You would be forgiven for thinking that Tiffany & Co. — the legendary, near-200-year-old New York jewellery house — and the annual football event the Super Bowl exist in diametrically opposed worlds. One is the epitome of elegance; the other a different, more muscular symbol of American prosperity. But for over half a century, the duo have been linked in a way you probably weren’t even aware of.
Starting in 1959, the National Football Foundation awarded a statue, known as the MacArthur Bowl, to the best American college football team in the country; that statue was crafted and designed by Tiffany & Co., kickstarting a long relationship. It led them to collaborate on a 22-inch-tall, 7-pound solid sterling silver creation for the Super Bowl when the famous football match began in 1967. Nowadays, it’s known as the Vince Lombardi Super Bowl Trophy, named after the Green Bay Packers coach who led the team to victory for the first two years of the event. Every year, the winning team at that year’s event holds it high like those who came before them did.
The statue was drawn by Oscar Riedener, the former Vice President of Tiffany & Co., on a napkin during a meeting with the NFL’s commissioner, Peter Rozelle. To this day, its iconic silhouette — topped with a regulation-sized football — remains largely the same, and is still crafted in their Rhode Island workshop by their brilliant ateliers. Shortly after the winning team lifts it, the statue is returned to said workshop to be engraved with their name. It’s a feat made possible by age-old silversmith techniques; time-consuming, labour intensive but that yield gorgeous results.
What’s more, it’s not the only statue Tiffany & Co. created for the NFL. They’re also responsible for crafting the Pete Rozelle Trophy for the Most Valuable Player of the Super Bowl, The Lamar Hunt Trophy for the champion of the American Football Conference, and The George S. Halas Trophy, awarded to the champion of the National Football Conference.
So when you’re watching this weekend’s Super Bowl, and see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs battle it out, look out for the trophy the winner holds after the final whistle blows. It’s crafted by the same ateliers designing everybody’s dream diamond ring.