- 1,962
- 48
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2006
**..:The Official Jewelry Thread Vol. 11: You get a Jesus piece! You get a Jesus piece! Everybody gets a Jesus piece:..**
- Thread in 'General' Thread starter Started by frank mucus,
- Start date
- 133
- 11
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2008
On the front page of todays Wall Street Journal! Times have changed ... I guess a lot of guys are fakin it till they make it ....
[h4]Rappers Melting Down Grillz Due To Recession[/h4]Posted by: GGContent 1 hour ago | 94 Views
Source: online.wsj.com
See Original Story >>
1
http://globalgrind.com/content/669334/Rappers-Melting-Down-Grillz-Due-To-Recession/#
0
COMMENTS
SHARE
http://globalgrind.com/content/669334/Rappers-Melting-Down-Grillz-Due-To-Recession/#http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?...=Rappers+Melting+Down+Grillz+Due+To+Recessionhttp://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...ers-Melting-Down-Grillz-Due-To-Recession/&l=3http://twitter.com/home?status=Rappers+Melting+Down+Grillz+Due+To+Recession+http://bit.ly/10HXwz
After years of starring in rap-music lyrics and videos, "bling" is losing its ring.
The recession is cramping the style of hip-hop artists and wannabes -- many of whom are finding it difficult to afford the diamond-encrusted pendants and heavy gold chains they have long used to project an aura of outsized wealth.
In an attempt to keep up appearances, celebrity jewelers say rappers are asking them to make medallions with less-precious stones and metals. Some even whisper that the artists have begun requesting cubic zirconia, the synthetic diamond stand-in and QVC staple.
Hip-hop luminaries with the cash to keep it real are appalled. Bling aficionados fret that the art of "ice" is being watered down.
Rapper 50 Cent has relished the chance to accuse his musical adversaries of not glittering like gold. During a radio interview, the artist, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III, taunted rapper Rick Ross for wearing faux and rented jewelry. "Everything that you see has to absolutely be fake," said Mr. Jackson. Rick Ross, whose real name is William Leonard Roberts II, has denied the claims. Mr. Jackson didn't return requests for comment.
"A lot of these rappers simply don't have the money for real stuff anymore," says Jason Arasheben, who crafts custom jewelry for wealthy clientele, including Saudi royals and Hollywood movie stars, at his California boutique called Jason of Beverly Hills. "It's to the point where they are wearing imitation jewelry, and that's ridiculous."
Mr. Arasheben designed the colossus of hip-hop jewels three years ago for rapper Lil Jon: an enormous gold necklace that spells out "CRUNK AIN'T DEAD" with 3,756 round-cut white diamonds (Crunk is a southern rap subgenre that Lil Jon -- real name, Jonathan Mortimer Smith -- has struggled to keep alive). The neck-straining piece, which weighs more than five pounds, was recognized in 2007 by Guinness World Records as the largest diamond pendant on Earth.
[h6]'Big, Chintzy Junk'[/h6]
He also fashioned a pendant in the image of headphones bedecked in black and white diamonds a few years ago for rapper Biz Markie, whose whimsical jewelry hailed from a less self-conscious era in rap. The rapper -- whose real name is Marcel Theo Hall -- says he is saddened to see newer rappers favor big, chintzy junk over smaller jewels that illuminate personality.
"When I was wearing a big rope, it was a symbol that I was one of the elite," says Mr. Hall, whose 1990 hit "Just a Friend" is enjoying a renaissance on iTunes after being featured in a Heineken beer television ad. "These kids think size matters, but they be lyin'. It just makes them look silly."
Both Mr. Smith and Mr. Hall had planned to sell their pieces for charity last fall in an auction titled "Hip Hop's Crown Jewels." But in a sign of bling's fading shine, Phillips de Pury & Co. postponed the auction to March and then canceled it altogether due partly to insufficient interest from buyers.
From the dawn of rap music three decades ago, hip-hop artists have festooned themselves with gaudy ornaments to signify that they have risen above humble origins to become ghetto royalty.
English-American trailblazer Slick Rick sported a diamond-studded eye patch, portraying himself as the "Black Liberace," while the three members of Queens, N.Y.-based Run-D.M.C. rocked gold rope chains that seemed thick enough to hold a real anchor.
To be sure, phony or inferior ice has been around as long as rappers' traditional standard gear of two-turntables-and-a-microphone. But with Internet piracy cutting into musicians' record sales and the recession shrinking attendance for live shows, jewelers say the ersatz stuff has never been more widespread.
"Times are hard, ain't nobody rocking it like that anymore," says rapper and record executive Bryan "Birdman" Williams, who co-founded Cash Money Records in New Orleans in the early 1990s with his brother, Ronald "Slim" Williams. The independent label has sold more than 45 million albums.
The founders of the record label claim that its most famous artist, Lil Wayne, coined the term "bling" during a recording session to give a sound to blinding opulence. The word entered popular usage after the hit "Bling Bling" by then Cash Money artist B.G. and was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2003.
[h6]'D-Quality Diamonds'[/h6]
"People think these big pieces are blindin' but they be like D-quality diamonds, and when you try and sell them you learn they ain't worth a thing," says Slim Williams. "You can't be doing it like we did it no more."
In humid Houston, a Southern rap capital renowned as a mecca of ice, jeweler Johnny Dang says he is adapting to the changing climate by giving customers the less-expensive jewelry they want.
"The look is still big, it is still bling, but people are going with smaller diamonds and lower-karat gold," trading down from 18- and 14-karat alloys to 12k, which is only 50% gold, or less, says Mr. Dang. A Vietnamese immigrant, he started out at flea markets and now has a shop in the tony Galleria mall next to Neiman Marcus.
To survive, Mr. Dang is relying more often on machine-made versions of his jewelry that can cut the cost of a $10,000 handcrafted pendant in half.
Mr. Dang's "grillz" sales also have fallen off 60% in the recession. He and his business partner, the rapper Paul Wall, helped popularize the bejeweled dental retainers earlier this decade, when diamond-laced varieties molded with platinum were selling for tens of thousands of dollars.
[h6]Melting Down Grillz[/h6]
Now the recession has so damped the extravagance that a Web site called sellyourgoldteeth.com is doing brisk business buying grillz for meltdown value. "It's a sign of the times," says Mark Porcello of Porcello Estate Buyers, which runs the site.
Hip-hop artists aren't eager to admit to thrift, and numerous rappers rumored to be trading down declined to talk about the trend.
"You gotta understand, it is every rapper's fear to be exposed as a fraud," said Gregory Lewis of Brooklyn, who posts conversations with artists on the Internet under the alias "Doggie Diamonds, the interview king." "If you admit you wear fake jewelry, it is over for you. It's like bragging you drive a Lamborghini when you really drive a Toyota."
[h4]Rappers Melting Down Grillz Due To Recession[/h4]Posted by: GGContent 1 hour ago | 94 Views
Source: online.wsj.com
See Original Story >>
1
http://globalgrind.com/content/669334/Rappers-Melting-Down-Grillz-Due-To-Recession/#
0
COMMENTS
SHARE
http://globalgrind.com/content/669334/Rappers-Melting-Down-Grillz-Due-To-Recession/#http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?...=Rappers+Melting+Down+Grillz+Due+To+Recessionhttp://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...ers-Melting-Down-Grillz-Due-To-Recession/&l=3http://twitter.com/home?status=Rappers+Melting+Down+Grillz+Due+To+Recession+http://bit.ly/10HXwz
After years of starring in rap-music lyrics and videos, "bling" is losing its ring.
The recession is cramping the style of hip-hop artists and wannabes -- many of whom are finding it difficult to afford the diamond-encrusted pendants and heavy gold chains they have long used to project an aura of outsized wealth.
In an attempt to keep up appearances, celebrity jewelers say rappers are asking them to make medallions with less-precious stones and metals. Some even whisper that the artists have begun requesting cubic zirconia, the synthetic diamond stand-in and QVC staple.
Hip-hop luminaries with the cash to keep it real are appalled. Bling aficionados fret that the art of "ice" is being watered down.
Rapper 50 Cent has relished the chance to accuse his musical adversaries of not glittering like gold. During a radio interview, the artist, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III, taunted rapper Rick Ross for wearing faux and rented jewelry. "Everything that you see has to absolutely be fake," said Mr. Jackson. Rick Ross, whose real name is William Leonard Roberts II, has denied the claims. Mr. Jackson didn't return requests for comment.
"A lot of these rappers simply don't have the money for real stuff anymore," says Jason Arasheben, who crafts custom jewelry for wealthy clientele, including Saudi royals and Hollywood movie stars, at his California boutique called Jason of Beverly Hills. "It's to the point where they are wearing imitation jewelry, and that's ridiculous."
Mr. Arasheben designed the colossus of hip-hop jewels three years ago for rapper Lil Jon: an enormous gold necklace that spells out "CRUNK AIN'T DEAD" with 3,756 round-cut white diamonds (Crunk is a southern rap subgenre that Lil Jon -- real name, Jonathan Mortimer Smith -- has struggled to keep alive). The neck-straining piece, which weighs more than five pounds, was recognized in 2007 by Guinness World Records as the largest diamond pendant on Earth.
[h6]'Big, Chintzy Junk'[/h6]
He also fashioned a pendant in the image of headphones bedecked in black and white diamonds a few years ago for rapper Biz Markie, whose whimsical jewelry hailed from a less self-conscious era in rap. The rapper -- whose real name is Marcel Theo Hall -- says he is saddened to see newer rappers favor big, chintzy junk over smaller jewels that illuminate personality.
"When I was wearing a big rope, it was a symbol that I was one of the elite," says Mr. Hall, whose 1990 hit "Just a Friend" is enjoying a renaissance on iTunes after being featured in a Heineken beer television ad. "These kids think size matters, but they be lyin'. It just makes them look silly."
Both Mr. Smith and Mr. Hall had planned to sell their pieces for charity last fall in an auction titled "Hip Hop's Crown Jewels." But in a sign of bling's fading shine, Phillips de Pury & Co. postponed the auction to March and then canceled it altogether due partly to insufficient interest from buyers.
From the dawn of rap music three decades ago, hip-hop artists have festooned themselves with gaudy ornaments to signify that they have risen above humble origins to become ghetto royalty.
English-American trailblazer Slick Rick sported a diamond-studded eye patch, portraying himself as the "Black Liberace," while the three members of Queens, N.Y.-based Run-D.M.C. rocked gold rope chains that seemed thick enough to hold a real anchor.
To be sure, phony or inferior ice has been around as long as rappers' traditional standard gear of two-turntables-and-a-microphone. But with Internet piracy cutting into musicians' record sales and the recession shrinking attendance for live shows, jewelers say the ersatz stuff has never been more widespread.
"Times are hard, ain't nobody rocking it like that anymore," says rapper and record executive Bryan "Birdman" Williams, who co-founded Cash Money Records in New Orleans in the early 1990s with his brother, Ronald "Slim" Williams. The independent label has sold more than 45 million albums.
The founders of the record label claim that its most famous artist, Lil Wayne, coined the term "bling" during a recording session to give a sound to blinding opulence. The word entered popular usage after the hit "Bling Bling" by then Cash Money artist B.G. and was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2003.
[h6]'D-Quality Diamonds'[/h6]
"People think these big pieces are blindin' but they be like D-quality diamonds, and when you try and sell them you learn they ain't worth a thing," says Slim Williams. "You can't be doing it like we did it no more."
In humid Houston, a Southern rap capital renowned as a mecca of ice, jeweler Johnny Dang says he is adapting to the changing climate by giving customers the less-expensive jewelry they want.
"The look is still big, it is still bling, but people are going with smaller diamonds and lower-karat gold," trading down from 18- and 14-karat alloys to 12k, which is only 50% gold, or less, says Mr. Dang. A Vietnamese immigrant, he started out at flea markets and now has a shop in the tony Galleria mall next to Neiman Marcus.
To survive, Mr. Dang is relying more often on machine-made versions of his jewelry that can cut the cost of a $10,000 handcrafted pendant in half.
Mr. Dang's "grillz" sales also have fallen off 60% in the recession. He and his business partner, the rapper Paul Wall, helped popularize the bejeweled dental retainers earlier this decade, when diamond-laced varieties molded with platinum were selling for tens of thousands of dollars.
[h6]Melting Down Grillz[/h6]
Now the recession has so damped the extravagance that a Web site called sellyourgoldteeth.com is doing brisk business buying grillz for meltdown value. "It's a sign of the times," says Mark Porcello of Porcello Estate Buyers, which runs the site.
Hip-hop artists aren't eager to admit to thrift, and numerous rappers rumored to be trading down declined to talk about the trend.
"You gotta understand, it is every rapper's fear to be exposed as a fraud," said Gregory Lewis of Brooklyn, who posts conversations with artists on the Internet under the alias "Doggie Diamonds, the interview king." "If you admit you wear fake jewelry, it is over for you. It's like bragging you drive a Lamborghini when you really drive a Toyota."
- 931
- 11
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2002
oh yeh.... um naw.... the Clipse DID GO THE CHEAP ROUTE.
we were gonna make something that was challenging the crunk ain't dead piece...
and I've seen and held the new re up piece in person, it's terrible. but they paid under $10k for it. so oh well.
it was made terribly and not close to their logo. the reason why the LOSO piece is different is because the letters are raised above the platform 6mm
understand that this was the size of almost the NT plaque I was given. lol
the RE-UP GANG letters were each just over 2" tall
we were gonna make something that was challenging the crunk ain't dead piece...
and I've seen and held the new re up piece in person, it's terrible. but they paid under $10k for it. so oh well.
it was made terribly and not close to their logo. the reason why the LOSO piece is different is because the letters are raised above the platform 6mm
understand that this was the size of almost the NT plaque I was given. lol
the RE-UP GANG letters were each just over 2" tall
- 4,632
- 389
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2008
- 1,954
- 66
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2004
That's !%@%**' huge...Originally Posted by BENBALLER
oh yeh.... um naw.... the Clipse DID GO THE CHEAP ROUTE.
we were gonna make something that was challenging the crunk ain't dead piece...
and I've seen and held the new re up piece in person, it's terrible. but they paid under $10k for it. so oh well.
it was made terribly and not close to their logo. the reason why the LOSO piece is different is because the letters are raised above the platform 6mm
understand that this was the size of almost the NT plaque I was given. lol
the RE-UP GANG letters were each just over 2" tall
- 678
- 10
- Joined
- May 4, 2009
sure...rubies and blue diamonds...can someone give me some estimates?Originally Posted by lurkin2long
wth?you meant to say rubies?
red diamonds? and by aqua im guessin you mean blue diamonds? i think you want a g shock with gucci mane treated stones.
- 573
- 10
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2007
206 & Ben Baller: I did not make the cut this time but I will in the near future !!!!!!
- 3,594
- 44
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2004
stuff looks extra garbageOriginally Posted by rhester
- 2,796
- 231
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2002
Wall Street Journal press...so close, yet so far.
We'll get em another time.
We'll get em another time.
jchambers
Banned
- 5,282
- 2,025
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2008
What is this guy talking about? D colored diamonds are colorless.Originally Posted by michael32
On the front page of todays Wall Street Journal! Times have changed ... I guess a lot of guys are fakin it till they make it ....
[h4]Rappers Melting Down Grillz Due To Recession[/h4]Posted by: GGContent 1 hour ago | 94 Views
Source: online.wsj.com
See Original Story >>
1
http://globalgrind.com/content/669334/Rappers-Melting-Down-Grillz-Due-To-Recession/#
0
COMMENTS
SHARE
http://globalgrind.com/content/669334/Rappers-Melting-Down-Grillz-Due-To-Recession/#http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?...=Rappers+Melting+Down+Grillz+Due+To+Recessionhttp://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...ers-Melting-Down-Grillz-Due-To-Recession/&l=3http://twitter.com/home?status=Rappers+Melting+Down+Grillz+Due+To+Recession+http://bit.ly/10HXwz
"People think these big pieces are blindin' but they be like D-quality diamonds, and when you try and sell them you learn they ain't worth a thing," says Slim Williams. "You can't be doing it like we did it no more."
- 961
- 146
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2009
only dude coppin blue and pink diamonds...........(who even has red?) is pharellOriginally Posted by lurkin2long
wth?you meant to say rubies?
red diamonds? and by aqua im guessin you mean blue diamonds? i think you want a g shock with gucci mane treated stones.
i love a clean set up like this
i got some pics from my sis cam she got pics from miami memorial weekend from celebs to street dudes.
[h3]
why the hate for red cafe ? he did say the best girls are from connecticut[/h3]
- 70,049
- 24,223
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2004
naw that minimal 12mm..the links are tight and thick and extra round.
- 838
- 12
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2007
Nipsey piece is not Malcolm X, its a Slauson Boy logo.
- 28,214
- 12,565
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2003
his Brother has Millions worth of Jewels and knows nothing about the qualityOriginally Posted by JChambers
What is this guy talking about? D colored diamonds are colorless.Originally Posted by michael32
On the front page of todays Wall Street Journal! Times have changed ... I guess a lot of guys are fakin it till they make it ....
[h4]Rappers Melting Down Grillz Due To Recession[/h4]Posted by: GGContent 1 hour ago | 94 Views
Source: online.wsj.com
See Original Story >>
1
http://globalgrind.com/content/669334/Rappers-Melting-Down-Grillz-Due-To-Recession/#
0
COMMENTS
SHARE
http://globalgrind.com/content/669334/Rappers-Melting-Down-Grillz-Due-To-Recession/#http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?...=Rappers+Melting+Down+Grillz+Due+To+Recessionhttp://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...ers-Melting-Down-Grillz-Due-To-Recession/&l=3http://twitter.com/home?status=Rappers+Melting+Down+Grillz+Due+To+Recession+http://bit.ly/10HXwz
"People think these big pieces are blindin' but they be like D-quality diamonds, and when you try and sell them you learn they ain't worth a thing," says Slim Williams. "You can't be doing it like we did it no more."
- 70,049
- 24,223
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2004
i think nipsey's cuban's are fugazi....they are shaped eradic and similar to da trash cheap chains that on ebay.
- 3,807
- 11
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2006
I think Ben's Re-Up picture is hard to appreciate because there's nothing in the picture to compare it to since it's just on a table. I neverimagined those letters to be two inches tall until just reading it.
rjwco
Banned
- 1,599
- 11
- Joined
- May 19, 2008
yea nipseys chains look suspect,
- 70,049
- 24,223
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2004
- 10
- 10
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2004
Originally Posted by JChambers
What is this guy talking about? D colored diamonds are colorless.Originally Posted by michael32
On the front page of todays Wall Street Journal! Times have changed ... I guess a lot of guys are fakin it till they make it ....
[h4]Rappers Melting Down Grillz Due To Recession[/h4]Posted by: GGContent 1 hour ago | 94 Views
Source: online.wsj.com
See Original Story >>
1
http://globalgrind.com/content/669334/Rappers-Melting-Down-Grillz-Due-To-Recession/#
0
COMMENTS
SHARE
http://globalgrind.com/content/669334/Rappers-Melting-Down-Grillz-Due-To-Recession/#http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?...=Rappers+Melting+Down+Grillz+Due+To+Recessionhttp://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...ers-Melting-Down-Grillz-Due-To-Recession/&l=3http://twitter.com/home?status=Rappers+Melting+Down+Grillz+Due+To+Recession+http://bit.ly/10HXwz
"People think these big pieces are blindin' but they be like D-quality diamonds, and when you try and sell them you learn they ain't worth a thing," says Slim Williams. "You can't be doing it like we did it no more."
I think the KEY word is QUALITY... D- QUALITY... he didn't say that the stones used were D COLOR... therefore D- QUALITY stones would be worthless?
- 4,632
- 389
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2008
phillypac
Banned
- 750
- 10
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2008
agreedOriginally Posted by dgk3188
stuff looks extra garbageOriginally Posted by rhester
jchambers
Banned
- 5,282
- 2,025
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2008
I never heard of anybody grading diamond quality on a school report card scale.Originally Posted by Midnight XVI
Originally Posted by JChambers
What is this guy talking about? D colored diamonds are colorless.Originally Posted by michael32
On the front page of todays Wall Street Journal! Times have changed ... I guess a lot of guys are fakin it till they make it ....
[h4]Rappers Melting Down Grillz Due To Recession[/h4]Posted by: GGContent 1 hour ago | 94 Views
Source: online.wsj.com
See Original Story >>
1
http://globalgrind.com/content/669334/Rappers-Melting-Down-Grillz-Due-To-Recession/#
0
COMMENTS
SHARE
http://globalgrind.com/content/669334/Rappers-Melting-Down-Grillz-Due-To-Recession/#http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?...=Rappers+Melting+Down+Grillz+Due+To+Recessionhttp://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...ers-Melting-Down-Grillz-Due-To-Recession/&l=3http://twitter.com/home?status=Rappers+Melting+Down+Grillz+Due+To+Recession+http://bit.ly/10HXwz
"People think these big pieces are blindin' but they be like D-quality diamonds, and when you try and sell them you learn they ain't worth a thing," says Slim Williams. "You can't be doing it like we did it no more."
I think the KEY word is QUALITY... D- QUALITY... he didn't say that the stones used were D COLOR... therefore D- QUALITY stones would be worthless?
- 10
- 10
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2004
Originally Posted by JChambers
I never heard of anybody grading diamond quality on a school report card scale.Originally Posted by Midnight XVI
Originally Posted by JChambers
What is this guy talking about? D colored diamonds are colorless.Originally Posted by michael32
On the front page of todays Wall Street Journal! Times have changed ... I guess a lot of guys are fakin it till they make it ....
[h4]Rappers Melting Down Grillz Due To Recession[/h4]Posted by: GGContent 1 hour ago | 94 Views
Source: online.wsj.com
See Original Story >>
1
http://globalgrind.com/content/669334/Rappers-Melting-Down-Grillz-Due-To-Recession/#
0
COMMENTS
SHARE
http://globalgrind.com/content/669334/Rappers-Melting-Down-Grillz-Due-To-Recession/#http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?...=Rappers+Melting+Down+Grillz+Due+To+Recessionhttp://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...ers-Melting-Down-Grillz-Due-To-Recession/&l=3http://twitter.com/home?status=Rappers+Melting+Down+Grillz+Due+To+Recession+http://bit.ly/10HXwz
"People think these big pieces are blindin' but they be like D-quality diamonds, and when you try and sell them you learn they ain't worth a thing," says Slim Williams. "You can't be doing it like we did it no more."
I think the KEY word is QUALITY... D- QUALITY... he didn't say that the stones used were D COLOR... therefore D- QUALITY stones would be worthless?
lol, i know what you're saying, but maybe they made it reader friendly for the people that aren't up on the actual diamond grading scale
- 3,207
- 22
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2002
How much would a 14K yellow gold miami cuban braclet the same thickness as the one used with the re-up gang piece. probably 8"-8.5" long.
- 4,510
- 26
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2002
I like this setup......simple & cleanOriginally Posted by lurkin2long
