Icebox is known for making amazing custom jewelry for stars like Lil Yachty and Bad Bunny. But its latest project is one of its most unorthodox to date. For the 2024 Grammys, the Atlanta-based jewelry company worked with Bose to create an iced-out pair of its new Ultra Open Earbuds. It was debuted by Colombian singer Maluma on the red carpet ahead of the awards show.
“It’s awesome to be part of it, to see a superstar like Maluma wearing something we crafted and designed,” Icebox co-founder and co-owner Zahir Jooma tells Complex.
The one-of-a-kind pair features 365 VS diamonds and 22 grams of 14K white gold. While an exact value could not be provided, they are valued around $20,000.
“Making a pendant is easy but making gold and diamonds to go around an existing product is very hard,” says Jooma. “We had to 3D scan it and kind of reverse engineer the headphones. We had to make sure that our pieces worked with the moving parts because obviously the gold and diamond parts are not flexible. They still have to be comfortable in the ear.”
The diamond-encrusted ear buds took a team of 12 people to create. It started with Bose sending a pair of Ultra Open Earbuds to Icebox. They had to be scanned to 3D print a wax mold, so that Icebox could properly test the diamond-encrusted white gold plates that would eventually be fitted to the real pair for Maluma. According to Icebox Brands Partnerships Manager Skylar Langfeldt, the final version we saw on the Grammys red carpet was narrowed down from 28 preliminary designs. As you can expect, some trial and error was involved.
“You have to destroy at least one pair to test it,” says Jooma. “You have to see how much pressure you can put on them. We don’t want to glue something on that is just going to pop off. We want it to be secure without affecting the performance of the headphones."
Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time that Icebox has covered some Bose headphones in diamonds. Other special projects have included over-the-ear headphones for Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Coi Leray in 2023. Icebox brings the same attention to detail to all of its projects, no matter the client.
“I think every project that we do we put our all into it,” says Langfeldt. “Even from the beginning, we never cut corners when we did things. Whether it's a small brand or a big brand, we try to go all out."
In case you were wondering if you could get a pair of Maluma’s earbuds for yourself, not quite. Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, sans diamonds, don't hit stores until later this year. The diamond-encrusted version is exclusive, at least for the time being. Jooma is already expecting certain clients to be asking for a pair.
“Once some of our celebrity clients see the customs on social media they’re like, ‘Man, I got to tell my Bose guy that I need a pair,’” says Jooma. “We haven’t finalized any future projects yet, but two of our clients have contacted their reps. Yachty was like, ‘If y’all make me a pair of these, I’ll work with them to design them and rock them.’”
When it comes to what creative jewelry projects Icebox would want to work on next, Jooma has his eyes set on another industry.
“I would love to get more into clothing,” says Jooma. “We don’t think about the profitability as much as we just want to be part of that because nobody’s done it. We want to do it with the right company.”
