There is so much new jewelry being shown off every week on social media, but some things help a piece stand out from the pack. Sometimes it’s the originality like Tyler, the Creator’s newest set of enamel grills painted to look like real teeth. Sometimes it’s the attention to even the smallest details like ASAP Rocky’s Baby Milo-inspired pendant of himself that recreates one of his signature outfits down to the pearl berets in his hair. Of course, sometimes the “wow” factor is enough. You can’t help but marvel at Megan Thee Stallion’s “Honeymoon” grills flooded with diamonds, or the giant head of Queen Elizabeth II hanging from Central Cee’s neck.
From pendants to grills to bracelets, check out our ranking for the top 10 best jewelry purchases of 2024, below.
Jeweler: Jewelry Unlimited
Month: September
When it comes time to get a new custom pendant, Sexyy Red always makes sure to have fun and embrace her inner child. For one of her latest pieces from go-to Atlanta jeweler Wafi Lalani, she took inspiration from Super Mario’s Mushroom Kingdom. The play on Princess Peach, which she dubs “Ghetto Princess Peach,” remixed the character with a money phone in her left hand, red rag tied around her right wrist, Soulja Boy-inspired “Sexyy Red” shades, and a mini “Ghetto Princess” chain around her neck. This is certainly the most nostalgic jewelry we saw in 2024.
Jeweler: Nadine Ghosn
Month: February
Another incredibly fun piece of jewelry debuted in 2024 courtesy of Nadine Ghosn. Known for her whimsical approach to jewelry that has included stackable burger rings and diamond necklaces that look like earbuds, this time Ghosn made a bracelet shaped like a crayon. Lil Yachty wore the unique piece in February, and his baby blue version was even personalized with “Yachty” written across the band resembling Crayola’s iconic font. The styles that released to the public in September were an official collaboration with Crayola and featured the brand’s actual logo.
Jeweler: Johnny Dang
Month: September
Megan Thee Stallion hit up fellow Houstonite and grills legend Johnny Dang for one of the craziest sets we saw in 2024. The “Honeymoon” set features all GIA-certified oval diamonds, flawless diamond pointers, and two heart-shaped pink diamonds on the bottom row of teeth. Creations like this are why many people still consider Dang the best grill maker in the game.
Jeweler: Alex Moss
Month: September
Every time Alex Moss reveals a new piece, he strengthens his case for being the best jeweler right now. This year, one of Moss’ highlights was this skull pendant celebrating Yeat’s album Lyfestyle. The pendant features a giant skull with two guns crossing behind it, a circular chain link border, and custom “Lyfestyle” type dripping over the top. Our favorite design element is the chain it hangs from, which consists of various 5.56mm and 9mm bullet-shaped links made of 14K white gold and 67.45 carats worth of white and black diamonds. As amazing as this chain is, it’s not even the best one that Moss made in 2024, if you can believe that.
Jeweler: Gabby Elan
Month: October
When celebrities want a creative set of grills crafted at the highest level, they visit the father-son duo of Gabby Elan. Tyler, the Creator has been a repeat client for years. One of his latest purchases is this set meant to look like actual yellowed teeth with tiny individual rubies, white diamonds, yellow diamonds, and paraiba tourmalines centered on each tooth. This has quickly become a signature piece of his Chromakopia-era style. You may have seen Tyler showing it off on his recent Billboard cover, and in the video for his “Hey Know” freestyle, “That Guy.”
Jeweler: Thomas Connelly, DDS, and Angel City Jewelers
Month: January
Ye kicked off the year with this insane set of titanium fronts that cost a whopping $850,000. The grill was inspired by the James Bond villain Jaws. Many believed that Ye actually exchanged his natural pearly whites for titanium teeth. Thomas Connelly, the dentist who did the procedure to install the shiny fronts, told Complex that Ye actually underwent a procedure called fixed prosthodontics that fixes grills to teeth. As many of Ye’s fashion choices have over the years, this one may have inspired a few others. Rihanna and ASAP Rocky rocked similar Jaws-inspired metal sets in April and June, respectively.
Jeweler: Gabby Elan
Month: May
With this set of grills, Ferg paid homage to his loved ones who have passed over the years. The eight-tooth top grill features enamel paintings of Takeoff, Virgil Abloh, ASAP Yams, and others on each tooth. Every portrait is outlined by an 18-karat yellow gold border. Ferg showed off the touching custom piece in his video for “MDMX” and also to the grand opening celebration of Ice Cold: An Exhibition of Hip-Hop Jewelry at the American Museum of Natural History. Sentimental jewelry is nothing new, but it is rare to see it done with a set of grills.
Jeweler: Alex Moss
Month: May
Remember when we said Alex Moss made an even better chain in 2024? This is the one. This pendant is the perfect mix of nostalgia and craftsmanship. It showcases Rocky in the signature art style of Bape’s Baby Milo characters complete with pearl berets in his hair, sunglasses on his face, a bulletproof vest, and a belt buckle to resemble the outfit he wore on stage during Rolling Loud Miami in 2023. The piece is made of 18-karat white gold and features VVS white, blue, brown, yellow, and black diamonds along with blue sapphires. Of course, the best-dressed rapper of the year flaunted it.
Jeweler: Gabby Elan
Month: June
Kendrick Lamar isn’t known for rocking a lot of jewelry, but whenever he does, you can expect it will be memorable. This year, that meant an insane grill by Gabby Elan that was reportedly made for the rapper’s birthday. The one-of-a-kind design includes teeth with a hand-painted portrait of actor/activist Dick Gregory, opal surrounded by diamonds, custom cut emerald, diamond and yellow sapphire mosaic, and more. We love a classic set of uniform grills flooded with diamonds, but having each individual tooth be its own piece of art makes this that much more visually interesting.
Jeweler: A Jewellers
Month: July
Our favorite new jeweler that we discovered in 2024 was UK-based Abtin Abassi of A Jewellers. The excellent work that Abassi does for Central Cee is the main reason why, especially this three-dimensional pendant of Queen Elizabeth II. It represents the rapper’s homeland, but also resembles how Queen Elizabeth’s face appears on British currency. One side is flooded with diamonds, while the other is polished rose gold. Since first being spotted in July, the giant piece has stayed around Central Cee’s neck and it already feels like one of those iconic chains that will be referenced for years to come. This isn’t just the best piece of jewelry we saw in 2024, but it might be one of the best in hip-hop history.
Read the full article here
