The world cheered on in hopes of witnessing Serena Williams shatter a major sports milestone by bringing home her 24th grand slam title at the US Open. She didn’t get to take home the trophy or the US$ 2.6 million in prize money; the tennis icon already has six others sitting at home, not to mention the two doubles bowls she earned with sister Venus.
One of four grand slam tennis trophies, the US Open Singles and Doubles Championship Trophies in their current form, has a history that dates back to 1987.
Like all other grand slam events, winners of the US Open don’t get to take the original trophies home. But unlike the other three grand slam events, where player trophies are scaled down by a quarter, the US Open men's and women's singles, doubles and mixed doubles championship cups and bowls are 1:1 replicas of the event trophies.
Crafted in silver in Tiffany & Co’s Rhode Island hollowware workshop, the singles cups weigh 10 pounds and stand 18.5 inches tall. These and the doubles bowls are hand-turned and hand-engraved; it takes up to 60 hours over four months to complete each one.
Alongside the winners' names on a plaque, the trophies are hand engraved with the names The United States Lawn Tennis Association and the US Open’s full name, The United States Open Tennis Championships. The event used the title referencing the Lawn Tennis Association between 1881 and 1975 and was officially changed to its current form in 1976.
Tiffany & Co began crafting the US Open trophies in 1987 and made more than 60 bowls and cups for the event over the years.
The brand is one of the most recognisable jewellers in the US, with a history that dates back to 1837. The jeweller produces trophies for many major American sporting events, including the Super Bowl, the WNBA All-Star Game and NBA Championships. Most recently, the jeweller was appointed trophy partner of the League of Legends world championship event.
Also see: What are the Tiffany & Co-made NBA Championship Trophy and Louis Vuitton case really worth