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5 Fun Facts about the Broncos’ Super Bowl Bling
We’ll understand if fans of the Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers skip this story.
The fact that the Denver Broncos won a milestone Super Bowl in No. 50 figured prominently in the design of the team’s championship rings, Jostens’ Chris Poitras said.
Denver--Super Bowl 50 winners the Denver Broncos received their championship rings at a private team ceremony held Sunday night on their home turf, Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
The Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers 24 to 10 back in February to become world champions, and earned themselves the right to a ring set with 212 round, tapered and marquise-shaped diamonds totaling more than 5.05 carats.
Like so many Super Bowl rings before, the oversized knuckle-duster was created by Minneapolis-based Jostens, which has made the rings for all but 18 of the NFL’s 50 Super Bowl winners.
On Monday, National Jeweler had the chance to catch up with Chris Poitras, the vice president of Jostens’ sports and college division, who shared a few facts about the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 bling.
1. There’s a laboratory-grown stone in the ring.
In Jostens’ official press release, the company noted that the Broncos’ dashing horse head logo is framed by a “custom-cut corundum blue stone,” which Poitras said is lab-grown.
The man-made, custom-cut corundum was created specifically for the ring in order to get the color of the stone, along with the curves and angles of the horse’s head, to match the Broncos’ official NFL-licensed logo exactly.
2. The ring is comprised of 13 individual pieces.
This includes the NFL logo on one side, the three Lombardi trophies on the top of the ring and the multiple pieces that comprise the horse logo on top of the ring, which has an orange sapphire-set mane and eye.
3. This is the 32nd time Jostens has been chosen to create the rings for the Super Bowl-winning team.
Poitras noted it was a special honor for Jostens to win the Super Bowl 50 ring bid because they made the rings for the winner of Super Bowl I back in 1967.
The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 35 to 10 in that game to win what would later come to be known as the Super Bowl.
The horse head logo on top of Denver’s Super Bowl ring is set with diamond-cut orange sapphires and outlined by lab-grown blue corundum. The three diamond Lombardi trophies mark the number of times Denver won the Super Bowl.
Inscribed inside is the date Denver won the big game, Feb. 7, 2016, as well as the logos of the opponents they defeated along the way and the scores of those games.
The Broncos dedicated their Super Bowl 50 victory, and their rings, to owner Pat Bowlen, who is battling Alzheimer’s disease.
The Broncos players get their name and jersey number on one side of the ring. The eight diamonds on the crown represent each of the team’s AFC championships, and the three gold rings on the crown each of their Super Bowl victories.
4. The ring is 10-karat white and yellow gold.
This very hard alloy is used for a very good reason.
To begin with, the individuals who wear these rings--mainly, huge football players--tend to be hard on their jewelry, so the rings need to be solid as possible. Poitras said every Super Bowl ring Jostens makes has a lifetime warranty.
In addition, it is enormous. On average, a championship ring is made up
of 93 grams of gold, compared to the two to four grams used in the average engagement ring.
5. The number of diamonds means something.
As with most championship rings, the number of precious stones correlates to the team’s history.
On the Broncos’ ring, above the player’s name on one side and “This one’s for Pat” on the other, there are a total of 56 diamonds. This is equal to the number of years the Broncos have been a team.
Encircling the ring are a total of 30 diamonds: 15 on the north side for Denver’s 15 division titles and 15 on the south side to mark the number of games they won, including the two playoff games and the big game itself. (Denver’s regular-season record was 12-4.)
On the side with the player’s name and number, there is a crown studded with eight diamonds, one for each of the AFC championships the team has brought home. Only two other teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots, have won as many AFC championships.
This means that Denver has been to a total of eight Super Bowls, of which they’ve won three--as evidenced by the three Lombardi trophies on the top of the ring and the three gold bars on the crown--and lost five.
“For us at Jostens, it’s about, ‘how do we tell the story of the Broncos’ season on a piece of jewelry?’” Poitras said.
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