Hey! Yeah, I'm talking to you
Do you understand why it is that people are so deeply enthralled...
with gold, diamonds and precious jewels?
Stocks are out and jewelry's in
Well, bling it on!
The global jewelry market is worth almost 300 hundred billion dollars
A figure that's, uh, likely by the year 2035 to more than double
Might it be the glamour the glitziness, the sparkle?
Are we just, uh, showing off
or could there be something meaningful that's buried deep beneath the surface?
Baubles, bangles, see how they gling, gling-a-lingy...
Bangles, baubles see how they spring ding-a-lingy
We're talking about jewelry
I'm Jeff Goldblum Howdy, ma'am
We're here in Houston on a hot hot day to meet the King of Bling
as he calls himself Johnny Dang
He's the the jeweler to some big big stars
and Dang's creations have helped define the way
that so-called "bling" is worn in popular culture
Myself, where I stand the truth is, tactilely
I like to have nothing I like to be naked
And speaking of which I've never tried any of these...
teeth... teeth things, but you know I'm of a changing, fluid mentality
But we've got a special golden ticket, and we're...
we're... we're going inside
Where I come from it was always impolite to say
"Hey, how much money you got?" or, "How much did you pay for that?"
Don't show off
I never wanted to spend all that much money
on a piece of jewelry, anyway
Oh, my God! Johnny Da...
Don't move a muscle don't get up
I know you're in the middle of an important deal
- You're getting a grill? - Yes
Yes
You know
This is first time I've been in this room this is crazy
It's like... you ever see the movie Scarface?
Yes
He's like Tony Montana He's like Tony Montana
But a lot nicer, right?
But nicer Well, I don't know, I mean I...
Johnny Dang, congratulations You've made another... sale
- Appreciate it, man - Thank you
- Thank you so much
Yeah, well, grills
- This is your... this is your specialty - My specialty
Grills, how did that happen? Why did you become...
You were?
- Yes - But why do we like it?
Do we like it 'cause everybody else is wearing it
or there's really something about shiny...
It's... I think...
Yeah, very shiny
Right, right
Yeah
I guess so, I guess so and they really like it
I do it with ease so they think that it's easy
Grills exploded into the hip-hop mainstream
all thanks to one particular rapper right here in Houston
and I'll be jingoed if we didn't track him down
- Paul Wall - Yes, sir
That's your rapper name somebody told me
Yup!
Now, you've got... Look at those grills
Do you see his... Let me see
Look at that Well, how about that?
- Yes, sir - You are somethin'
- We call this a disco ball - Disco ball?
- Yeah, we call this a disco ball - Oh, sure, disco ball
Do a little bit of Texas rap right now, ready?
A five, six, seven, eight, go!
What it do, baby It's the ice man Paul Wall
I got my mouth looking something like a disco ball
I got the diamonds and the ice all hand set
I can cause a cold front if I take a deep breath
- Yeah, so - Jeez, you are fantastic
And you started him out, Johnny Dang You were the first rapper
and you brought all the other rappers here
Yeah, I was like a... a walking billboard
I'm like a walking billboard so of course, you know
me coming up in my career as an entertainer or rapper
all the other rappers are like "Man, hold up"
"Well, how come your grill looks different than mine?"
"Let me get in on that Let me get one of your grill like that''
- That's Johnny Dang - "Who made your grill?"
My boy, Johnny Dang
Do you ever get any problems from guys who...
from people who are like
don't have much money for one reason or other they go
"Hey, how... you're showing off too much"
- "How come you're rich and waah..." - Yeah
"Shouldn't I have some of that money?"
"Shouldn't we equalize all the wealth?" Do you ever hear that?
We definitely should but my response is
what encouraged me was to see people shining
who worked hard for it went out there and got it
They... they had adversity but they overcame it
That's what inspired me to go out and do it
So, hopefully, this will be used for some type of inspiration
for those who... who don't have it If they want it, they use it
I see
All right let me show you the factory
Wait a minute Wait a minute
Whose teeth?
That's Beyoncé's teeth?
This is Beyoncé's teeth!
Hey, she's got little tiny teeth
Look how tiny Well, she is a delicate creature
- The grill - Look at my big horse teeth compared
Her husband is Jay-Z
Wait a minute, Mr. Will Smith I know...
Look at that, Justin Bieber
Our attraction to this shiny stuff is nothing new
And who likes graphics? Okay, now, listen up
The story goes that somebody came up with that word "bling"
to refer to... the sound of light hitting a shiny object
Ding
Grills might seem like a modern phenomenon
but, their roots go way way back
Sources claim that decorated teeth can be traced back to at least 2500 BC
thanks to the discovery of ancient Egyptians
who got buried with their gold teeth thingamajigs
And around the eighth century AD
the Mayans put precious stones right into their enamels
When we examine the origin of jeweled-up teeth
one thing seems to remain constant
what they might symbolize: power, status, and wealth
When you put on earrings or just a chain here or there
that could be simple adornment
but grills are a statement that's kinda in your face, you know
for the wearer and the onlooker
I'm not opposed to doing things to my teeth
but my question is this: what's it feel like when you...
Oh, my gosh!
Okay, now let me see Wait a minute, wait a minute
- Yeah, that's some... - Holy cats!
How much is this?
Wait a minute 250,000 dollars
So, how do you make these things?
It is?
You... Really? I don't know
Well, if it... I'm not nervous
All right
- So you good? - Now I'm getting nervous, okay
Okay, okay
Johnny Dang, you're... you're a master
That's me!
I wonder if my wife would like it, you know?
If I surprised her and I said "Sweetheart" on one of our date nights
and I said
Dang!
What a world, and amazing... hey, I may have embarked on
a deal to getting grilled, am I nuts? Wait till I tell my wife
I wonder if...
Not everyone is from this corner of the sensibility, jewelry sensibility world
But there must be people who use jewelry and jewelry aplenty
I'm imagining, for... other reasons
Deeper reasons
Jewelry, it's long been symbolic in the act of matrimony
Yes, sweet, sweet matrimony
And Indian culture takes this to the... to the next level, I should say
This is the groom I had no idea
- How're you feeling, first of all? - Excited
- You are? - Yeah
Little nervous
- Nervous too? - Nervous, yes
There he goes Don't let me pester you anymore
I'm a privileged guest at this spectacular wedding
but I wanna see if there's more to the wearing of precious jewels
than just showing off
Okay, Jeff, Jeff enough with the posing
Hey, let me see if I can get a gander at the bride
Are you decent? Is this is a bad moment?
- Haritha? I'm Jeff - Hi, it's so nice to meet you
Ding, dong The bells are gonna chime
Did you... oversleep? What happened? How're you feeling?
I'm feeling okay
I got two and a half hours of sleep but that's okay
What were you doing? Bachelorette party?
It was, like, the musical event with dancing and...
- Did you dance? - Yeah
- This is the greatest of all days - Yeah
You'll never forget it as long as you live
I know
And this is really special that you're here
- Me? - Yeah!
- Why me? - Because you're Jeff Goldblum
Your jewelry, what is going on with your jewelry...
that symbolizes or makes you feel any way?
Well, a lot of this jewelry is, like the ancient temple style of jewelry
With gold, you typically associate with goddess Lakshmi
goddess of wealth
The bride is supposed to be adorned with all these gold and jewelry
and that's kind of why I have so many pieces on me
Tell me about these
- So, these are glass bangles - Glass?
They are from the... the city of Hyderabad in India
the old city where they sell a lot of these...
bangles and they matched it to my outfit
Anything on your toes, or... or anklet... anklets?
I have anklets on I have the one right now, silver
I'm glad I asked
- Yeah, this is silver - Silver?
Yeah, yes
Do any of the other accoutrements have symbolism?
- Do they mean anything? - This is the more subdued
It gives you the very ancient temple feel
- This is subdued? - Well, the...
You said the brighter length is even brighter...
Yeah, well, I think it gives a...
the really traditional feel of entire ceremony with this kind of jewelry
Thank you for letting us intrude
- Haritha - You're welcome
Each and every year, India hosts over ten million weddings
and they involve so much gold
that it influences the price of the global markets
Indian immigrants here in United States
certainly haven't jettisoned any of that particular custom
Here she is She's a lotus blossom, radiant
There they are There they are! You've only just begun
Here we go!
The exchange of malas India's version of the floral garland
here given as a symbol of purity beauty, and love
That is so, so sweet
Having been here today
I'm reminded of the jewelry that Emilie and I exchanged on our wedding day
A day that I'll never forget
I had given her an engagement ring little bit before that
A... a cognac diamond if you ever heard of such a thing
And it... it sort of reminds her she said, of my hazel eye
cognac-y in color
She said, "It feels like you're always looking at me"
And she wants me to look at her
So it means something to us and I guess that's the point
Then, for these people, today the bride and groom, and everybody here
Jewelry is not just opulent adornment superficial adornment
It means something, culturally... and historically
It's a lovely thing It's a lovely thing
Hey, here's a question
How can the jewelry that we wear impact the way that we feel?
Well, it's used to negotiate romance and it's even obligatory gift-giving
and as we know it's adorned by royalty
But so much of their worth comes down to the meaning
that we humans have attributed to them
For instance, sapphires are said to be associated
with helping the owner feel at ease in social situations
Rubies are believed to increase the leadership skills of the wearer
and ward off negative energies
Oh, look at Elizabeth fresh as a daisy
Jeez
But there's one gem that we imagine as valuable above all the others
Look at her go Look at her go!
Diamonds are a girl's best friend
So, we know that jewels can be a visual mouthpiece of the richie rich
But they can also have an important cultural significance
Here in Hipsterville
I'm meeting a guy who I'm told has a deeply personal connection
to one particular diamond that he simply adores
And you maybe wondering what...
what this may have to do with doggies but well, you'll see, you'll see
My darling! May I have a seat with you?
- Very adorable - Look
- What's your whole name? - My name is Jacob
Tell me your story
So, I had an amazing amazing dog Her name was Miss Piggy
- Her name was what? Miss Piggy? - Miss Piggy
- Miss Piggy
She had a lot of personality and she snorted like a pig
Snor... snorted like a pig
She was my angel for 12 years
Oh, for heaven's sakes... what a doll
And she was... She was just everything to me
So sorry
You know, society doesn't always treat an animal death
the same as a human death, and, it just really, really took its toll on me
but the fact that I still get to talk about her...
is incredible and it's a testament to her
I had already set up to have her cremated
'cause I wanted to keep her with me forever
Yeah, what did you imagine you'd do? Yes, yes
I could not believe this was possible...
but I was able to turn her ashes a small portion of her ashes into a diamond
Jacob discovered the world of synthetic diamonds
where high-pressure heat technology mimics
the geological process of diamond creation
So, you found out about it
and then you said "I wanna work there"
I said "I wanna work there"
But you didn't work from them at the time
- Not at the time - Wait a minute, so, you...
- you're holding in your hands now... - This is her diamond
You ever... you know that song "Diamonds are forever"
- And it's absolutely true - Right, right
So open it up And that is Miss Piggy
I chose to make her a pink diamond
because her name was Miss Piggy
Oh, yeah, yeah, pink, pink Right, right, right, like a pig
Had to do pink, and she's... it sparkles just like she did and...
- And... - Up, up, up, up Look at that
Yes, you're right
- It sparkles - It came out amazing
- And so, how does it work? - Yeah
How does it... how does it work? What did they do?
'Cause I never heard of this in my life
- We're all carbon-based lifeforms - Yes
So when we pass... there's still carbon in our ashes
- Yes - Oh, we got a visitor
- I like this, Wait a minute - She wants to see...
- wants to see the box - Okay
We are able to grow a diamond inside a machine
that replicates the Earth's mantle with thousands of pounds of pressure
and thousands degrees of heat
And it's her carbon inside a growth cell And basically a diamond forms
There's the conversation about jewelry
Jewels, gems and precious gems being valuable
We know how you must feel we get a sense of how you must feel
and the value that you place in this and how precious this is to you
Do you think this is every bit is much, or more precious to you?
I mean, for me it's priceless I mean, it's more...
like, there's not an amount of money that I could, I would part with this
So, I don't know that there's too many other jewels
you know, that we have in our home that I can say that about
- Right - It's something that's truly... unique
You have given meaning to that out of your own...
real and personal experience
It's every bit as valid as anything else
- Absolutely - says I
And I'll give you doctor's note to that effect
Dogs...
become jewels...
become a source of value and meaning for sweet Jacob
The universe, a random place but we ascribe and imbue it with meaning
Gee, I think that's interesting and that's what he's done with that
The value and the meaning around that little pink diamond
- Good girl! - There you have it
Trinkets and burbles don't need to have any inherent value
in order for us to have an attachment to them
But from whence does our attraction spring?
It all has to do, apparently
with an association that's hardwired into our brains
The theory being that our primitive ancestors were first drawn
to sparkly things in the form of sunlight glinting off liquid
And that shine led them to their lifeline, which was...
that's right, water Water!
Our Paleolithic forebears were known
to enhance their cave paintings with bright mica flakes
And Neanderthals adorned themselves in reflective face paint
And ever since then, from the wrappers around our candy
to the clothes that we wear
to the jewels that we cram onto our bodies
Homo sapiens have been finding ways to tap into the magnetism
of all that glitters
We love lustrous and shimmering things
so much that they can make us feel something special
even if they cost almost nothing at all
Here I am easing on down the road to a divine spectacle
right here in the Big Easy
Look, follow the rainbow brick road
- Welcome! - Thank you so much
- Please, come on in - I have so many questions
Every Southern Decadence I have guests over
and we get ready for the parades
We put on the outfits the makeup
What's this, we've been visited by a couple of amazing characters
Yes, there are two other fabulous sisters
Wait a minute Come here
Wait a minute let me drink you in
Look! Look at you, look at that
Oh, my gosh! Jewelry, jewelry Bing, bing, bing
So there you go
Tell me about anything that sparkles on you
I say that he who leaves a trail of glitter is never forgotten
That's in one of the wise books I believe
I just think that glitter turns something ordinary into extraordinary
I really do
Hey, that's my theme That's part of my theme
I take the ordinary and I try to make it extraordinary
It gives me confidence, it...
it makes me feel like I can go out and be bold, and I just love it
Southern Decadence
that's the name of the New Orleans annual celebration of its LGBT community
where the city's French Quarter becomes a bejeweled carnival
of all that shines and sparkles
Well, there really is something about jewelry or bling or...
or... or glitter whatever you wanna call it
We're like, um, magpies, you know?
You show us something bright and shiny, and we...
we just gotta sit up and take notice we can't help ourselves
Imagine a a lustrous suit of armor... that makes you feel invincible
There are a whole lot of folks who associate shine with value...
and that's empowering
So jewelry isn't necessarily about showing off how much...
we can afford to spend but rather helping the world...
to see us for who we really are
And that's something upon which... we cannot put a price
And just to complete what we hope is a very fulfilling arc
to my character's journey remember the grill?
Yeah! Oh, yeah!
Dang Dang!
Subtitled by: Image Production House