A ring designed and worn by the late Tupac Shakur is being auctioned by Sotheby’s.
The crown-shaped piece made of yellow gold is adorned with approximately 10 carats of cabochon rubies and nearly five carats of diamonds.
Before his unexpected death at the age of 25, Tupac made his last public appearance wearing this ring at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards in New York.
In honor of the rapper’s engagement to Kidada Jones, the daughter of Quincy Jones, the ring was engraved “Pac & Dada 1996.”
It is believed that this one-of-a-kind, custom-made ring would sell for between $200,000 and $300,000.
The ring was crafted in the style of medieval European kings’ crowns and served as a symbol of self-coronation for the rapper. He was inspired to design a ring after reading Niccolo Machiavelli’s “The Prince,” which led him to adopt the nickname “Makaveli.”
Lot details include the following mantra that was given to young Tupac by Yaasmyn Fula, adviser to Tupac and close friend of his mother, Afeni Shakur: “You are our black prince. You are my miracle, and you will make black people proud.”
The auction house has emphasized the ring’s exceptional rarity, stating that, to their knowledge, it is the only jewelry item owned by Tupac with direct provenance to be made available on the market. They further assert that it is “certainly the only piece designed by him to have been offered for sale.”
