Netflix documentary could revive diamond tennis bracelet spotlight

Netflix released Chris & Martina: The Final Set on June 26, and with it came a fresh reason for jewelry houses to revisit the diamond tennis bracelet, the style forever tied to Chris Evert’s 1978 U.S. Open mishap. The film tracks Evert and Martina Navratilova’s decades of dominance in women’s tennis and their friendship through cancer treatment, giving one of jewelry’s most recognizable origin stories a new audience.

The tennis bracelet name, however, did not begin with Evert. The style predates the 1978 U.S. Open and was originally known as an eternity bracelet, but the moment Evert’s diamond bracelet fell off during play and the match stopped while she searched for it gave the piece its modern nickname. That kind of story matters in jewelry because it gives a line of diamonds a human event, a date, and a face people still remember.

The documentary had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City before its Netflix debut, extending the runway for a category that already relies on visibility. Evert has long served as the bracelet’s most persuasive ambassador, and the current wave of attention gives jewelers a chance to sell more than sparkle: they can sell memory, sports history, and the enduring appeal of a line bracelet worn close to the wrist.

Monica Rich Kosann’s Chris Evert collaboration is built exactly for that conversation. The fancy-cut bracelet is priced at $15,650 and set with 1.51 carats total weight of diamonds and 0.16 carat of emerald in 18k yellow gold. The design uses a pear-shaped diamond drop to echo the bead of sweat, a green emerald to suggest the court, and white diamond lines to recall the white boundary marks, turning a televised accident into a polished, highly legible jewel.

The rest of the collection shows how far the category can stretch without losing its core appeal. Three of the 13 styles in the tennis bracelet range include a fancy-cut diamond bracelet with a 0.28-carat emerald, and prices run from $11,350 to $31,750. That spread puts the category squarely in luxury territory, but with enough variation to catch both collectors who want the provenance and buyers who want the look. If the documentary drives real demand, the winners will be the makers who can pair recognizable history with serious stones and precise craftsmanship.