As the joy around the New York Knicks’ first NBA championship in 53 years still echoes through the city, NYC-based jeweler Bernard James has released special editions of his signature Aura ring to salute the team and its legacy.
James, a native New Yorker, designed four 18k gold eternity bands set with blue and orange sapphires, for the Knicks’ colors. Each Knickerbockers Victory Band, priced at $5,500, is numbered.
“The Knicks were just part of my upbringing. The team has always been woven into the fabric of the city, something you grow up with and always root for,” James says. “I wanted to make a ring that could be worn by Knicks fans but also appeal to someone who simply loves natural sapphires.”
The limited edition totals four so there would be one ring for each Knicks victory in the NBA Finals. The team, led by Finals MVP Jalen Brunson, took the championship series in five games against the San Antonio Spurs, coming back from a 29-point deficit to win Game 4. The Knicks lost only three of 19 games in the playoffs and had a 13-game winning streak during the playoffs and a 53-29 record in the regular season.
Blue and orange are opposite each other on the color wheel, making them complementary hues, James says, and with their high contrast, they’re fun for a jewelry designer to play with.
“The combination of blue and orange is iconic, but it’s also visually compelling from a design perspective. I wanted to interpret those colors through the lens of my designs rather than create a traditional sports collectible,” he says.
James, whose store and studio are located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, sees a connection between jewelry and New Yorkers’ excitement about the Knicks.
“Jewelry is about communal experience and memory,” the designer says. “It marks moments that people share and remember together, and it becomes a way to carry those experiences forward.
“After the win, the energy in the city was unlike anything anyone had ever seen—it was electric, overwhelming, and impossible to ignore, and jewelry becomes a way to hold on to that feeling long after the moment has passed.”
Top: The Knickerbockers Victory Band by Bernard James from three different angles—any of them shows a Knicks color (photos courtesy of Bernard James)
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