At this point, rappers have become synonymous with jewelry, with references to VVS diamonds, Patek Philippe, Richard Milles, and more lining lyrics across the board. It's not uncommon to see rap's biggest superstars spend exorbitant amounts of cash on jewelry, and while it's become a staple part of the culture, it's not without risks.
Those risks recently reared their heads for Lil Baby, who recently came to the unfortunate revelation that his 400k Patek Phillipe watch was fake. Though the jeweler who sold the product appeared to take responsibility for the expensive gaffe, Lil Baby was rightfully irritated and warned future jewelers not "to play with him."
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With more spotlight on authenticity in the jewel industry, Ben Baller took a moment to share some advice to Lil Baby and any rapper keen to spot a fake. "Right now in the watch game, in the last eight months," he begins, speaking with TMZ. "It's gotten so high that watches are three-hundred to five-hundred percent marked up. What sucks is that the Patek Phillippe is so limited that you have to go to a second-hand market to pay for it."
"But you still want to deal with a reputable person," he continues. "47 Street in New York, it's hit and miss...What happened with Gabe, cause I know him from Rafellelo, you make one bad move and it makes the whole street look bad. It's hard to come back from. That was a really bad fake, man. You look at that watch and it's like -- woah. It was just unfortunate."
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He also tells Lil Baby that there's no "list" to get a Patek Phillipe. "You have to build a relationship with each Patek Phillippe boutique," he explains. ADs -- authorized dealerships...You gotta build relationships with legitimate dealers. It sounds messed up, but you gotta buy a watch that you might not like, and then flip it. But once you get the relationships with the dealerships, they'll give you the watch. I've been buying Phillipes for the past six or seven years before the craze went off."
"I would never ever buy a Patek Phillipe from a jeweler," he closes, adding the caveat that he himself is a jeweler. "I would it from a straight watch dealer."
Check out his words of wisdom below, courtesy of TMZ.