Ben Baller has become synonymous with bling.
Over the past decade, the 46-year-old has established himself as one of the biggest names in the jewelry business, having created neck-snapping custom pieces for mega-stars like Kanye West, ASAP Rocky, Frank Ocean, Nas, the Weeknd, Mariah Carey, and Drake. His creativity and dedication to craftsmanship is unparalleled, which is why many people consider him the greatest jeweler ever. Ben agrees 100 percent with the assertions.
On Tuesday, Ben shared his list of the top 20 jewelers of all time. The post includes names like Jacob the Jeweler, Jason of Beverly Hills, Iceman Nick, Jimmy Boi, and King Johnny. But the No. 1 spot, of course, went to himself, as he believes he relied strictly on his talent—not by buying "corny" promotions—to build his reputation and inspire others in the industry.
"The greatest jewelers of all time is defined by how big an impact you made in the game. Not how many pieces you made, but how creative and crazy your custom work is/was," he explained. "Also how consistent your game is while always leveling up [...] How many jewelers turn down $50,000-$100,000 jobs? How many jewelers inspired other to want to also become jewelers? I think if you can answers those questions fairly then you know who the king is."
Ben also pointed to the pervasive discrimination within the jewelry business, and said there would be a lot more black jewelers if "the diamond and gold game wasn't so racist."
You can check out Ben's full list and comments below.
His list has already gotten comments from the likes of Fat Joe, who believed Ofir Ben Shimon and Avi Davidov of Pristine Jewelers should be on the top of the list while others believe TV Johnny is too low.
