How diamonds became the mark of athletic excellence
From Chris Evert's tennis bracelet to Chanel's haute joaillerie collections, luxury jewellery has become central to athletic identity and style.
In the summer of 1978, Chris Evert paused mid-match at the US Open in New York. Not due to injury or weather, but because a diamond bracelet had slipped from her wrist onto the grass court at Flushing Meadows. The incident seemed trivial until Evert, known as "The Ice Maiden" for her composure under pressure, stopped play to retrieve it. In her post-match interview, she casually called it "my tennis bracelet"—a phrase that would reshape the luxury jewellery industry.
Though the delicate line of small diamonds existed decades earlier, emerging during the Art Deco movement of the 1920s when women began wearing lighter, more mobile jewellery, Evert's 1978 moment crystallised something new. A professional athlete wearing high jewellery during competition was unprecedented. The tennis bracelet transformed from a historical design into an active symbol of refined elegance.
Over four decades later, in 2022, Evert reclaimed the narrative. She collaborated with designer Monica Rich Kosann to launch "The Tennis Bracelet – CE Collection, Born 1978. Finally Authentic", a series of 13 bracelets featuring emeralds that honoured the court's green.
When sport meets haute couture
If Evert proved diamonds could live on the court, Chanel posed the inverse question: what happens when the court enters haute joaillerie's domain? The answer arrived in 2024 with Chanel Haute Joaillerie Sport, rooted in a 1921 revolutionary moment when Gabrielle Chanel opened a "Sport" atelier within her haute couture house—a gesture that freed women's movement and birthed Chanel's signature athletic elegance.
Patrice Leguéreau, Creative Director of Chanel's jewellery division, inherited this philosophy and applied it to uncharted territory. The result: 80 pieces that defy conventional haute joaillerie. Quick-release closures from sports equipment become refined clasps. Hoodie drawstrings transform into flexible gold tube chains. At the 2025 GEM Awards in New York, Chanel Haute Joaillerie Sport won the award for excellence in haute joaillerie.
A generational shift
For centuries, luxury jewellery signified stillness and authority—pieces locked away after evening wear, not worn whilst playing tennis or running. Today, "wearable performance jewellery" is becoming standard language among major houses. Ergonomic design—pieces crafted to move with the body rather than against it—now defines the category. Smart clasps, flexible chains that won't snag during motion.
Modern athletes including Serena Williams, Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka and Emma Raducanu no longer view jewellery as separate from sport. They wear it en route to the court, during press conferences, at award ceremonies—telling a story equal to the trophy itself. Tiffany & Co., expanding beyond traditional jewellery for nearly 200 years, now creates the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP award, the WNBA championship cup and regional championship trophies, embedding the brand into sport's most iconic moments.
The evolution from Evert's dropped bracelet to haute joaillerie designed specifically for athletic wear reflects a broader cultural shift: jewellery is no longer passive ornament but active expression, no longer confined to formal occasions but integral to how athletes present themselves to the world.
