Kansas City Chiefs Receive Tiffany & Co.’s NFL Vince Lombardi Trophy
It’s hard to think of the Vince Lombardi Trophy as anything other than a highly polished final product. Weighing in at seven pounds of pristine sterling silver, the Super Bowl’s crown prize is as elegant as sporting sculptures get. Yet the initial concept arrived in a flash of inspiration: during a 1966 lunch between Tiffany & Co. Vice President Oscar Riedner, and then-NFL commissioner, Pete Rozelle. Riedner pulled out a pen and sketched the now-famous design on a cocktail napkin — a football, prepped and ready in kicking position, resting atop a three-sided stand. First awarded after the Green Bay Packers’ triumph at the inaugural 1967 Super Bowl — incidentally, a victory over this year’s winners, the Kansas City Chiefs — the Vince Lombardi Trophy has remained an enduring symbol of excellence ever since.
Vince Lombardi Trophy by Tiffany & Co.
Vince Lombardi Trophy by Tiffany & Co.
Vince Lombardi Trophy by Tiffany & Co.
Defeating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22, this weekend Kansas City received their second consecutive Vince Lombardi Trophy (and their fourth overall). A cannon of confetti showered the Las Vegas stage with glittering silver, red, and yellow to celebrate the win and the team’s colours. Meanwhile, a gleeful Travis Kelce chanted “Viva Las Vegas!”
Vince Lombardi Trophy by Tiffany & Co.
Vince Lombardi Trophy by Tiffany & Co.
Vince Lombardi Trophy by Tiffany & Co.
Unlike the Stanley Cup, a new Vince Lombardi Trophy is made each year. It’s a labour-intensive process, to say the least, but the winning team gets to hang onto their achievement for years to come. Victoria Reynolds, Tiffany & Co. chief gemologist, called the Trophy “a work of art,” in an interview last week. Elaborating, she added: “because it’s so simple, any type of mistake would show right away. So, it really has to be perfect.”
For roughly four months, a team of skilled artisans handcraft the trophy inside Tiffany & Co.’s Cumberland, Rhode Island workshop. An in-house affair, the silversmithing techniques are varied and plenty. Per the jeweller, the work of a silversmith includes: “spinning, hammer forming, bending, cutting, filing, soldering, layout, scoring, bending, fitting, hardware fabrication, stoning, chasing, hand engraving, polishing, finishing, etching and assembly fabrication.”
Vince Lombardi Trophy by Tiffany & Co.
Vince Lombardi Trophy by Tiffany & Co.
Vince Lombardi Trophy by Tiffany & Co.
Nobody — aside from some particularly-confident Fantasy Football aficionados, perhaps — could tell you which teams will contend for the Vince Lombardi Trophy in 2025. Whatever happens, though, the winners can count on Tiffany & Co. to present them with football’s most dazzling souvenir.
