Sponsored by the Gemological Institute of America
Biggie’s Crown Goes for Nearly $600K at Sotheby’s Hip-Hop Sale
A buyer with more than a dollar and a dream bought the plastic headpiece, which sold for twice as much as Sotheby’s originally estimated.

New York—A plastic crown worn by one of hip-hop’s most revered artists in an iconic photo sold for more than half a million dollars at auction Tuesday.
The Notorious B.I.G.’s headpiece from a 1997 photoshoot led Sotheby’s “Hip Hop” auction in New York, a sale that celebrated the history and cultural impact hip-hop has had on art and culture from the late 1970s through its Golden Age of the mid-1980s and mid-1990s to the present.
The auction included art, photography, vintage and modern fashion, historic and new jewels, important publications, and rare ephemera like flyers and posters, many of which were consigned directly to Sotheby’s by hip-hop artists and figures.
Fittingly, the sale’s top lot was the crown used to make the Notorious B.I.G., real name Christopher Wallace and also known as Biggie or Biggie Smalls, look like New York royalty.
Wallace donned the crown—plastic with multicolored plastic gems—during the iconic 1997 K.O.N.Y. (King of New York) portrait session with photographer Barron Claiborne, which took place just three days before Biggie was murdered in Los Angeles.
In photographing the rapper for the cover of Rap Pages Magazine, Claiborne’s idea was to portray him as the city’s king sitting on his throne but in a simpler way, providing a contrast to the overindulgent imagery of the late ‘90s.
Claiborne is the one who put the crown up for auction, as it has been in his possession since the 1997 photo shoot.
The interior of the crown bears the inscription “Crown from Biggie KONY Shot NYC 3-6-97” and bears the signatures of both Biggie and Claiborne.
Included in the lot were three prints of the K.O.N.Y photo signed by Claiborne and the 10th anniversary K.O.N.Y. photograph.
It sold for $594,750, nearly doubling its highest pre-sale estimate, after five bidders competed for more than seven minutes, Sotheby’s said.
Of the fine jewelry lots in the auction, Fab 5 Freddy’s “MTV” gold and diamond ring sold for the most, garnering $35,280.
It is set with 20 round diamonds weighing about half a carat each.
A multicolored diamond eye patch owned by British-American rapper and style icon Slick Rick (real name, Richard Walters), meanwhile, sold for $25,200.
Made by Jacob the Jeweler according to a design created by Slick Rick’s wife and manager for his 40th birthday, the eye patch has 20 carats of round near-colorless and colored diamonds in pink, yellow, blue-green and black.

Other notable highlights of the sale include an original, sealed 12-inch Rammellzee vs. K-Rob “Beat Bop” single with original artwork by Jean-Michel Basquiat from 1983 that sold for $126,000, smashing its pre-sale estimate high of $3,500, and the “Wall of Boom” art installation, featuring 32 rare vintage boomboxes from the early ‘80s and ‘90s set on a custom-built shelf and wired so they function together.
The Wall of Boom went for $113,400.
There was also an archive of 22 autographed love letters written by a 16-year-old Tupac Shakur to a high school sweetheart who was a fellow student at the Baltimore School of the Arts. They sold for $75,600.
In total, Sotheby’s Hip Hop auction, held live in New York Tuesday night, garnered more than $2 million and was 91 percent sold by lot.
It was organized in collaboration with Monica Lynch, former president of Tommy Boy Records who helped launch the careers of legends like Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force, Queen Latifah, De La Soul and Naughty by Nature.
A portion of proceeds from the sale will benefit the Queens Public Library Foundation to support its Hip Hop Programs and Building Beats, a nonprofit community organization that teaches tech, entrepreneurial and leadership skills to underserved youth through deejay and music programs.
The Latest

The 2025 Australian Open champion is the jewelry brand’s first athlete ambassador.

The West Village jewelry boutique’s new shop-in-shop is the cornerstone of Nordstrom’s revamped jewelry hall.

The Seymour & Evelyn Holtzman Bench Scholarship from Jewelers of America returns for a second year.

This past year, the manufacturer said it recorded below-zero emissions per carat of natural diamond.


The brand’s “Golden Strada” statement necklace features round, marquise, and pear diamonds that sparkle like Fourth of July fireworks.

JSA’s Scott Guginsky provided a list of nine security measures jewelers should observe while locking up for the long weekend.

The countdown is on for the JCK Las Vegas Show and JA is pulling out all the stops.

Located on Rodeo Drive, the store’s design was inspired by Hollywood and Los Angeles culture.

The new location continues the brand’s celebration of its 25th anniversary.

The online watch marketplace’s “Time Is Our Thing” campaign highlights the importance of time.

She will oversee strategic planning, fundraising, industry partnerships, and the launch of the Gem Legacy Campus in Tanzania.

Working with Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit and law enforcement, Pandora helped to shut down a large-scale counterfeit network in China.

The jewelry company has closed its three California brick-and-mortar stores, as well as its online shop, for now.

The company is providing the opportunity for an FIT student to work alongside master diamond cutter Willie Lopez in its workshop.

He is remembered for his successful entrepreneurship, generosity, and dedication to his family.

The jewelry store chain has reportedly been struggling with costs related to tariffs as well as tough retail competition.

Welcome warm summer days with red hot rubies perfectly chosen as July’s birthstone.

Co-founders Afzal Imram and Lin Ruiyin brought their son’s story of a cosmic egg, toadstool, and railroad to life in their new collection.

The best time to prepare for the holiday season is right now, according to columnist Emmanuel Raheb.

This year’s winner is Morgan Keefe, who is currently studying at GIA to be a gemologist.

“The Jewelry Book” comes out this September.

The company is focused on modernizing the custom jewelry buying experience with e-commerce tools like product visualization and 3D styling.

Following its recent acquisition, the storied brand has updated its leadership team and regional managers.

AGS also named the recipient of its “Women in Leadership” scholarship.

The 20-karat yellow gold and diamond wrap ring is modeled after the Monstera plants in the garden of the brand’s Miami villa.

Rocksbox President Allison Vigil shared the retailer’s expansion plans, and her thoughts on opening stores in malls.