SCOUTING REPORT: DIOS NECKLACE BY NIVELCRACK
So often now you see soccer-inspired brands release jerseys, shirts, pants, and shorts all year long but rarely accessories. The most accessory type of gear you would see would be a pin to possibly put on your hat, coat, or bags. Nivelcrack, a streetwear brand from Seoul, is once again testing its limits when they released the “DIOS NECKLACE” in both gold and silver. The release was an innovation in its own way in that not many brands care to include accessories like a necklace in their collections, and what better player to use as your design inspiration other than the one with the flashy lifestyle: Diego Maradona?
Overall Design: The name and the design of the necklace tells you exactly what moment in football history this is referring to: the infamous “hand of God” goal scored by Diego Maradona against England in the quarter-finals at the 1986 World Cup. A legendary move like this will not happen in today’s World Cup games due to the implementation of the VAR starting this year, but then again soccer is always full of surprises… This necklace takes the silhouette of that exact moment – kind of like the Jordan “Jumpman” logo – taken from a staged photograph of when Diego Maradona jumps up to extend his arm to score the goal. In the post-match conference, Maradona explained that the goal was scored by “…a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God.” Overall I think this design, which comes in both gold and silver, is ingenious. Taking one of the most iconic moments in soccer and using its image to replicate it into a necklace is simple, but it’s also one of those cases where in hindsight you can easily say “why didn’t I think of that?”
Score: 5/5
Functionality: The necklace is about 57cm in length and the pendant has a width of 2.4cm and height of 3.7cm. It’s not the longest, but I personally prefer medium sized ones like this one. I own one of these myself and they’re a great accessory to throw on everyday for any occasion with confidence due to its sturdy feel from its construction of 925 silver with 24k gold plating.
Score: 5/5
Wearability: Remember when players were allowed to wear necklaces on the pitch? That is now technically not allowed for good reason to protect the players, but I can’t lie that I miss the look of the players running around with their necklaces bouncing off their neck/chest. One image I have of a moment like that is when Hwang Sun-hong of South Korea scored the first goal against Poland back in 2002 at the World Cup. The reason I bring up that point is to remind people reading that these would look good to wear both on and off the pitch. I don’t even think it’s that dangerous to play with accessories on but that’s just me being me.
Score: 5/5
Details: The pendant has enough details in it that fans of the beautiful game would be able to tell what this piece represents as soon as they look at it. The back of the pendant is a flat smooth surface and all the details are shown on the front; Nivelcrack has even included a soccer ball in the design. In my opinion, the one improvement that would’ve made the piece just that much better would’ve been to include the stripes of the Argentina jersey, but again, that’s just me being me.
Score: 4/5
Technology and Innovation: As mentioned in the introduction, I think the “DIOS NeCKLACE” is innovative in its own way, not because of the design, but because of the refreshing take on an iconic moment in soccer and replicating that into a high-quality accessory, and not into basic apparel.
Score: 4/5
You can purchase the Nivelcrack “DIOS NECKLACE” through Nivelcrack or RBC.
