It's more than a Super Bowl ring. It's a ring for the ages.
The four Super Bowl titles, the 13 world championships, the 92 years of franchise history, and the path taken by the 2010 Packers to add this chapter – it's all in there. It tells an entire tale that marries the storied tradition of the Packers with their singular achievement in 2010.
All in a ring? Sure, and it was done majestically and subtly at the same time.
The ring's square crest is highlighted by the 'G' logo – gold on a green setting, of course – but the overwhelming sparkle of the diamond-dominant presentation shouldn't distract from all it incorporates.
In each of the four corners of the crest, surrounding the 'G,' is a marquis-cut diamond, which is appropriately football-shaped, just like the one on top of the Vince Lombardi trophy. There are four of those for I, II, XXXI and XLV, the four trophies that will reside together forever in the team's Hall of Fame.
The shape of the 'G' itself consists of 13 diamonds, one for each title dating back to 1929, and surrounding the entire crown are 92 diamonds, one for each year the Packers have been in existence.
That's a lot cleverly depicted on the ring's face, but that's not the whole story. The sides, or flanks, of the ring continue the convergence of history with the present.
On the one side that's personalized for each player with his last name, there's both an impressively carved image of Lambeau Field – a tribute to the best venue and fans in the NFL – and the player's jersey number. Each number is circled, just like those on the third jerseys introduced this past year that represent the attire of the first title team in '29.
On the other side, underneath a logo-lettering of "PACKERS," is a Lombardi Trophy, with the name of the iconic coach, the NFL shield, and an 'XLV' at the base, which captures both the specific game and a piece of its logo.
Together, the primary images on the two flanks can be interpreted as the Lombardi Trophy being brought back to its home, Lambeau Field, which was done two days after the Super Bowl victory in North Texas in front of more than 56,000 fans who braved sub-zero weather to share in the glory.
There's additional context when the ring is seen next to the Packers' previous three. It appears to fit with the collection, while simultaneously standing out as the one that represents more history than the others. Each ring builds on the previous one, with the latest edition the culmination, for now.
The saga wouldn't be complete without the "inside story" to the 2010 season, which is, fittingly, on the inside of the ring.
The Packers became just the third team to win three road playoff games en route to a Super Bowl title, and the scores of all the postseason contests are engraved inside the ring.
Also engraved inside are the numeral "1" along with the words "Mind, Goal, Purpose and Heart" – the very number and terms veteran cornerback Charles Woodson employed with such fervor in his memorable postgame locker-room speech following the NFC Championship in Chicago.
The number and its accompanying characteristics also reflect the unity the Packers needed to overcome numerous obstacles in their path to the championship – countless injuries, back-to-back overtime losses, and a season on the brink with two weeks to go.
As for the basics, the Super Bowl XLV rings are made of platinum, with 18-karat yellow gold, and weigh a little over 4 ounces. The diamonds total 3.35 carats.
The boring basics, however, hardly matter when attempting to absorb a much larger picture, and this ring paints an exquisitely detailed and symbolic image.
