Boston Bling: How 2024 Celtics Championship Rings Came To Life
Everyone at TD Garden was in disbelief, even though it had been four months since the Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals to secure Banner 18. Jayson Tatum couldn’t stand still. Jaylen Brown fought back tears. Head coach Joe Mazzulla even kissed the parquet.
The Celtics knew they’d be opening up their 2024-25 regular season as championship ring recipients, but the sight of their hard-earned jewelry allowed all first-time champs to live out their lifelong dreams. From Tatum and Brown to Mazzulla and members of Boston’s “stay ready” coaching crew, and even the fans, everyone besides team owner Wyc Grousbeck knew what the rings looked like before the ceremony commenced.
That long-awaited moment, which came 16 years plus a (very) patient rebuild, including three head-coaching changes, wasn’t possible without Jason of Beverly Hills, the designer responsible for bringing Boston’s 2024 bling to life.
“We got a clear vision from ownership about the design, and then they gave us some creative freedom,” Jason Arasheben, CEO of Jason of Beverly Hills, told NESN.com via email. “We came back with some ideas and together ended up with the final product.”
It had been 16 years since the last time Grousbeck needed to spend some offseason time getting a ring designed, produced and ready for a celebratory Opening Night.
That was in 2008 after Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen — who were in attendance for Banner Night last Tuesday — defeated Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals. Grousbeck’s first ring as majority owner featured a much simpler design: a 14-karat white gold ring inscribed with Red Auerbach’s signature and green emeralds to create the franchise’s iconic three-leaf clover front and center.
This time, Grousbeck was a tad bit busier. Boston had a laundry list of impending free agents starting with Tatum, followed by Derrick White, Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman — all of whom were signed to contract extensions combing to cost the team over $500 million. Then, of course, came the rings.
“Design to delivery is under three months, “Arasheben explained. “It is always a race to finish and get the rings shipped, boxes, and ready for the unveiling. This year we added an extra feature in the eleventh hour, which made delivery extra interesting, but it was worth it to see the owner’s and players’ faces during the ceremony.”
In collaboration with Jason of Beverly Hills, the Celtics strived to push the boundary.
The finer details within Boston’s bling warranted a jumbotron spec presentation. The 15 carats (for each Eastern Conference team), 18 emerald cut diamonds (for each Celtics championship), parquet flooring design, team mantra, “Whatever It Takes,” and 80 white diamonds to symbolize the combined 80 wins in the regular season and playoffs are just the start of the intricate blueprint laid out by Jason of Beverly Hills.
Encapsulating what was a historic Celtics season, of course, warranted a history-making ring, right? Jason of Beverly Hills checked off that box too.
“We were the first to do the detachable top in championship ring jewelry,” Arasheben said. “We wanted more space on the ring to be able to design and add story elements. You only have so much space to work with on the outside of the ring. This ring we introduced another first, the NFC chip, so that was exciting.”
Arasheben added: “An NFC chip has been installed into each ring. This technology will allow the recipient to put their phone against the wood parquet on the inside of the ring and reveal a video of each person’s ring and how it was made. This feature not only adds a personal and emotional connection to the ring but also plays a critical role in ensuring its authenticity. In a world where luxury items are often replicated, having a secure, embedded technology like an NFC chip provides a unique layer of protection, proving ownership and offering verifiable documentation of the ring’s creation. This added security enhances the value of the already priceless piece of sports history.”
The ring, in combination with the overall experience of watching 96-year-old Bob Cousy wheelchaired to the parquet and Banner 18 raised to the TD Garden rafters, made for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. For the Celtics, it could be the first of several and that sentiment was vocalized by Tatum just moments after the rings were distributed.
“Let’s do it again,” Tatum told Boston at center court.
Tatum dropped a 37-point, 10-assist double-double against the New York Knicks to get the Celtics back to their business-as-usual mindset. Digesting all the emotions coming from their long-awaited ceremony, so far, hasn’t been a problem. Perhaps the first taste of banner glory will push Tatum, Brown, Mazzulla and the rest of the reigning champion’s crew to get another ring in the works next summer.
“It’s just something I’ve been dreaming about for a very, very long time,” Tatum said after Banner Night. “A moment I’ve looked forward to since I’ve gotten into the league. A moment that before we won, I’ve been very, very close to winning a championship and falling short, so to finally get over that hump and finally be a part of Opening Night ring ceremony, something I’ve watched every year since I was a kid, it was just a wild moment. Like, I’m a part of it. I’m a part of history and it was worth the wait.”