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The Superbowl ring commemorating the Pittsburgh Steelers fifth win in 2006

Superbowl rings

Love it or loathe it, the championship ring is a winner

If a piece of jewelry is meant to be a symbol of emotion, the Superbowl ring is a champ.

Massive in scale, and typically adorned with a clash of numbers, words and imagery, there is nothing subtle about it.

But what else could accurately represent a game where men deliberately throw their 300 lb.-frames at one another? There is nothing subtle about that either.

Hockey, baseball, soccer – even bowling and wrestling –  have championship rings, too. Some are even sold and traded at Championship-rings.net.

But it’s hard to imagine anyone parting with a piece of jewelry that, to some, would have as much meaning as a diamond solitaire would to a blushing bride. And depending how the marriage goes, maybe even more.

The Superbowl ring is given to the winning team members and coaches as a sort of portable trophy and personal reward for a job well done.

This year’s winners, the Pittsburgh Steelers, will be hard pressed to outdo their last Superbowl ring from 2006. That beast boasted five miniature trophies topped with marquise diamond “footballs” along with the words Pittsburgh World Champions, the winning score (Steelers 21 Seahawks 10), and the team logo in coloured gems.

Last year's rings for the New York Giants were a more monochromatic affair crafted by Tiffany & Co., creator of the Vince Lombardi trophy. The top of the white gold rings are covered in diamonds including three miniature Superbowl trophies accented with marquise diamonds. The team logo is present in bead set round diamonds. "World Champions" appears in raised letters on the top and bottom bezels with channel set diamonds on the right and left bezels.

The players had a great amount of input in the design process. The Giants' Michael Strahan described the design as a "10-table ring" - meaning one that can be spotted by gawkers up to 10 tables away at a restaurant. At $25,000 a piece, one would hope so.