Low is the New High: Luxury Paper Clip Diamond Jewelry

Low is the new high luxury in the just-launched Virgil Abloh “Office Supplies” diamond jewelry line, which features necklaces, money clips, bracelets and earrings in the shape of a paper clip.

a master class in modern luxury

If you ask us, Virgil Abloh embodies the spirit of luxury in a modern age. He’s a polymath who designs furniture, apparel and jewelry (he holds an MA in architecture). The first African-American director of a French fashion house. A designer who can create distinctive apparel and accessories for both men and women. Street wear and ready-to-wear. Everyday accessible to completely out of reach. Wholesale and retail. Independent and yet involved in numerous collaborations.

Abloh, 39, does it all, and all while maintaining his essential humanity and intellectual curiosity.

So what’s he up to now? A jewelry line that is simultaneously extremely high and prosaically low: diamond jewelry in the shape of paper clips.

We have to say, we love this idea. It reminds us of how we felt when we first came across the object that led to our brand name. Like a dandelion chandelier, a diamond paperclip necklace is the ultimate mash-up of something humble and prosaic and something dazzling and rare.

The juxtaposition demands that we rethink what’s precious and what’s beautiful. It forces us to see luxury in a new light. And we are all about that.

low is the new high: paper clip diamond jewelry

This new modern luxury jewelry line – aptly named “Office Supplies” – is a collaboration between Jacob Arabo – also known as Jacob the Jeweler – and Virgil Abloh.

In an interview, Abloh explained the idea that inspired the line. “A paperclip is less than five cents. Done in diamonds it obviously exudes a different value, but it offers the same intrigue to the brain when you look at it,” Abloh says. “I love the conundrum.”

There are multiple layers of meaning behind taking an accessible and child-like object like a paper clip and transforming it into a necklace or an earring – a dazzling object of desire. As an outsider in the refined world of high luxury, Abloh made his name in part by being a provocateur. “Part of my story arc is to legitimize things that were not always seen as ‘the highest version’. This does that,” he says. 

Previously, accessories designed under the brand name Off-White by Virgil Abloh have featured other common office supplies – most notably, binder clips.  And his Louis Vuitton menswear offerings have included apparel featuring metal office staples.

“I just love mundane objects,” says Abloh. “When you dedicate your life to design like I have, what becomes more intriguing is design that has no identity, whether it’s a staple or a paper clip. There’s no one person who sat and invented that. It was designed by humanity, by community. To me that’s an ultimate design.” 

 

The “Office Supplies” line, with prices ranging from $3,000 to $72,000, includes money clips, bracelets, earrings and necklaces in 18K yellow, white or rose-gold, with white or yellow diamonds. Each paperclip has been engraved with “Office Supplies” to highlight the inspiration behind the range.

There’s an additional element that makes this project a true modern luxury. You can’t just show up and purchase a paper clip necklace or earring. Instead, there’s a screening process.

Abloh notes: “People will fill out a short questionnaire, submit their request, and I decide where these pieces will go on a case-by-case basis. I want it to feel very old school. It’s bespoke.”

low is the new high: paper clip diamond jewelry

If you’re ready to invest in a paper clip necklace or earring with the attendant bragging rights on being admitted to the club of people who qualify to own one, submit an email to officesupplies@canary—yellow.com. Abloh and jeweler Jacob Arabo will personally review and approve every order submitted; the made-to-order creations take six to eight weeks for delivery.

What say you, dear reader? Are you in?

join our community

For access to insider ideas and information on the world of luxury, sign up for our Dandelion Chandelier Newsletter here. And see luxury in a new light.

Forward This Article