Diddy Once Bought Fake Diamonds and Tried to Pass Them Off as Real
Sean “Diddy” Combs has amassed a sizable net worth over the years. And like many other hip-hop figures with lots of disposable income, Diddy has iced himself out with diamond jewelry and built an ever-growing collection of bling. But that doesn’t mean that all of the diamonds in his collection are real.
Diddy’s net worth is almost $1 billion
After getting his start at Uptown Records, Diddy founded his own record label, Bad Boy Records, in 1993. One of his first signees was none other than his friend, future rap legend The Notorious B.I.G.
Bad Boy has boasted some of the biggest names in hip-hop on its roster over the years. Acts like Faith Evans, 112, Total, The Lox, Foxy Brown, and Cassie have been a part of the Bad Boy family at some point. Today, artists like Janelle Monáe and Machine Gun Kelly are signed to Bad Boy.
Over the past three decades, Diddy has grown his bank account with the success of Bad Boy’s artists, as well as his own business dealings, such as the popular Cîroc vodka brand. According to Wealthy Gorilla, the rapper and music mogul is worth approximately $900 million today.
Diddy once bought fake diamonds in Saint Martin
Despite being able to buy anything he wants, including expensive jewelry, that doesn’t mean Diddy always wants to. In 2018, GQ spoke with former Bad Boy artists and other associates of his to paint a picture of Diddy behind the scenes.
Fonzworth Bentley, Diddy’s former personal valet, recalled a story when they were in Saint Martin in the Caribbean and Diddy was captivated by diamond jewelry being sold in stores.
“He went in town to get the mother of two of his children a gift,” Bentley recounted. “So there are all these really nice boutiques and we fell into this one boutique and there were these diamond watches and they were really beautiful.”
“There was something really unique about them and I remember him asking, ‘Hey let me see this one.’ He picked it up and he was looking at it and then the price tag was there, and the price tag was something like $2,500. He was like, ‘Wait, these are fake?’ And the woman was like, ‘Yeah, these aren’t real.’ And he was like, ‘Wait, hold on, let me see this one right here,'” he continued.
“So he puts it on and we’re looking at it and we’re both marveling at it,” he remembered. “He looks at me and he goes, ‘They ain’t gonna think it’s fake on Diddy.'”
Diddy has a huge jewelry collection
In addition to his (fake) diamond watches, Diddy also has an extensive array of iced-out watches and chains at his home.
In 2019, for example, he took to his Instagram Stories to show viewers his collection of watches, chains, rings, and other pieces of jewelry, all with VVS diamonds. Celebrity jeweler Eric Mavani joined Diddy as he appraised his bling.
