History of Hip Hop Jewelry
Hip hop jewelry originated with the emergence of hip hop as a global force. In the early 80s, rappers such as run DMC, LL Cool J, and Slick Rick began to dominate local airwaves and suddenly they started gaining fans from all walks of life. Along with fans came record sales, and with record sales came money, lots of it. Because many rappers came from humble beginnings, buying hip hop jewelry was like obtaining a symbol of success. Jewelry has always been a status symbol, but with rappers, basic jewelry wasn’t enough. Because hip hop jewelry meant so much as a reminder of how far they came along, they wanted everyone to know. This started the trend of large, over the top iced out jewelry such as jumbo dookie rope chains, huge three and four finger gold rings, gold watches, gold teeth and more. Hip hop jewelry is not big and loud just for the sake of showing off; it’s rather a symbol of the journey one had to endure to reach the point of success and it’s meant to let others know of your accomplishments.
hip-hop jewelry
Hip hop jewelry consists of flashy and extravagant accoutrements that were originally designed to serve as status symbols. While the wearer may be referred to as “iced out,” it is also known as “bling bling,” “bling.” Hip hop jewelry is classified by its use of diamonds and gold.
It’s no secret that rappers have a long-running love affair with jewelry. More than a fashion statement, artists’ bling is a flex, a status symbol, a token of brotherhood, and most importantly, a screaming message of success.
diamonds rappers use
VVS diamonds are known to be one of the highest grades of diamonds in terms of clarity, they have little to no traces of carbon on them. The VVS category is split into two grades; VVS1 and VVS2. VVS1 is a higher clarity grade than VVS2. VVS are rare that’s why rappers like them.
Types of Hip Hop Jewelry
Hip hop jewelry comes in many forms. If you’ve got an exposed limb, chances are there is hip hop jewelry you can purchase to be worn on it. Hip hop jewelry styles are available in the form of pendants, chains, watches, rings, earrings, belt buckles, jean chains, teeth grillz, shoe grillz, and more. in the past there has been really unique designs such as 50 Cent’s spinning G-unit medallion. Rick Ross made Ruby Gem Pendants Popular. Recently Mini Pendants have been very popular. With hip hop jewelry, the sky is the limit.
HIP HOP JEWELLERY TODAY
Today, iced out jewellery is one of the most popular types of jewelry on the market. There’s nothing that quite stands out in the same way as a piece of jewellery covered in sparkling diamonds.
Hip hop jewellery trends today have transitioned slightly from heavy, chunky rope chains to large iced out pendants, sparkling diamond earring and watches encrusted with gems. Rap stars have been known to spend hundreds of thousands on iced out jewellery, with one of the most extravagant being Rick Ross, who spent a whopping $1,500,000 on a blinged-out self-portrait pendant.
HIP HOP’S INFLUENCE ON FASHION
Hip hop fashion quickly went from the streets to impacting high fashion; you can look around and see influences from the hip hop industry everywhere. Prestigious designer Karl Lagerfeld is well known for adding elements of the hip hop bling scene within his designs, adorning the Chanel runway with hip hop style including large chunky gold chains. Baggy trousers and nostalgic ’90s athletic wear have populated not only the runways, but also high street fashion in recent years.
The fashion industry has even been reflected back into hip hop music. Rapper and mogul Jay-Z even wrote an ode to the New York fashion designer Tom Ford, Gucci’s creative director for ten years, on his album Magna Carta Holy Grail.