- Simone Biles wore a goat necklace after winning the individual all-around gold medal during the Paris Olympics.
- It's an homage to her nickname, a.k.a. the "greatest of all time."
- The necklace was custom-made by Janet Heller with 546 diamonds.
During the 2024 Olympic Games, members of the American women's gymnastics team—which includes Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera—have become some of the competition's biggest stars. But one special addition to their group has made headlines.
On August 1, Simone won gold in the individual all-around event, her third gold of the Games. Afterwards, the 27-year-old showed off a custom-made necklace featuring a goat, an homage to her nickname. (In case you’re not familiar with it, G.O.A.T. = Greatest Of All Time.)
“It's a little ode. I mean, a lot of people love it. They always call me the G.O.A.T., so I thought it would be really special if I got one made,” she told the BBC afterwards. “And the haters hate it, so I love that even more and it's just a special part of me that I have here.”
In a subsequent press conference, Simone decided to wear the necklace when she performed well. “I was like, okay, if it goes well, I'll wear the goat necklace, I know people will go crazy over it,” she told reporters.
The necklace was designed by California jeweler Janet Heller. Earlier this week, Janet shared close-up shots of the necklace on social media, noting that it’s “a three-dimensional masterpiece adorned with 546 diamonds.”
It took "a few iterations" of the design to achieve the perfect look, Heller told NBC 4 Washington. Tweaks included the goat figurine’s leg length, beard shape, and the horn angle, per the Los Angeles Times.
Typically, a piece like this would take three to four months to craft. But Janet's team worked "overtime" so they could get it to Simone before the Games, Heller told the Times. Each of the 546 diamonds was drilled and set by hand.
Ultimately, Heller hopes Simone sees it and is reminded of her success over the years.
“It just is a very seeable and sort of touchable representation of achievements, milestones, celebrations,” Heller told the Times. “Whenever I see that goat on Simone and whenever she touches it or looks at it, it’s really going to be so indicative of what she’s accomplished.”
15 years into her career, Heller has become the go-to jeweler for Olympians and Paralympians. It all started when track and field athlete Tara Davis-Woodhall, who went to school with Heller's daughter, requested a diamond necklace of the Olympic rings ahead of the Tokyo Games; once Simone and her teammate Jordan saw it, they needed to know where it was from, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Since then, Heller has also created Olympic rings necklaces for Simone, Jordan, Simone’s mom Nellie, and Tara Davis-Woodhall's husband, Paralympic sprinter Hunter Woodhall.
“I’m so proud to have made jewelry that was represented by elite athletes,” Heller told the Times. “The biggest surprise for me was how they’re such mega stars and they are so humble and so down to Earth… there’s no other words to express how I feel other than I absolutely love them.”
Heller added on Instagram that “it was an absolute honor and privilege to work with [Simone]," calling her "humble, down-to-earth, and appreciative." For Simone to put the necklace on after the all-around was the "cherry on top."
“We go into these projects not expecting anything," she told NBC 4 Washington. "So for her to have been so loud and proud about it—we couldn't believe it. We were just so honored."
Since the all-around competition, Heller's business has received dozens of custom jewelry requests, the Times writes. But don't expect a line of goat necklaces anytime soon.
“She is the one and only,” Heller said. “So that necklace will represent the one and only as well.”
