On Sunday, Nebraska volleyball alum Jordan Larson will earn her fourth Olympic medal with the United States women’s volleyball team, but while she waits, she's sporting a one-of-a-kind diamond Olympic rings necklace made by a Lincoln jeweler.
When Larson first got in contact with Sartor Hamann Jewelers this spring, she knew exactly what she wanted. Wearing gold, silver and bronze medals isn’t exactly practical, but a specially customized pendant made from her old diamonds was a good substitute.
The pendant was designed with Megan Burtwell, the store manager of the downtown location at 1150 O St. Burtwell said while it was fairly easy to design, it was going to be a fairly large piece based on Larson’s existing stones.
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“We had to kind of balance making it aesthetically pleasing and also functional,†Burtwell said. “It’s heavy when they’re that big, and we knew she was going to be wearing it a lot.
There’s a total of 57 diamonds in the pendant, around half of which came from Larson’s prior jewelry, including her former wedding band.
Jeweler Chris Eiland said it’s pretty common for him to take the stones from a piece of jewelry that a customer no longer wears and create a new piece of history.
“That way, they can enjoy it and have the sentimental to it of what it was before and to what it is now,†Eiland said.
Eiland has been with Sartor Hamann for over 34 years, but this is the first time he can say he created an Olympic piece. While he’s always loved watching the Olympics, he never thought he would one day see a piece of his at the games.
“It was kind of neat that we got to work with her,†Eiland said. “She’s very well known, she’s a great athlete.â€
It took about 40 hours of hands-on work alone to make the pendant that Larson has vowed to wear at every single Olympic game. Larson and the United States women’s volleyball team will play in the gold medal match on Sunday at 6 a.m. CT against Italy.
When Larson came to pick up the finished necklace, Burtwell said she could tell how emotionally attached she was to the piece.
“It really had meaning for her and you could see that,†Burtwell said. “She was genuinely touched by a piece.â€
It’s a reaction that Burtwell is familiar with in the industry. She said jewelry is an emotional piece that can symbolize a small part in a big journey.
“You’re really selling on emotion,†Burtwell said. “Jewelry is so meaningful to people and it really is the most beautiful thing about this industry.â€
Burtwell’s also enjoyed checking Larson’s social media to see the necklace in action, including a recent picture with Snoop Dogg and the pendant around Larson’s neck.
“It’s been so fun to see it kind of go along her journey,†Burtwell said. “It makes us feel like we’re a little part of the moment.â€