- Words Liam Cattermole
Created by Alex Moss, Drake revealed his 'Previous Engagements' necklace this week, with a diamond for every time he thought of proposing.
Estimated to be worth between four to six million dollars, Drake’s new 18 karat white gold necklace is his most expensive to date. The chain took New York jeweller Alex Moss a year to make, totalling to 351.38 karats in diamonds. It’s a dazzling display of craftsmanship, but one that’s been overshadowed by its rudimentary connotations. Commemorating each time the Toronto rapper’s gotten close to proposing, the chain’s received backlash from critics who’ve branded the piece “corny” and “embarrassing”.
Drake’s no stranger to expensive novelty jewellery, and making grand love gestures. Over his career, he’s paid hundreds of thousands of pounds for iced-out Stone Island pendants and necklaces for ex-girlfriends, whilst regularly handing out chains to female fans at his shows. He’s also publicly confessed his love to Rihanna on multiple, cringe-worthy occasions with the 2016 VMAs speech being the pinnacle.
The ‘Previous Engagements’ necklace comes at a time where many are beginning to question Drake’s conflicting stance on women more generally. His new album, ‘Her Loss’, has been aptly described as “a queasy ode to femininity”, where he talks about the power women have on him sexually, whilst joking misogynistically about female rappers being famous for their looks, rather than any musical capability.
Drake’s love life was even parodied recently in a Saturday Night Live sketch with fans calling him out for the “loser energy” that’s come with his career-long obsession with heartbreak. The ‘Previous Engagements’ chain is only adding to the discussion. However, as the 6God continues to sell millions of records, it seems his squirmy, macho gestures will remain in the public interest. Some fans may be hanging up the hotline and leaving the city, but others, for better or for worse, continue to obsess over the ‘certified lover boy’.