The Olympic Games are an opportunity for the best of the best to put their superhuman-like athleticism on full display. But, let’s be real, they’re all competing to bring home a new set of hardware as physical evidence of their wins. Though, if you’ve been keeping up with the games over the last two weeks, be it on television or through highlight clips on social media, then you know that most of the athletes are coming to the world stage decked out in their own adornment—and to say I’m obsessed with what I’ve seen thus far would be an understatement.
From custom diamond necklaces to watches a lá brands like OMEGA, many of the athletes who competed in Paris were fully decorated long before they took to the podium. And, for fashion lovers like myself, these pieces are just as interesting to look at as the highly-coveted medals, themselves.
Fencer and fashion risk taker, Miles Chamley-Watson, whose style on and off the strip is widely documented, is a prime example. He’s been photographed, on several occasions, wearing stacks of lab-grown diamond bracelets and necklaces from his collection with jewelry brand Messou to showcase his personality in a sea of uniformity. “I love to wear jewelry and watches,” the Richard Mille ambassador tells Vogue. “It’s one of the only ways to express ourselves because we are all in white.”
Though, Chamley-Watson isn’t the only one looking to zhuzh up the Team USA uniforms with a bit of bling. Noah Lyles’s mixed metal, diamond chain (which I suspect is from The Village Jeweler in his hometown Gainesville, Florida, thanks to a 2023 TikTok video) and crocheted bracelets, were in plain view during his highly-anticipated 100-meter race; It was actually one of the first things I noticed, as I watched him compete in a Brooklyn bar last Sunday. A few days later, track and field star Gabrielle “Gabby” Thomas dominated the 200-meter sprint—and won her first Gold medal—while wearing OMEGA’s 18k yellow gold Constellation watch, with a mother-of-pearl face and diamonds that sparkled in the spotlight. On the runner’s other wrist, were dainty bracelets, accompanied by a handful of banded rings, putting the average everyday stack to shame.
Of course there were less subtle approaches to accessorizing on display at the Olympics as well. Comeback queen, Sha’Carri Richardson accentuated her embellished manicure, which is reminiscent of legendary runner Florence “FloJo” Griffith Joyner’s nails circa the late ‘80s, with a bright textured red bracelet watch. Then, so aptly named “the GOAT”—aka, the greatest of all time—Simone Biles wasn’t shy about the well-fitting nickname. And it showed, what with the custom 14k white gold, 3D goat pendant, hand set with 546 diamonds, hanging around her neck. Commissioned by Calabasas-based designer Janet Heller, the one-of-one pendant took about two months to create, from conception to delivery. From the looks of it, the piece was well worth the wait.
“To say we were excited and honored for this collaboration, is an understatement,” the designer tells Vogue of getting the call from the gymnast. “Simone sent us a picture of a goat as an inspo, but other than that, she gave us a lot of creative freedom.”
This isn’t the first time Heller and her team have been asked to design something like this. In fact, the two go way back (to the 2020 Tokyo games) and worked together to recreate long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall’s diamond Olympic rings necklace. “Simone and Jordan Chiles both saw it and both wanted one and asked Tara for our contact info,” Heller shares. “Both girls reached out and we made [it for] them, also.”
While athletes like Biles and Thomas already have an arsenal of jewelry that’s quite impressive by everyday civilian standards, it’s about to get the upgrade of a century. Team USA secured a whopping 126 medals in Paris. And let’s be honest, having earned hardware like that, who needs diamonds? Still, they were fun to look at.