Jewelry brand Gorjana leans into sports and culture crossover with extensive roster of athlete ambassadors

The GIST: SoCal jewelry brand Gorjana launched Gorjana Sports Club today, a unique platform spotlighting prominent pro and collegiate women athletes who have co-designed jewelry for the brand. As fashion and beauty retailers engage with women’s sports, Gorjana’s platform recognizes the power women’s sports stars have as cultural influencers. A new kind of signature athlete.

The details: Headlined by LA Sparks forward Cameron Brink and WTA star Jessica Pegula, the inaugural Gorjana Sports Club roster also includes athletes from the NWSL, PVF, NCAA volleyball and basketball, and the USWNTPA.

• This isn’t Gorjana’s first rodeo in sports: The brand first partnered with Pegula in 2023, then Brink in 2024. And this April, Gorjana signed a deal with the USWNTPA to become its official jewelry partner and tapped specific players — Ally Sentnor, Sam Coffey, and Gisele Thompson — to promote its jewelry.

The space: Jewelry brands are increasingly working on sports marketing, but there’s been an emphasis on pro male athletes and football fandom. Kendra Scott has especially leaned into the industry with sport-specific charms, a college gameday line, a 2024 partnership with the New York Giants, and a new partnership with the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders.

The context: Women athletes have lent a hand in product creation as signature athletes, but it’s often been in athletic apparel deals, not jewelry ones. WNBA stars A’ja Wilson, Angel Reese, and Sabrina Ionescu have all launched signature lines, while Adidas just dropped a women-forward soccer cleat influenced by soccer star Trinity Rodman.

• We have seen tennis athletes (and retired golfers) represent jewelry brands and even launch their own lines, which makes sense considering the traditionally affluent crowd these sports draw. However, jewelry brands haven’t been known to target women athletes in team sports the same way, especially with a multi-sport and multi-athlete approach.

The takeaway: Gen Z consumers gravitate toward celebrity-focused branding in the beauty and lifestyle space. With Gen Z sports icons like Brink having an increased impact on culture, it makes sense to work with her to capitalize on the sports and lifestyle overlap we’re seeing in pop culture.

• But let’s not ignore Gorjana’s other areas of focus: Soccer, tennis, volleyball, and NCAA sports. Like Kendra Scott with its sports charms — soccer, tennis, and volleyball are all on the rise among U.S. girls — the jewelry space seems tuned into where the next generation of athletes are coming from. Shine bright.