The celebrity jewelry game can be a crowded one, but New York designer Alex Moss stands out from the crowd, creating eye-catching pieces (A$AP Rocky’s $322,000 GRIM belt buckle) that are supremely unique (Tyler, The Creators’s). A $500,000 messenger chain and pendant) and was widely discussed (Drake’s $12.5 million chain he implied was made up of diamonds from past engagements that he had reconsidered). Alex is also expected to release a second public collection exclusively at Maxfield in Los Angeles.
Alex’s work recently caught the eye of Hailey Bieber all summer, who wore the eye-popping first “B” pendant she commissioned and designed with Moss. Hailey has rarely taken it off since then, and now she’s doubled down on Moss’ collaboration with the Bieber family, returning the favor and working with Moss on a surprise gift for Justin to mark their fifth anniversary.
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“I’m not surprised she wanted to work with us again,” Moss says. “I feel like once you have experience with us, where else can you go?”
With input from Hailey, Moss created a unique set of mushroom pendants for Hailey and Justin, which features multiple diamonds and gemstones, including five stones at the top, representing their five years of marriage.
Moss gave GQ exclusive images of the pendant and talked about what it was like helping the Biebers freeze each other.
Hailey Bieber turned to Alex Moss to design Justin’s anniversary gift after she loved their first collaboration on her ‘B’ pendant.
GQ: How did you and Hayley get involved?
Alex Moss: So Hayley first got around to creating this bubble B pendant and it became an iconic piece – to her credit, she’s the one who made it cool.
Did she already have some kind of sketch or did you want to show her this drawing?
I’m not going to take credit for it, she had the idea and I just made it happen. Pendant B was definitely her vision.
What was the design process like? Was Hayley very practical?
Yes, and she has good taste, and she has good design intuition. At first we tried to figure out together what to do, whether it would be another original pendant or something like that. It was she who suggested that we create (mushroom pendants) something like this. And then, of course, I contributed and designed the actual mushroom. Haley especially wanted the mushroom to be a bubble style. When you have two people with good taste, you can’t lose.
It has such a wide selection of colors, how did you guys settle on them?
I showed (Hayley) a few different color options and then she loved the multicolor option I chose. And then she also suggested making it in yellow gold to match the set.
Moss couldn’t share any details about why Hailey chose mushrooms as the design for this pendant for Justin, but they clearly have some special meaning.
Why mushrooms?
You have to ask Haley, this was her idea.
Did Hayley suggest including some hidden things to give their relationship more meaning?
I didn’t know it at the time—I think she mentioned it, but maybe it slipped my mind—but it’s their fifth anniversary and there are dots on the mushrooms. There are five dots on the mushroom, five large stones, I think this symbolizes the fifth anniversary, because there are five of them on each mushroom. So it adds a little more sentimental value.
In terms of finding diamonds or any sapphire, where did you get it from to collect this?
Fresh from our Alex Moss bank in New York. We have all our own diamonds. But about the diamonds I will say this: the stones that were used in this jewelry were of the absolutely highest quality, they are all D color, top VVS, and there is nothing better in the world… this is top. .
The pendant that Hailey Bieber helped create for Justin features five stones in honor of their fifth anniversary.
How much does something like this cost?
Priceless, to be honest. To get a customized anniversary gift from Alex Moss of New York – you can’t put a price on it. This is Bieber’s project.
What makes your work different from others?
I didn’t send this item to Hayley. I had a member of our team fly out and hand deliver the part to make sure it was 100% in place and there was no chance of it getting lost. So it’s like a top-down approach: If you work with us, it’s going to be hard to beat that experience. Look how much “B” pendant she has on, she didn’t take it off.
How does it feel to be trusted with projects from people like Drake, Rocky and Hailey?
Crazy, to be honest. But I’ve been a solid, honest, and trustworthy person my entire life, so whether it’s my best friend since I was younger or now it’s Rocky, Drake, and Hailey Bieber, I’m used to being a trusted person. It’s just Alex.
How do you hope Justin will react?
Honestly, whenever I give someone a gift, it’s a little different because I’m not actually giving it myself. So I always expect (from the reaction): “What do you think? Do you like it? Do you like it?” I always think twice about it because I don’t give it to them and they didn’t ask me for it then. It’s like, “Are we screwed? Did we do a good job?
But I will say in this case, if you go to look at his photos on Instagram, he did not remove the chain.