Figure of the month: 500,000

What do Jay-Z, Kanye West, Soulja Boy and Diddy have in common – apart from the fact that they are famous rappers? Their penchant for wearing expensive jewellery, especially extra-thick gold chains, of course. They serve to demonstrate musical and financial success, but are often also intended to refer to the rappers’ origins and thus emphasise their street credibility. And as in all domains traditionally more masculine (no longer applicable today), there is fierce competition – even when it comes to gold chains: Whose is the biggest – or most valuable?

Gold chic from head to toe

In the early 1970s, hip-hop was a street culture mainly practised at block parties with artists such as DJ Cool Herc, an early pioneer of hip hop. Clothing and jewellery initially played a subordinate role. When hip-hop became mainstream in the early 1980s, this changed fundamentally: as the music style garnered increasing commercial success, gold chains and other symbols of success also became more important for rappers. Whether it was the infamous 2 Live Crew or Run DMC – they all focussed on bling. The partnership of Run DMC and Adidas even brought forth golden trainers. While other typical insignia of hip-hop lost significance over time – such as pimped luxury cars bouncing through music videos – the gold chain remains a style staple for most rappers.

Most expensive chains worn by Soulja Boy and Diddy 

The first place on the list of rappers with the most valuable gold chains is shared by Soulja Boy and Diddy (formerly known as Puff Daddy, then P-Diddy): their neck jewellery is worth around US$500,000. Surprisingly, Kanye West, known for his extravagant style, comes in third with a gold chain worth US$300,000. Beyoncé’s husband Jay-Z is somewhat more modest in fourth place, with a gold chain worth US$200,000 – but may also just prefer his load a little lighter, since the precious metal is extremely heavy: even Jay-Z’s necklace weighs around 5 kilograms.