How “the Nike of Men’s Jewelry” Founder Christian Johnston Disrupted The Fashion Industry

According to the Jewelry industry statistics (2020), the global jewelry market is valued at about $230 billion. Of this, the international luxury jewelry market was roughly $21 billion in 2020. As per the documents reviewed by Business Insider, GLD, a jewelry empire, is now doing over $50 million in revenue. It is redefining how people purchase jewelry and revolutionizing the whole industry. 

GLD has been dubbed “the Nike of Men’s Jewelry.” This company has been breaking the hip-hop culture, fashion, and sports barriers and taking the business to the next level. Every year it holds the world’s largest hip-hop festivals aiming to sell watches and pendants to festival-goers. With its headquarters in Miami, Florida, the company prides itself in a 20,0000-square-meter office. 

The ComeUp

GLD was co-founded by Christian Johnston. He grew up with his old buddies who would ride bikes to downtown Pittsburgh and did many things together—being average middle-class kids, they wanted to have lovely jewelry. The existing jewelry was of low quality, and they wouldn’t spend thousands of dollars on high-end jewelry since they couldn’t afford it. 

When Christian was playing basketball in college, he began to make his dream of starting a lifestyle brand seriously. . Together with his friend, they invested a thousand dollars each and started little bits of jewelry. They began as a small box of merchandise in their parents’ basement in 2015. That is how GLD was born. Six years down the line,  GLDincorporates its daily life on Instagram stories and has a massive following of more than 1 million. GLD’s vision is to work hard, innovate, and change the game. They use social media to show this and give their community a chance to engage and join the GLD lifestyle. 

Working With Celebrities

Celebrities come to GLD through DMs and sometimes through Instagram stories. For instance, Justin Bieber has responded to their Instagram stories to place orders for new items. He needed something, and the company delivered. He is one of the most significant people that the company has ever worked with. Cardi B  is another influential celebrity they have worked with. During Father’s Day, she posted, “any Jewelers that open six of the Sundays?” GLD was the first to respond. She hit back instantly and said she needed a solid 14karat Cuban big present for her dad. It was about 5 pm. Guess what? GLD served her to satisfaction. She also made matching anklets for her and her daughter.

Other celebrities that GLD has worked with include Wiz Khalifa, their first-ever client who opened the floodgates. Others are Trippie Redd, ASAP Rocky, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, and Paul Pogba. This past year GLD has worked with NBA, Marvel Comics, NFL, and MLB. 

Disrupting The Market

Quality and versatility across different levels of the product are what define GLD. They offer entry-level jewelry and do that better than anyone. They can make a custom piece for $150,000 for a celebrity like ASAP Rocky or Trippie Redd. 

GLD has made crazy pieces. They have that kind of versatility across different price points, and that makes them unique. They also deal with the NBA.

GLD is still expanding to the global and international markets. They create affordable jewelry for aspirational customers. For instance, a Rolex can go anywhere between $5,000 to above $12,000. The lowest-priced GLD watch costs $899. 

For more information about GLD, visit this website.