What exactly is hip hop jewelry?

While gold and diamond jewelry always convey a message of social status, this is especially so in the case of hip hop jewelry (aka 'bling' since the late 1990's when the Cash Money Millionaires came up with the term). Hip hop jewelry is usually made of gold and diamonds, but it is not restricted to those materials. White gold and platinum are also often used in the making of hip hop jewelry. The idea behind wearing hip hop jewelry is to show what you've got and boast your wealth, which is why this type of jewelry is usually very large and ostentatious. It's the type of jewelry that never goes unnoticed. Hip hop jewelry became popular and fashionable in the 1980's when hip hop music artists and emcees began wearing this type of jewelry as an expression of their newfound fame and fortune. Perhaps the first hip hop artist to begin wearing hip hop jewelry was Kurtis Blow, with his many necklaces featuring very large pendants. The hip hop music legends of Run DMC also started a trend when they wore bulky gold necklaces on their jogging suits. Flava Flav made his mark on hip hop jewelry when he started to adorn himself in enormous clocks on gold necklaces. Up to the 1990's the main form of hip hop jewelry was yellow gold. However, since 1990 when hip hop fashion became increasingly designer oriented, hip hop jewelry took a turn towards platinum, white gold, sterling silver, and especially diamonds. These days every piece of hip hop jewelry or accessory imaginable is available in diamond encrusting. Grills (aka 'grillz') are usually made of gold or platinum, are molds of one's teeth made to cover the teeth with diamonds. This piece of jewelry has also become very popular since the late 1990's. Though the term 'bling' was originally meant to signify hip hop jewelry, it has grown to include virtually any piece of diamond jewelry.

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