Netflix released the latest batch of episodes in the popular teen drama “Outer Banks” on Thursday, Nov. 7, which culminates in a search for a treasure called the Blue Crown during the season four finale. And while the main characters of the show travel far from North Carolina to try and find the pirate treasure, the crown itself came from Chapel Hill.
Local jeweler William Travis Kukovich, who runs William Travis Jewelry on Fordham Boulevard in Chapel Hill, was hired to custom-make the Blue Crown for “Outer Banks” and shared the details of the project in a release on Tuesday. According to the fifth-generation metalsmith, an earlier design and prop fell short of what the show wanted to be on-screen — and the production turned to him to create something on a four-week timeline before the crown was added to the series.
“We’ve designed complex pieces for film and TV before, and Netflix knew they could rely on us to create something worthy of the series,” Kukovich said in the media release.
William Travis Jewelry said the team drew inspiration from artifacts of the Khmer Empire of Southeast Asia for the final design of the Blue Crown. To quickly craft the critical prop, Kukovich enlisted help from a variety of metalsmiths to secure the needed resources and materials. Those included a four-foot sheet of silver, a 24-karat 40 micron gold coating, synthetic sapphires and custom-cut gemstones.
“The challenge wasn’t just the materials, but the craftsmanship required,” said the Chapel Hill jeweler. “Each bezel was handmade, and there was no time to ship the finished piece. So, Netflix flew [someone] halfway around the world to deliver it in person.”
Jeweler William Travis Kukovich poses in the Blue Crown. (Photo via William Travis Jewelry.)
In the show, the Blue Crown is one of the treasures belonging to the famed pirate Blackbeard, and the “Outer Banks” characters are racing to find the artifact by using a scroll describing its location. The season finale sees the main characters travel to Morocco as part of the hunt and the crown makes an appearance in the dramatic final minutes.
This is not the first time there has been a Chapel Hill connection with the smash hit from Netflix. In season one, the show brought “Outer Banks” characters to a fictionalized version of the college town to talk with an expert working at UNC — a scene that caught local attention for its editing suggesting it was possible to take a ferry all the way from the coastal islands to Chapel Hill. Season three of the series also caught a lot of Tar Heels’ attention when UNC men’s basketball star Armando Bacot made a cameo appearance in an episode. Both of the references partially stem from two of the show’s three co-creators, Josh Pate and Shannon Burke, being UNC alumni.
Kukovich has won several jeweler awards for his past custom work, winning accolades like AGTA Spectrum awards, JCK Design awards, JCK Jeweler’s Choice awards, and Platinum Guild Internationals, according to his shop’s website.
The final five episodes of “Outer Banks” season four are streaming now on Netflix. Meanwhile, William Travis Jewelry is open in Chapel Hill from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays through Fridays, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
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