While many musicians love their jewelry some can forget to pay for it. Last month I wrote about Wyclef Jean facing a lawsuit over unpaid-for jewels, this week it's Lil Wayne. The rapper whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. has been ordered by a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge to pay a New Orleans jeweler $146,000 for a diamond ring and necklace. Lil Wayne had made arrangements with jeweler Jack Sutton to pay for the pieces in monthly installments in 2006. Sutton took Carter to court because Carter had made only one $24,000 payment over the last two years.
Carter may return the $138,000 ring instead of paying in cash. The Miami Herald also reports that according to a May 6 notice of federal tax lien filed with Miami-Dade County, Carter owes nearly a million dollars ($977,840.81) to the IRS in income tax.
If you just can't seem to fit enough diamonds into your life then here's a new place to put them: on your bathroom faucets. Designed by architect Nilo Gioacchini, the Oz Diamond Edition faucet consists of gold with a strip of 282 sparkling natural diamonds. For the room that just needs more bling I guess. Of course they're beautiful, and any sink with one of these faucets will also be beautiful, but diamonds in the kitchen and the bathroom? It kinda strikes me as a waste of jewels (not to mention a pain to keep clean).
Luxury cars are usually about a fast engine, a smooth ride, and extra features for comfort and convenience, but this luxury vehicle is all about the bling. It's a Fiat 500 Pepita and it's all decked out with a 24k gold paint job, Swarovski crystal studded gear shift, hand brake, and foot pedals, cashmere floor mats (cashmere on the floor?!), and gold painted alloy wheels. Plus you get a choice of seats made of crocodile, snake, shark, skate or lizard leather and an assortment of precious gems to add to the interior. €60,000
Bandages for the Heart were designed as symbols of tough times, to represent both the injury and the healing. They aren't real bandages (like these Swarovski ones) for use on actual physical wounds, but instead are meant to be worn as badges of honor, or perhaps inspiration, again and again. Designed by Alysia Dee Kraus, Bandages for the Heart are available in either sterling silver or 18k gold with garnet jewels. Each comes wrapped in a gauze towel for a unique presentation and, if you want to be really unique, you can always opt for the wedding band(aid) version. $250 - $1300
Made by E.K.D.O and called Icepiks, these jewelry accent pieces are quite beautiful and although they're tiny they're definitely not subtle or understated. Made of bright gold in yellow, white, or rose and encrusted with jewels like diamonds, rubies, and sapphires they're designed to let the wooden end of the toothpick take care of business while the end you're holding brags style and luxury. What a gorgeous little bit of glitter to give this Christmas! $800-$3000+
Rich gamers want bling too, you know, and they only want to play with the very best of gaming equipment. So both of those statements might be true (I admit I don't really know) but I doubt either of them refers to bling or equipment like this diamond encrusted Sony Playstation controller. Made up of solid 18k white gold and over 68ct in black diamonds it's actually a pendant meant to be worn on a chain.
Yes, because that makes it all better.
No word on how much this little beauty is worth -- the owner claims it was a gift.
Here at Luxist we've covered a lot of blinged out mp3 players, but what we haven't covered is a lot of blinged out mp3 players for dogs.
I didn't even know you could get an mp3 player for your pooch, so getting one covered in gold and diamonds obviously never even crossed my mind until I saw this. The music is supposed coordinate with the dog's mood and enhance their health (seriously?), and of course the gold and diamonds are just supposed to help the dog (and you) feel fancy. Priced around $2000.
"The Salvatore "Sammy Bull" Gravano's jewelry, which is being auctioned off on November 3 by Sierra Auctions in Phoenix, looks exactly like what you might expect an infamous mafia man's jewels might look like. The collection is heavy on the diamond pinky rings and gold watches with a wide variety of personalized gold and diamonds for both Sam and his wife Debbie. The money collected from the auction will go into the federal racketeering program to fund other investigations. Gravano was the man who squealed on John Gotti and entered the witness protection program but was later caught in a drug bust. The NY Post reports that the pieces were collected at a police raid of Gravano's home. The jewelry is expected to fetch at least $100,000 not because of the pieces themselves but because they were Gravano's.
Gallery: Sammy "The Bull" Gravano's Jewelry Collection
In the category of "oh no he dih-ehhhnt," we offer for your enjoyment a stretch Ferrari limo, complete with round tail lights, ceramic brakes and nine-foot gullwing doors. We're not sure if the doors quite warrant the brooming of the mini-bar, but to each his own.
The beauty in question was commissioned by by Style Limousines of Manchester and involved almost $400,000 in mods, not the least of which was welding in the massive middle that makes the pony stretch so. The extra girth isn't enough to slow this Ferrari down much, however -- 0-60 in under six seconds and a top speed of 170 ain't too shabby.
I love my Macbook, but I don't know that I'd ever considering going so far as to plate it in gold with a big diamond-studded apple logo. But if you're of a different opinion and have the money to burn then you should get in touch with the team over at Computer Choppers and commission your own customized laptop casing, with options including gold or platinum plating with diamonds, sapphires, and other gems. Pricing varies, of course, but estimates for a gold-plated Macbook Pro run around $1200-$1500 plus another $500-$2400 for the logo (depending if you want CZs or diamonds).
I doubt my Grandfather would be very keen on wearing this hearing aid even if somebody paid him, but of course there's always somebody out there willing (even if it's only the one person who designed it!). Made by Widex, this digital hearing aid is cast in 24k gold and encrusted with 220 diamonds. And I can't help but notice that Widex gave their logo on the bottom some extra attention, so any admirers will be sure to know where they can get one of their own. Get yours for only $42,590 and let the gawking begin.
I don't quite get it, but we seem to be seeing the smallest of the iPods, the Shuffle, getting decked out more than any of the others. Now don't get me wrong, the Shuffle is cute as a button and the bling looks good on it, I just can't understand why people would bother to decorate a gadget that costs less than $100 and is the "lowest" member of its own family.
But if you're going to do it then do it all out, right? How about $40,000 worth of 'all out?' Because that's how much this pretty little diamond and gold coated iPod will run you. And for that price no detail is overlooked -- there's even diamonds and gold on the earbuds.
Although it's not unusual for artists to be, well, unusual, French artist Hubert Duprat has an especially strange way of expressing himself: by blinging up fly larvae.
In case you're wondering, this is a Caddis fly larvae in a shell it made for itself out of the fancy materials Duprat gave it to work with. Duprat collects the larvae from their natural habitat of ponds and streams and puts them in an aquarium where they make their shells in a controlled environment consisting of gold, pearls, and other precious stones. From what I can gather he doesn't do much with the larvae after that and they soon become full-fledged Caddis flies, leaving their discarded shells behind for other larvae to use and modify for themselves.
If you're all about over-the-top bling and have a new iPhone you're looking to glam up, then consider covering it with your own design of Swarovski crystals. The website Crystal Icing.com offers you the choice of 1500+ regular sized crystals or 3000+ tiny ones laid out in any pattern or picture you want on your iPhone for $295. They have a selection of patterns to choose from or you can submit your own using the over 75 available crystal colors. I haven't tried this, but among other things I'd be leery to part with my iPhone (if I only had one) in order to send it in for decorating.
If you are running out of places to put your diamonds, consider your sneakers. The perfect accessory to those pricey limited edition sneaks just might be Kickbars, jewel-encrusted shoelace clips. The bars, which feature emeralds, sapphires, rubies and diamonds set in white gold, can also be used on bracelets and necklaces. The original Kickbar has 54 G color, VS1 diamonds pave set into the rectangular bar (a total weight of 2 carats) and sells for $7500.
An LA Times article earlier this spring highlights another way to make your shoes sparkle, a company called Greedy Genius is selling interchangeable diamond eyelets.
While many musicians love their jewelry some can forget to pay for it. Last month I wrote about Wyclef Jean facing a lawsuit over unpaid-for jewels, this week it's Lil Wayne. The rapper whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. has been ordered by a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge to pay a New Orleans jeweler $146,000 for a diamond ring and necklace. Lil Wayne had made arrangements with jeweler Jack Sutton to pay for the pieces in monthly installments in 2006. Sutton took Carter to court because Carter had made only one $24,000 payment over the last two years.
