The Milwaukee Bucks received their truly innovative 2020-2021 NBA championship ring/pendants during a special on-court ceremony before their season opener Tuesday night against the Brooklyn Nets at Fiserv Forum.
Designed by Jason Arasheben, CEO of Jason of Beverly Hills, the convertible jewelry — which features more than 400 diamonds — addresses the dilemma of today's professional athlete: How to comfortably wear an enormous championship ring.
“We wanted to once again rewrite the rules of what a championship ring should be,” said Arasheben. “We sought to create something that had a bit more versatility than rings of the past. As championship rings have gotten bigger, they have become less and less practical to wear."
The jeweler and his team developed a push-button system that allows the players to remove the top of the ring and wear it as a pendant. In the video below, the animation shows how the top spins off to reveal a hidden bail that swings out to accept a chain.
With the top off, the lower portion of the ring, reveals a QR code that, when scanned with a smartphone, plays a highlight video of the Bucks' championship season.
The ring vividly tells the story of the Bucks' history and championship season. It also features many symbolic references baked into the choices of stones and precious metals used.
For instance, the Milwaukee Bucks championship ring has 360 diamonds on the top to represent the total wins since the current ownership purchased the team.
The 16 emerald-shaped diamonds on the left side of the ring represent the 16 playoff wins during the 2021 NBA Playoffs, while another 16 emerald-shaped diamonds on the right side of the ring represent the 16 division titles in team history.
In total, there are approximately 4.14 carats of emeralds in the design, representing the 414 Milwaukee area code. The 50 round stones on the inner bezel stand for the 50 years since the team’s last championship win.
There are two trophies on the inside shank to represent the two franchise championships, and Fiserv Forum’s brick-themed architecture is also prominent on the side of the ring.
The NBA Larry O’Brien Trophy on the face of the ring is made up of a signature batch of 65.3-karat yellow gold, which represents the team's winning percentage during the championship season.
Even the carat weight of the stones has meaning. Approximately 3 carats of diamonds on the shank represent the three conference championships in Bucks history.
The left side of the ring includes the team's rallying cry, "Fear the Deer," as well as the player's name, uniform number and the team name, "BUCKS."
The right side of the ring carries the phrase "BUCKS IN 6," which is the number of games it took the champions to beat the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals. Also noted are the win-loss records for the four playoff series, the city name Milwaukee, the year 2021, the Larry O'Brien Trophy, and the score of the deciding game in the championship series, 105-98.
Check out the video showing how the ring transforms into a pendant…
Credits: Images courtesy of Jason of Beverly Hills.