In yet another element of their seemingly-endless World Series championship victory lap, the Giants are offering fans their very own World Series rings. Yes, any fan can have a version of the bauble that players strive for all their lives and that represents the greatest team achievement possible in baseball if they have the scratch and they don’t mind that it looks a lot different than the rings given to Giants players and staff members in April.
Balfour, the company that makes high school class rings and has also made championship rings for franchises like the New York Yankees and Boston Celtics, is manufacturing the rings for sale through the Giants website and Giants Dugout Stores. The 14-karat gold version with diamonds retails for $3,570 on the high end, the sterling silver version with cubic zirconium can be had for a mere $429. Both the Giants and Balfour say that sales forecasts and sales performance to date are proprietary.
The player rings were manufactured by Tiffany, and while their exact value is also a closely held secret, Tiffany is giving the person who wins the raffle for a player ring $5,000 to meet his or her tax obligations, which suggests that ring might be worth about $20,000.
According to Giants Retail Marketing Manager Megan Cooperson, the Giants’ program is the most extensive fan jewelry offering made in the wake of a team’s championship and was the result of the unbridled joy Giants fans displayed as the team won its first World Series since coming to San Francisco in 1958. “We definitely noticed fan reaction during the post season, and this offering is driven by that fan enthusiasm,” she said. Cooperson shared that at least one of the 10 karat gold rings with diamonds has been sold at the retail price of $2,370.
As for the difference between the player rings and the fan rings, Cooperson said, “The organization wanted the player ring to stand out as its own entity, but the fan ring to have its own personality.” Top Giants executives received official Tiffany rings, while lower level employees will have an opportunity to purchase a replica version of the Tiffany ring. Cooperson said the details of that program are not yet available.
Lacy Laborde, Balfour Director of Communications, said that the fan rings are becoming a growing business for her company. “We had a fan line for the Celtics when they won in 2008, but the Giants have done more with this than other teams.” Indeed, Jostens put out a fan version of the Boston Red Sox 2007 championship ring that did not have diamonds, along with a plain band that Off the Bench supposes symbolizes that a true fan is married to his or her team’s success.
“The Giants told us that they wanted to honor their fans. Giants fans are a big part of the franchise, and they wanted to do something special for the fans who mean so much to them,” said Laborde.
According to Laborde, the Giants played the main role in deciding what the fan rings would look like. They were interested in showing off the logo, the ballpark, McCovey Cove, and the championship trophy. Each fan ring is personalized with the owner’s name.
The fan rings, along with a jewelry line that includes cuff links, pendants and ear rings, will be available until Dec. 31. To view the line you can visit www.balfoursports.com/sfgiants or go to one of the Giants Dugout Stores, including the outlet at AT&T Park.
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