Do NBA Rings Have Real Diamonds?
Contents
Do NBA championship rings have real diamonds? How many diamonds are on an NBA championship ring? What is the cost of an NBA championship ring?
Introduction
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The NBA consists of 30 teams, split into two conferences: the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. Each conference has three divisions, and each team plays 82 games in the regular season. The playoffs follow, culminating in the NBA Finals.
The NBA Finals is a best-of-seven series between the two conference champions. The team with the better record in the regular season earns home-court advantage, meaning they receive four of the seven games at home. The first team to win four games in the Finals is crowned the NBA champion.
Each member of the winning team receives an NBA championship ring as a symbol of their victory. But do these rings have real diamonds?
What are NBA Rings Made of?
NBA championship rings are among the most coveted and visible symbols of success in professional sports. Each year, a select few players are lucky enough to receive one of these highly coveted rings. But what are NBA rings made of? Let’s take a closer look.
Metal
The vast majority of NBA rings are made of either yellow gold or white gold. In some cases, a team may opt for sterling silver, but this is relatively rare. The reason for this is that gold is a very strong metal that can withstand a lot of wear and tear. It also has a very polished look that really makes the diamonds and other gems stand out.
Diamonds
The vast majority of NBA championship rings are made of either gold or platinum, with some containing real diamonds. The amount of precious metal and stones used in each ring varies depending on the budget and preferences of the team and its ownership. However, all NBA championship rings are designed to be impressively large and ostentatious, often weighing several ounces and containing dozens of diamonds.
Interestingly, the use of real diamonds in NBA championship rings is a relatively recent development. For many years, rhinestones or other faux diamonds were used in order to keep costs down. It was not until the 1980s that teams began incorporating real diamonds into their championship rings. Today, most teams use a mix of both real and fake diamonds in their rings, with the real diamonds typically reserved for important details such as the team’s logo or the player’s name.
How Much do NBA Rings Cost?
Every year, the NBA rewards the winning team of the Finals with a shiny, new ring. But have you ever wondered how much these rings cost? And are the diamonds on the rings real? Let’s take a closer look.
Materials
Rings awarded to championship-winning NBA players are among the most valuable and collectible sports rings ever made. They are also among the most expensive, with some recent rings costing as much as $40,000 each to produce.
The vast majority of NBA championship rings are made from gold, with some containing as much as a pound of the precious metal. The most expensive rings also feature large diamonds, with the largest weighing in at more than four carats. In all, an NBA championship ring can cost upwards of $50,000 to produce.
While the cost of an NBA championship ring is certainly high, it pales in comparison to the cost of some other famous rings. For example, the Super Bowl ring awarded to members of the winning team typically costs more than $5 million to produce. The World Series ring awarded to members of the winning team in Major League Baseball typically costs between $300,000 and $400,000 to produce.
Manufacturing
The vast majority of NBA championship rings are manufactured by Jostens, a Wisconsin-based company that also makes class rings and other commemorative jewelry. Jostens has been making championship rings for the NBA since the league’s inaugural season in 1947.
The cost of manufacturing an NBA championship ring varies depending on the size, design, and materials used, but according to one report, the average cost is around $30,000 per ring. This means that the total cost of manufacturing all the rings for an NBA championship team can be upwards of $1 million.
Do NBA Rings Have Real Diamonds?
Most NBA championship rings are made with real diamonds, although the number of diamonds varies depending on the design. For example, the 2017 Golden State Warriors championship ring contains more than 200 diamonds, while the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers championship ring contains just over 100 diamonds.
Conclusion
After doing some research, we have come to the conclusion that NBA rings do not have real diamonds. While they may contain some real diamond chips, the vast majority of the ring is made up of cubic zirconia or other fake diamonds. This is likely due to the fact that real diamonds are very expensive and would make the cost of an NBA ring prohibitive for most fans.