From $28K in Debt to Crafting Super Bowl Rings

Jason Arasheben once sold plastic hair clips at UCLA to pay off $28,000 in student debt. Now eight of the last 11 NBA champions wear rings he designed, and four Super Bowl winning teams sport his creations on their fingers.

The Beverly Hills jeweler just delivered the Seattle Seahawks their 2025 championship rings. Each ring weighs about a third of a pound and features 20 carats of white diamonds and blue sapphires shaped like miniature Lumen Field stadium.

The ring includes hidden surprises that make it part trophy, part engineering marvel. Push a secret button and arches pop out to reveal "World Champions." The top lifts off to convert into a pendant, and inside sits a piece of actual game-used football.

Arasheben's journey started with a simple idea during his UCLA days. He tagged along with a friend to downtown Los Angeles and watched her buy trinkets by the dozen to resell. He bought $400 worth of hair accessories and set up a folding table on campus, splitting profits with the university.

That one table grew into six locations across Southern California campuses. Then Arasheben built acrylic display cases and drove from Agoura Hills to San Diego, stopping at 350 nail salons. By senior year, he was clearing $25,000 to $30,000 a month.

His big break came through L.A.'s nightclub scene, where he befriended professional athletes. When NBA player Anthony Mason asked to see his jewelry collection, Arasheben had nothing to show. He spent the night cutting magazine pictures and downloading images to create a fake catalog, then promised a custom $40,000 necklace.

Mason put down $20,000. Arasheben found a manufacturer downtown who could make it for $37,000 and pocketed the difference. Word of mouth took over, and a new business was born.

His first championship ring contract came through friendship with Jim Buss, son of Lakers owner Jerry Buss. The 2009 Lakers ring nearly ended his career before it started. Arasheben and his team slept in sleeping bags on the factory floor for two weeks, delivering the final player ring just 20 minutes before the nationally televised ceremony.

Why This Inspires

Arasheben competes against giants like Tiffany & Co. and Jostens with just a small team behind a nondescript door in Beverly Hills. His rings now appraise for $50,000 to $250,000, with some selling at auction for nearly $1 million.

NFL teams order up to 3,000 rings in four quality tiers, and Arasheben always builds two extras so each of his sons can have one. What started as desperation to pay off college debt became a career celebrating the greatest moments in sports history.

From folding tables to championship glory, one entrepreneur proved that creativity and hustle can turn debt into diamonds.