subject: The Worlds Most Expensive Sporting Trophies [print this page] Sporting trophies can have a value of tens of thousands of dollars, reflecting the high level of income in the sporting industry. The ultimate goal in sport is to win, and an award must cater to the degree of effort of that achievement. It must also make an impact on the spectators it should be opulent and desirable so that both the winner and the crowd are impressed by it. This object is a piece of the drama of the sport, and it must live up to that aspiration. The 3D trophy, as the latest technology in the creation of these artworks, has the potential to usurp the more traditional ideal and command great value on the market.
Super Bowl
Americas premier sport, American football, tops the chart with the most expensive trophy, valued at $50,000. It is made by Tiffany & Co. from sterling silver and measures nearly two feet high. Shaped like a kick-ready football, it takes four months and 72 man hours to complete. The award is presented to the winning team and then returned to the jeweller to be engraved with the name of the team, the date and the final score of the Super Bowl. A 3D trophy to match this is surely the next step for the medium.
World Series
Lower down the scale, but by no means inexpensive, is the World Series Trophy the award for the most important baseball game in the United States. Known as the Commissioners Trophy, it is also created by Tiffany in silver each year at a cost of $15,000. Thirty gold-plated flags, representing each team in the Major League, encircle a silver baseball embellished with 24-karat vermeil stitches. The piece measures two feet in height and weighs 30 pounds.
NBA
This is the basketball award that was named after Larry OBrien who ran the league for eight years in the 1970s. Again, created annually by Tiffany, it is valued at $13,500. Weighing 14.5 pounds and two feet high, it is overlaid in 24-karat gold with a 9-inch basketball going through a hoop. Imagine a 3D trophy of a basketball and hoop suspended in the highest quality crystal. This is the way of the future.
