Jostens just had to have so they could get other business by being the company who makes the iconic trophy. Much like the companies bragging that they made the Super Bowl Ring it gets high school kids to buy their class rings.

What I want to know is does Jostens simply make the exact same trophy as what Herff Jones did for all of those years and I am guessing they do. And on the ring does Jostens just copy the exact ring design and overall specs as you can clearly see its an original HJ created ring design or does the Jostens ring look slightly different. If one of the 2 is going to be different because of the different manufactre its going to be the ring. I doubt if the trophy is changed at all. This reminds me of the original MIT Rings.They have been making MIT rings for over 70 years and over 4 different ring companies have made the rings and most of the time the rings look the same but with the MIT rings the senior class has the ability to tweek or change the top and the sides of the ring a little. But the overall "Beaver" or "Brass Rat" as its called will always be on the top of the ring no matter who makes the ring.

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Herff Jones did make the Heisman Trophy and the Heisman Ring. HJ lost the contract to make the statue a few years ago. I would guess that HJ prob doesnt make the Heisman Rings anymore since they dont make the Trophy. If you go to the Herff Jones website there is NO photos of the Trophy on their website. I was informed of this by a HJ rep who said that Jostens went crazy and threw crazy money at the Heisman people for the rights to make the trophy and prob the rings. HJ had to take off all of the images of the Trophy on their website and on their advertisements since they no longer make it. Its sad that they cant even say they made it the past 50 years or so and designed the origianl Heisaman rings. The idea of making the "Heisman Trophy" prob was something that Jostens just had to have so they could get other business by being the company who makes the iconic trophy. Much like the companies bragging that they made the Super Bowl Ring it gets high school kids to buy their class rings.

What I want to know is does Jostens simply make the exact same trophy as what Herff Jones did for all of those years and I am guessing they do. And on the ring does Jostens just copy the exact ring design and overall specs as you can clearly see its an original HJ created ring design or does the Jostens ring look slightly different. If one of the 2 is going to be different because of the different manufactre its going to be the ring. I doubt if the trophy is changed at all. This reminds me of the original MIT Rings.They have been making MIT rings for over 70 years and over 4 different ring companies have made the rings and most of the time the rings look the same but with the MIT rings the senior class has the ability to tweek or change the top and the sides of the ring a little. But the overall "Beaver" or "Brass Rat" as its called will always be on the top of the ring no matter who makes the ring.

Wow, that's great research and great questions, thanks for the additional information.

I know that in the 40s and 50's, Dieges & Clust made the Hiesman trophies. Diegas & Clust made the finest rings, the MVP awards and the Cy Young awards. The company was bought by Herff Jones in the 60s or 70s. That's like when Volks Wagen bough Porsche. Dieges & Clust was high end, having made the Brooklyn Dodger rings that were so much nicer than Balfour's Yankee rings from the same time.

I am not sure if Dieges & Clust originally made the trophy, I believe the person who designed the original trophy sold the prototype at auction a few years ago (it was Identical to the first trophies made for the football players.

Wish I knew more,

thanks Yee Mar, great research and knowledge, thanks for sharing.

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Here's a photo of the Championship Hardware From Super Bowl III

sb3p.jpg

In the almost fifty year history of the Super Bowl, only twice has a team decided to skip designing and then awarding a championship ring. Super Bowl III, played in January of 1969 was the first time this occurred.

In a tradition that continues to this day, the team that loses the Super Bowl is still recognized as a champion of their respective conference. Before the official merger was completed, the losing ring would contain either “AFL” or “NFL” champions, while the winning Super Bowl team’s ring would have the words “World Champions”. Starting with Super Bowl V and continuing to modern times, the team that loses the Super Bowl earns an “AFC” or “NFC” champions ring.

The Baltimore Colts were heavily favored going into Super Bowl III, and were completely startled by their loss to the Jets.

The team felt that an “NFL Championship” ring would have been a grim reminder of their historic loss and perhaps that was just too much to bear. So the team decided to go with watches.

The watch is a high-end, solid 18K gold piece that contains the player initials (including the middle initial) and their jersey number engraved on the back of the watch.

The watches were made by luxury watch maker, Lucien Piccard. While the watch is extremely rare (only two have hit the auction block), there is not a huge demand for them and they typically sell around $3,000.

If you want to read more about this, you know where to click.

Do you think the Colts design decision and ring championship ring omission was short sided? Should they have made an "NFL Championship Ring"?

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The Championship Rings of the Washington Redskins

In a recent tweet, a fan took a picture wearing Joe Jacoby's Super Bowl rings:

jacob11.jpg

The rings shown in the picture are as follows (from Left to Right):

The 1991, Super Bowl XXVI ring, made by Tiffany and Company in 10K solid yellow gold.
The 1983 NFC Championship ring made by Jostens in 10K solid yellow gold (The Redskins lost to the Los Angeles Raiders that year in Super Bowl XVIII).
The 1987 Super Bowl XXII ring, made by Tiffany and Company. The ring is 10K solid yellow gold.
The ring on the far left is Joe Jacoby's first Super Bowl ring, from Super Bowl XVII. The ring was made by Jostens in 10K solid yellow gold.

What do you ring enthusiasts think of the design of these rings?

In my opion, the third ring from the left, is the worst Champinoship Ring Tiffany ever made. It's well below the quality of their other Super Bowl rings?

Anyone else have opinions on these rings?

If you want to read more about these rings and Joe Jacoby, you know where to find the story.

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Here are the do's and don'ts in caring of your championship rings:

This photo recently showed up on Twitter. Looks like a disaster waiting to happen.
seachick.jpg

Someone is about to season a chicken while wearing their Seahawks Super Bowl ring.

Nothing good is going to come from this (except perhaps a great testing meal).

Here is what 15 years of collecting championship rings has taught me about caring for championship rings and how to make your sports rings look great:

1) Don't wear the rings everyday! Especially if you are not the original recipient of the ring since other than spending a lot of money you would not have had the ring anyway. Gold is a soft metal and easy to damage with small dents, scratches, and dings. Also, keep in mind, especially 14K gold which is softer than 10K gold, the rings can wear down over time and the fine details of the ring can soften (blur) or worse, wear off.

2) Don't let a jeweler machine polish and buff the ring! Buffing the ring by machine will make a ring look much better, however, you are actually taking off a significant amount of gold! If a ring is 50 grams and contains a lot of dings and scratches, it may wind up losing 5% or more of it's weight and just like a ring that is worn too much, the details may be lost or significantly softened.

3) One of the worst things you can do to your championship ring is to clean it with an ultrasonic cleaner. Most championship rings have a black antique finish on the side of the ring. Over time the black finish does fall off. Using an ultrasonic cleaner will accelerate the black finish falling out much faster.

4) The best way to clean a championship ring is for the jeweler to steam clean it.

5) If the championship ring does have surface scratches, I will have my jeweler lightly hand-buff the ring. This will eliminate many of the light surface scratches and soften the dings. While you will lose a little gold, unlike the machine buffing mentioned above, the loss is not substantial and the ring will look quite improved after this process.

6) If a championship ring could improve by having the antique finish redone please note that this is a risky proposition: There is a good chance that your jeweler may not even have the black substance or have experience doing this.

I wrote a blog about this topic and went into much more detail about the 6 tips. If you are interested, you know where to find the story.

I hope you found these tips useful.

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A long time ago on this forum we discussed about the size of the Packers shareholders rings. Well I decided to compare it to the Packers 1997 NFC Championship ring and as you can see the size difference is noticeable.

20150102_152355_zps50ghhq6o.jpg

t.jpg

Part owner in the Green Bay Packers

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A long time ago on this forum we discussed about the size of the Packers shareholders rings. Well I decided to compare it to the Packers 1997 NFC Championship ring and as you can see the size difference is noticeable.

20150102_152355_zps50ghhq6o.jpg

Great Picture!

As far as size goes, my records indicate that the Packers 1997 NFC Championship ring is 10K and 41 grams.

The Shareholders ring is 10K and 42.4 grams.

The rings are different shapes but kind of look around the same "size" to me.

Let me know if you see one as clearly larger than the other.

The photo was very well done!

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I think I will order this one, just to see what they look like up close. Supposedly you can have it customized and delivered free of charge to USA in about 10 days.

 

hi have you bought?
i got one and i think it is great !

Edited by LMU
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Cant believe what I am seeing. Prototype Pats 2004 ring. 2 differences I noted, obviously Pats logo on top and wording is "CHAMPS" instead of Champions

10897130_10205474004592363_1727607373341

1743662_10205474034673115_67085170981437

Wow, where did the picture (and ring come from)???

I wonder if it is an authentic prototype - who would design or allow the word "Champs" (this putting slang into the super bowl or championship ring universe).

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sb5jp.jpg

Congratulations to the two teams shown above, both advancing to the next round of playoffs.

The two rings shown above, from 1970 and Super Bowl V were the first two super bowl rings to have been designed and manufactured with the team's logo so prominently displayed with diamonds.

Before the bling-rings became so big and fancy, in my humble opion, the Colts ring is so classy and the design uses the logo and diamond so well.

What do you guys think?

If you want to read more about these two rings, you know where to find the story,

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