Jeweler Nadine Ghosn Discusses Her $6,000 Building Blocks and $20,000 Burger Rings
The independent jeweler has captured the attention of Drake, Lil Yachty, NIGO, and more with her whimsical creations. Here are the stories behind them.
Blocks and crayons. For many of us, these items helped us explore our creative spark as children. Whether we remember building castles or coloring in pages for hours, these objects remind us of life before monthly bills and cubicles became out realityt. But Jeweler Nadine Ghosn never stopped embracing her inner child. She's transformed these objects into fine jewelry, making blocks out of stones like jade and white quartz, which are then affixed to rose gold rings. She's morphed Crayons into gold bracelets with turquoise and coral tips. These items aren’t just child’s play things now. They are luxurious pieces of jewelry that can be worn forever.
“There's this child-like notion that's inside of me that creatively gets me curious,” Ghosn tells Complex. ”I feel like we all have inner children and we kind of lose sight of them. My pieces are reviving the inner child and the curiosity that is in that realm.”
You may have seen Ghosn’s work popping up on your social media feed lately. She designed a crayon-shaped bracelet that Lil Yachty wore back in February and crafted custom chains for Drake inspired by For All the Dogs, like a diamond leash he wore in the “First Person Shooter” video and a chain made of bone-shaped links that could be seen around his neck during the It’s All a Blur tour. Even though it debuted eight years ago, her burger ring has been a mainstay on moodboards. New eyes are still discovering the whimsical design for the first time.
“I always say, ‘Don't think outside of the box. Think like there is no box,’” says Ghosn.
Unlike most people in the jewelry industry, Ghosn doesn’t come from a long lineage of jewelers. She studied economics and art at Stanford. Upon graduating in 2011, she worked for BCG's Luxury Practice Group in New York City and participated in a two-year management track program at Hermes. By 2015, she realized she was ready to leave the corporate world behind. The then-25-year-old turned down a cushy role at Hermes to follow her passion. She was going to pursue jewelry full time.
“My older sister would ask for dolls. My younger sister, books. I would ask my dad for jewelry,” says Ghosn. “But I never once envisioned it as a potential career goal. But there was a pivotal moment in my career where I realized the corporate world is not for me. I have so much energy. I want to create something. It's very hard to do that in a very old-school environment.”
Ghosn dove head first into the jewelry world. She took a course at the Gemological Institute of America. She worked with a manufacturer in Lebanon to produce her first pieces (today, she manufactures primarily in Italy). She says she designed her first collection in a day. It included items like diamond necklaces that resembled earbuds and bracelets made of gold paper clips that she still makes.
Her fun approach immediately caught the attention of Colette founder Sarah Andelman. Within a year of launching her namesake label, the now-defunct Parisian boutique was Ghosn’s first stockist. And it immediately paid dividends. Colette is where Beyoncé stumbled upon a pair of Ghosn’s “Shut Up” earrings she wore in September 2016, a major co-sign for the young designer. Andelman and Ghosn still work together. In June 2023, they collaborated on a burger-shaped pendant that was sold as part of the “Just Phriends” auction for Pharrell’s Joopiter. Some of Ghosn’s pieces are currently featured in an installation by Andelman inside Parisian department store Le Bon Marché.
“I'm very loyal to people who supported me in the beginning, especially because I was surrounded by a lot of naysayers. [Andelman] definitely took a chance,” says Ghosn. “The way she's changed the space is just something that is super inspirational.”
These days, Ghosn is based in Singapore to build out her clientele in Asia, but she’s constantly traveling. She took this call from a hotel room in Norway. Two days before, she was in Paris. The next morning, she’s off to Atlanta to link up with Lil Yachty. Perhaps the most impressive part of it all is that she’s doing this by herself. She has no assistant, no publicist, no social media team. It’s a one-woman show.
“I'm used to it. I'm not sure it's super healthy though,” says Ghosn. “I think at one point you burn out, but for the moment I'm like, ‘OK, there's an opportunity. It’s a cool experience. Why not?’”
We spoke with Ghosn about some of her wildest creations, how she connected with Drake and Yachty, and more, below.
Veggie Burger Ring
Details: Six 18k mixed gold rings that can be stacked to look like a burger or worn separately. Different colored stones represent elements like the patty, lettuce, onion, ketchup, and mustard.
Price: $20,880
Ghosn Says:
This is my baby because it's the first piece that put me on the map in the fine jewelry space. It was also a piece that I got a lot of pushback on from the manufacturers who were like, “OK, you clearly don't know what you're doing.”
From a waxing perspective, it's extremely hard to get them to fall into place as a stack. At the time, [the manufacturers] had never done something like that. Even from a retail perspective, I remember having issues in terms of inventory. They would see it as six different products. But actually it's sold as one. It was just a very complicated piece, but it was a piece that kind of put me on.
I feel very grateful for it because it's kind of become a brand icon. The reality is, a burger is something we can always relate to. The idea really came from having a terrible date in New York and we were eating burgers. I remember thinking it's funny how everyone loves burgers, but everyone customizes their burgers differently. So I was like, “I want a burger ring. It makes me happy. It's not fattening.” That's literally where my mind was at the time. And then naturally things developed.
McDonald's Bling Mac Ring
Details: A collaboration with McDonald’s to mark the Big Mac’s 50th anniversary in 2018. The 18k gold ring was modeled after Ghosn’s signature Burger ring. McDonald’s gave the ring to a fan who posted the funniest tweet declaring their love for Big Macs as part of a contest.
Price: valued at $12,500
Ghosn Says:
I got a message from a team asking me to sign an NDA and do a custom piece. And I was like, “I don't do wedding rings. I'm sorry. I don't have a team. I'm overwhelmed.” But they kept pushing back. They're like, “We spoke to multiple people. Everyone said they won't touch the product. You're the right person. Please just get on the phone.”
I remember it was like Jan. 2 [2018] and I was on a mission for more organization. So I got on the phone, and the first thing I told the team was, “Hey, guys, I'm most likely not going to take your project, but I'm here to just hear it out.” Then they're like, “So our client McDonald's…” And I was like, “OK, hold up.” [Laughs.] That's literally how it worked.
Phriendship Necklace
Details: A collaboration with Sarah Andelman for Joopiter’s “Just Phriends” auction. An 18k gold chain featuring burger and french fries pendants. The 14k mixed gold pendants feature over 280 champagne and white diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and tsavorites a piece.
Price: Sold to private client (estimated value between $60,000–$80,000)
Ghosn Says:
NIGO bought a bunch of my pieces. He wore the hamburger ring at one point. Pharrell knew about it. And then it came about because Pharrell wanted to choose his favorite designers. This was a project with Sarah [Andelman]. Sarah approached me and said, “Hey, do you want to do something special? Do you want to take a risk? I want you to do something that's a little bit more bold, but still you're same codes.” So it was me exploring.
To be honest, I was hoping that Drake would buy it because in my mind I was like, “He bought all those pieces last time Joopiter did a sale.” I wanted Drake to buy it because then I could be the cool sister for my brother. [Laughs.] I could just be like, “Hey, guess what?” No one in the family takes me seriously in that way. I'm like the middle child. They're like, “Go play around.” [Laughs.] So I'm always trying to assert the fact that I'm actually legit and it's not just a passion project.
Block Rings
Details: 18k gold rings with various-colored stones hand cut to resemble building blocks
Price: $6,395–$6,680
Ghosn Says:
I love the idea of the building blocks. [When I designed these], it was a very hard time for me in my life. And then they ended up coming out post-COVID. So I think a lot of people could relate to the fact that a lot of things got broken down and then you have to rebuild it. The first notion of doing that as a kid is really with these building blocks, right? That was the concept around it that I had really thought about. But then there was an element of the production. Every building block is made out of stone. So we had to test the stone. We had to find multiple cutters to see who could do it at an angle that was proper to the shapes that we're familiar with.
Lil Yachty found me on Instagram because his friend liked my Lego ring. Faye Webster wrote a song about it, which I didn't know. So then he wanted to get her the ring to celebrate the song. In doing so, he saw my brand and then just reached out to me via DM and was like, “Hey, how do you place an order?”
I’m still trying to get LEGO’s attention. I think that there's so much that can be done with LEGO. One of the things that I really wanted to do is the little figurines, but in fine jewelry. I think it's really fun and it becomes a conversation. It also becomes a family thing. At the end of the day, fine jewelry is mementos, and it's really something that should have an emotional pull. That’s something I'd love to work on.
Custom Chains for Drake
Details: A dog leash made with 2 kilograms of 18k white gold and 50 carats of diamonds that was featured in the “First Person Shooter” video and an 18k gold necklace with dog bone–shaped links featuring 50 carats of white diamonds and 6 carats of pink
Price: Undisclosed
That same day Lil Yachty reached out, I got a message from Drake's team being like, “Hey, we'd love to meet you and do something.” I thought it was fraudulent because I've been fooled multiple times. But I was like, whatever. He's my brother's favorite rapper. And so for me, I was like, “Oh my God, it would be a dream scenario to design something for him.” It happened super organically.
He placed an order on multiple things. But he really wanted me to do something for his new album. He revealed what his new album was, For All the Dogs, and I was thinking it was legit dogs. [Laughs.] We basically got on a group chat, and I proposed different things that came to mind. There's one piece he has that he hasn't been seen or photographed with. I try to respect their privacy. So obviously, I hope it comes out. But I made four pieces for him. Two are classics of mine customized for him. And then two were for his album.
The leash that I did with Drake is like 2 kilograms of white gold. It's crazy. The technicality of it is insane. So the whole experience was very interesting for us because it was me testing my manufacturers. It was creating something that's quite simple and really decoding it, making a statement. It's not something I've seen in the space.
Crayon Bracelet
Details: An 18k gold crayon-shaped bracelet with colorful stones to resemble the two ends of a crayon
Price: Yet to be released
[Lil Yachty] originally wanted the pencil bracelet. I told him I'm exploring a new collection, and naturally I felt like it was definitely aligned with him. I haven't launched it yet and I'm not there yet, but it's definitely something I'm working on. He's the first person to have it.
It's always very promising when I feel like it resonates. I had mothers sending me messages being like, “I have two kids. My boys love different colors, purple and yellow. I was thinking I should stack two crayons.” I was like, “Great.” [Laughs.]
This is definitely something I want to work with Crayola on.
