Karlsgems

Wow, thanks for the clarification on that. I am VERY curious what 'elements' of palladium and gold means. How much of each? Clearly not enough gold to be called Karat gold. Palladium is one of the platinum metals and probably added for strength, also it's MUCH cheaper than platinum. Otherwise, yes, Rhodium is prevalent in fine jewelry. It is literally 'whiter' than silver and is one of the six Platinum metals. Ironically, they even plate Platinum with rhodium more often than not. Sometimes 18k white gold jewelry is not plated, but it just depends. Not that I doubt you for a nanosecond, but why would the BCS rings need to have precious metal in them? Was that really in the contract? I ask because, as you may already know, there are NCAA rules regarding the dollar- value of gifts for student athletes. That's why most bowl rings are not gold even though no one does yellow gold anymore ( white gold is even more expensive, so that's not being used either). Even in 1994 it was somewhat unusual that we (UCLA) got Pac10 championship rings in 10k yellow gold. Just two years later, USC got PAC 10 rings and they were made of yellow metal not actually gold. And believe me, it's not because USC couldn't afford yellow gold. It's the NCAA rules for sure. Thanks for furthering the discussion! Karl p.s. Upon re-reading my post I remembered that silver is not expensive, so it could theoretically be used in NCAA jewelry. But then you get back to the question....is it really "precious"? Sterling Silver must be at least 92% pure. So, if it's mixed with gold and palladium....how does that affect it's status as 'silver' ? That's why I said I was curious how MUCH gold and palladium is in those rings!

PS: JOSTEN SEW is patented Silver Elite precious metal created by jostens. Unlike regular silver which turns black after a while, SEW does not do so. Turning black is the major factors most ring companies never could produce cheaper silver rings as opposed to gold rings. They had to settle for cheaper none precious metals such as Lustrium. Miami Heat has 6 different class of rings for their 2013 rings. Somewhere between players 14 K gold and the bottom none precious metal Staff II rings they produced SEW rings which were mostly the ones ordered by players for their extra championship rings, avoiding high cost of 10K and 14K gold rings. Don't kid yourself, that BCS ring is Lustrium. They can call it whatever they want, but that's what it is. They used to even refer to it in their brochures as a 'jewelers-grade stainless steel'. And that's not far from the truth. Nothing wrong with it, In fact it's quite durable. My Green Bay Packers shareholders ring is made of this and I find that I really like it. It's lighter than gold, which is kinda nice for a ring this size. My other championship rings are 10k yellow gold and very heavy. But its NOT actual silver. Sterling Silver is very soft and would not be a good choice for the wear and tear that comes with such a big ring. Also, from a jewelers standpoint, setting diamonds in silver is not desirable (or easy). At one store I worked at we carried a line of silver jewelry that had diamonds set in it, but let me tell you...those stones were channel-set and drill-set (literally a hole was drilled and the stone set in the hole with metal worked over the edges of the stone to hold it ). The way diamonds and CZ's are set in championship rings, Sterling silver would not be a good choice. Just my .02 Karl

Hahaha!!!! You and I are one the same page, THATS for sure!! Thanks for thinking of me!

Oh hey, bro, where you referring to what I was saying response to dralec? If so, the answer varies quite a bit. I was purposefully vague because 'decent' can mean many things. For John Gruden, it would mean getting a watch that matches the clothes he wears ( in this case, the suits he wears on broadcasts). And because he is a person of means, it would probably be something a little more expensive than the rest of us might get. It's not about price really, just that he needs to decide white metal vs. yellow ( his Super Bowl ring is yellow gold). And I would suggest maybe an athletic-looking watch that can match both formal and informal dress, perhaps a divers watch (i.e. Omega Seamaster Professional or Rolex Submariner or a Tag Heuer). He could go the other way and wear more of a dress watch, but given that he's broadcasting football, and hanging around players and locker rooms, a more durable watch would make sense. Also, I think he could get away with wearing a stainless steel watch with his yellow gold ring with very little problem. Many people do this these days, myself included. I wear a stainless watch but have a yellow gold wedding ring. In fact, all my rings are yellow gold now that I think about it. For many years people wore two tone watches, but I don't think guys have to do that anymore ( unless you WANT to of course!). You said you have a black wedding band ? Stick with stainless steel or white gold. But it's really up to you. You would do well also if you had a watch with a black strap of some sort (rubber, leather, ceramic or whatever). It just depends on how you dress....more formally or less formally. Ok, just realized how much I'm rambling so I'll cut it off now. Hope that helps, tubby34! Sincerely, Karl

Hahaha! Thanks for saying so, man. Glad we're on the same page! Gonna be a great football season, I think. Looking forward to it. Glad I found people like you to talk to about these rings I love so much. Karl

There's reason for that. In Bradshaw's case, he doesn't have any of his four. He gave away his first three to relatives, and lost the fourth in his last divorce settlement. In Lott's case, his hands are so mangled from his playing days (including a digit he had amputated just so he could keep playing) that I doubt any ring would fit properly. Hey Mac, Thanks for updating me on those guys. I honestly had no idea about Bradshaw but know that he never wears his rings. As for Ronmie Lott I have read quotes from him that lead me to believe he wouldn't wear his rings even if he could. He seems quite militant about it. Has pretty much said he doesn't give a :censored: what anyone thinks, doesn't feel the need to prove anything to anyone and is secure internally in the knowledge that he is a four time world champion. So I don't know what to say. This is quite an interesting forum, the knowledge level seems really high. And I love every bit of it. Take care, Karl

And another thing...... Many champions CANT get their rings on. Their hands get too banged up and swollen. Just look at Howie Long, for instance. Sometimes he wears his ring on his pinky.....and other times he wears it on his ring finger. You know darn well that's due to the damage to his hands ( and the variable nature of human hands to swell and shrink). You also see a lot of Michael Strahan on TV. Look at how banged up his hands are! His fingers point in different directions, I :censored: you not. I can't recall if he can get his ring on, but you don't see him wear it much. I seem to recall he had it on during Super Bowl week, but I might be mistaken. So I don't think it's a big deal for Gruden to stop wearing/abusing his ring. Honestly, it's painful to look at him wear that thing so awkwardly. It's distracting as hell. Ok, rant over. You can tell it's been bothering me for awhile. Only you other ring junkies will understand where I'm coming from!

Gruden is a terrible dresser. That guy needs to get a decent watch. I'm pretty sure he can afford something decent. Also, he is not naturally a ring-wearer. His ring is always flopping around and looks awkward on his hand. It's Almost like he's wearing someone else's ring. He should just put it away, rather than embarrass himself. Plenty of champions don't wear their rings. No shame in that at all. Bradshaw never wears them, nor does Ronnie Lott. Never really see Montana wearing one, either. Oh, and don't forget John Elway.....he lost his first Super Bowl ring AT THE RING CEREMOMY. His wife noticed it laying on the table and came up to him and asked "...missing something?" So Gruden, for the love of God (not to mention dressing well) just put your ring away and buy a decent watch. On the rest of your points, dralec, I totally agree with you!

^^^^^Can I just second everything he just said?? ^^^^^ It is awesome how much you share with us and it is VERY appreciated. Sharing your knowledge is also a cool thing to do. I think this is an amazing opportunity to meet other people with the same championship ring passion. Hope we can spend many years sharing pics and discussing these beautiful creations here in this forum! All the Best, Karl

"Seriously, ask any player. The most valuable Super Bowl ring? The next one." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amen, brother!

Hey Karl, thanks for the reply. The first Forty Niner ring made by Balfour. Did not know about the UCLA ring. I wonder what the first Tiffany Championship ring was. It might go back to the 60's or even earlier. Ok, thanks for setting me straight! As for the first Tiffany championship ring....that's a great question. You know the first place I'd look? The New York Yankees championship rings or other long-term really successful franchises like Boston Celtics, Montreal Canadiens. Of course, as I write this I can't think of a single ring I've seen from those teams that wasn't made by Jostens, Balfour or another ring maker we could name. What about Boxing championship rings? I know Sugar Ray Leonard had at least ONE sweet ring made by Jostens, but what about Muhammad Ali or George Foreman or one of the boxing greats? I say this because I am much less familiar with those rings, and those flashy guys would've wanted the best most flashy ring. Just a guess tho. When it comes to nfl, nba, hockey and baseball I think your example of the 1987 Redskins ring takes the prize for first Tiffany championship ring in the pro's. Between the lot of us on this page I would think we could come up with the answer. Who the hell else would know such an obscure thing? We are among the very few who would care to know the answer. It seems like if we put our heads together, we could maybe actually answer this. Ymar, are you out there? You've seen a heck of a lot of rings too, what do you think? Can you think of an early Tiffany ring that might be the first? Man, this thread is awesome. I am so grateful to finally find a group of ring people like me! Take care, Karl

is this the first ncaa final four ring made? anyone want to predict when we will see the first elite 8 or sweet 16 men's bb rings? Actually, your question may not be that far off the mark. The rings that come to mind that I've seen with Elite Eight or Final Four (and NOT the Jostens rings given out by the tournament) were actually CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP rings. And this Wisconsin ring does not seem to commemorate a conference title. It's just simply a ring for getting to the Final Four. Now, granted this is somewhat of an accomplishment, but I'm not sure it's worthy of a school shelling out good money on fancy rings. But maybe that's another conversation for another thread.... Karl

Oh, and another thing........diamond Pave' is EVERYWHERE in the jewelry business at large. Mostly bridal jewelry leads the way, but the fashion jewelry follows the trend too. We jewelers hate all this pave because it brings up a lot of problems (stones falling out, etc.).... Anyways, I just wanted to throw that thought out there for this discussion on the recent design trends of championship rings. I can assure you that people are getting diamond pave' due to it's lower costs. In fact, there are even engagement rings there the center 'stone' is actually a mosaic of precision cut stones that give the illusion of a large engagement diamond. I know, I know....kind of a different market, but still the trends that affect society overall have SOME effect on the championship ring market, right? Just putting that our there for for the discussion......

Wow, thanks for posting those. Very interesting to see. I know some nfl teams have done a players ring and a ring for everyone else (Tampa Bay comes to mind) but the Heat have taken it to a new level. I had a thought as I was looking at the hugeness of the Heat rings.....basketball players are some of the biggest humans on the planet. They need to have huge rings or it won't show up on them. Football players are big, but not THAT big. NBA players are in a different category..... I say this as a large former college football lineman (6'6" 350#). These rings are made for huge men, thus the rings are huge. Also, they are World Championship rings, so the size is relative to the accomplishment. They are not 'wearable' for normal people, but the athletes who win these championships are not normal humans. They're much, much bigger. This is clearly why the Heat made smaller rings for Execs, because most execs are 'normal' size people. Except Pat Riley, I think he's about 6'6" also, but I digress..... Not starting an argument here, just kinda making some points for folks to think about. Being super-large in comparison to the rest of the population adds a layer of complication to a persons life. Ask me how I know.

OMG! Okay Dralec, you are totally right. It was not clear until I saw this post how small that ring is. WOW! They could have gone a LITTLE bigger without offending the NFL couldn't they??? It's not right that college rings are bigger than a Super Bowl championship ring! Holy cow.......

I hate the Seahawks, but that is one nice ring. I really like all the details and symbolism they used. I really wondered how good this ring could look with that team logo, but they hit a home run. Very well done. Nice job by Tiffany, too, since I am not always impressed with their rings ( just ask us Kings fans). Did you guys notice the Stadium Effect on the top of the ring? Look at the pictures showing the sides and you can see the top is curved like the top of their stadium and then on the fron and back where the 12 flags are you can see the 'rafters' found in the stadium roof as well. Very very cool. Subtle, but cool. Thanks for posting that up!

Mike, Thanks so much for those panoramic views of ALL the Cowboys and Pats rings. That's like a ring-lovers dream photo. Just awesome. How cool that you are able to even have all those rings, you must lead a charmed life! Keep up the good work!! Karl

and yellow goldHahaha!!! Awesome ideas. Probably won't happen, but some purple would liven things up. Also, remember that the Raiders rings were quite gorgeous and their colors were also silver and black. So there IS some hope that the Kings can get a better ring made this year. My fingers are crossed, anyways.

That ring was an embarrassment. Seriously, black enamel on the LA logo? It looks like a replica, but it's the real thing. I thought it was a joke when the pictures of it started circulating. Seriously, I thought it was the 'fans ring' version! God I hope they make up for it this year!!

I agree ridenlow! It was a gorgeous ring, capturing their logo and team colors. It was the last championship ring that I can remember done in yellow gold. By the way, they call gold "Gold" for a reason! I think Gold color is so much classier than white gold. Hell, the nickels in our pockets are the same colors as all these "silver" colored rings we see now. Bring back real "Gold"! PS - How could your Packers do a ring in Platinum? While Platinum is amazing and more costly than gold, didn't anyone realize on the ring design team that their team colors are green and GOLD! You are totally right. The white-metal look rubbed me the wrong way from day one. Also, do you know how HEAVY platinum is? These rings are already very heavy due to their size. Using platinum is just piling on! I'm with you, bring back yellow gold! Maybe the Packers can do their Super Bowl rings in yellow gold this coming season! (One can always hope) Cheers, Karl

Ooh ooh....I like that one too! I was just going to hunt down a pic of it until I saw your post! You, sir, have good taste!

Wow! Sweet score! Congratulations.

Okay, ^^^^ he's totally right^^^^^ ......now I wanna know the same thing. What gives? Otherwise, you did an awesome job of pairing the winning and losing awards. Never seen that all in one place before. Nice job. Okay, one other question.........have you ever seen a '72 Redskins NFC ring with a diamond in the center instead of the Indian head? Someone told me once that that was an option but I've never seen it myself or in any photos. Thanks! Karl I went back and checked my records on the 1972 Redskins ring. I have never seen a redskins ring with a center diamond, although I have only seen two real rings. I do know that someone was making fake Red skin salesman sample rings and there is one on ebay now. the one way to tell it's fake besides it being a little smaller than a real ring is the Indian head has less detail My gut feeling is that the Redskins did not offer a diamond option, otherwise the players would have jumped on that. Perhaps it was a fake ring, or perhaps the original owner decided to bling it up and put a diamond in it. Players have been known to modify their rings with real diamonds. I had meet HOF player Heb Adderley who showed me his Packer super bowl II ring. He and some other teammates put their jersey number in diamonds on the top of the ring. It looked really cool. Also a bunch of KC Chiefs put diamonds on their 1966 AFC ring. Hey, thanks for replying. I don't think that person knew what they were talking about. I have NEVER seen a 72 Redskins ring with a diamond instead of an Indian. Of course I can't remember who told me this...but it was a long time ago so who cares. Just wanted to pick your brain in case it was true. I've kept an eye out for that for many years now and I've just simply never seen it. Thanks bro! Oh, and I'm glad you have an anatomically correct Cowboys ring on your site now. All is well with the world. Hahaha! Let me give you credit too, though, because EVERY OTHER RING on your site was correct (Winners AND losers). That's a lotta rings! Really well done, my friend. Sincerely, Karl

Okay, ^^^^ he's totally right^^^^^ ......now I wanna know the same thing. What gives? Otherwise, you did an awesome job of pairing the winning and losing awards. Never seen that all in one place before. Nice job. Okay, one other question.........have you ever seen a '72 Redskins NFC ring with a diamond in the center instead of the Indian head? Someone told me once that that was an option but I've never seen it myself or in any photos. Thanks! Karl

At the Baseball Hall of Fame they have a World Series Ring display and every ring has the name of the MLB Commissioner from that season on it. My guess is a ring for HOF display is made every season . Okay, then I understand. Thanks for clearing that up! I really like the quote from The Eagles in your signature! Karl.