Standing 36.5 cm tall and weighing 6kg, the FIFA World Cup trophy as we know it today did not come into being until four decades after the tournament was established. Made entirely out of gold with a malachite base, the trophy was once rumoured to be made entirely of gold. The trophy is, without a doubt, a priceless piece of sports history– but what’s its actual worth in gold and how much will it fetch should it ever make its way to the auction block?
At the inaugural FIFA World Cup hosted and won by Uruguay in 1930, a gold-plated sterling silver trophy with a blue lapis lazuli base named Victory was given out. The trophy, a sculpture of the Greek goddess of victory, Nike, was renamed Jules Rimet Trophy in 1946 after the tournament's president and founder.
In 1970, taking home the FIFA title for the third time, Brazil won the trophy outright per tournament rules. With the Jules Rimet Trophy now in possession of team Brazil, the organiser took the opportunity to redesign the trophy.
Soliciting tenders from artists worldwide, FIFA settled on Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga's design that features two people holding up the earth. Italian trophy maker Stabilimento Artistico Bertoni was commissioned to produce the new FIFA World Cup Trophy in gold with green malachite rings integrated into the base. The trophy is said to have cost US$50,000 to make at the time of production.
Measuring 36.5 cm tall, rumours that it's made of solid suggested the value of the trophy, in weight of gold alone, would be upwards of $20 million. However, that would place the weight of the trophy roughly 60 to 70 kg, rendering it impossible to lift, as regularly seen when the prize is awarded to the winning team.
Instead, said to weigh 6.175kg, the trophy is almost certainly hollow and plated in yellow gold. According to Tobias Kormind, managing director of online diamond and jewellery retailer 77 Diamonds, the cost to produce the trophy in the present day will set you back $242,700.
"The trophy weighs 6.175kg, of which 4.927kg is 18-karat gold. The rest is made up of the base and the beautiful green-ish malachite stone," says Kormind.
The jewellery expert breaks down the cost of the various components of the trophy, putting the cost of 2kg of malachite discs at roughly $700 and the 4,927 grams of 18-karat gold used at just over $240,000.
He further estimates that roughly 40 artisanal hours go into making the trophy; at $50 per hour, that's another $2,000 towards the overall cost.
"I estimate the total value of the trophy, if replicated today, to be $243,363," says Kormind.
With this new trophy came new rules– countries that win three times no longer get to keep the trophy. Instead, a replica is given to the winning team.
The replica is made of 5 kg of thinly gold-plated brass. "Five kg of brass, an inexpensive material, costs $25 and 0.5 ounces of gold plating at up to 3 microns thickness costs $840," says Kormind.
Combine that with the cost of the malachite and workmanship, which clocks in at a similar rate as it would the original trophy, Kormind puts the total cost of producing the FIFA World Cup Trophy replica at $3,565.
As to how much the trophy could be worth if it were to appear at auction, Keanan Brackenridge, director of product and wholesale of precious metal and sports memorabilia retailer LPM Group Limited says could it'll likely fetch multiple times its weight in gold.
"The chances of such an important and famous trophy going up for auction or through private sale would be one in a million. It would easily sell for several million over (USD) if an opportunity was made available in the open market for active bids," Brackenridge says.
Kormind adds that the cost of production is not representative of the trophy's actual value. "Of course, this price calculation doesn't take into account the cultural significance, value and aspiration associated with this highly coveted trophy - nor the sweat that will undoubtedly be involved in acquiring it."
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