Image: Homer

After three years of fans wondering what secret project he’s been working on, Frank Ocean has finally announced that he has launched a luxury jewellery brand, only on sale in at the Homer store.

Homer is described as being an “independent American luxury company” that comprises of bracelets, pendants, scarves and rings designed by Ocean. A press release said the pieces are inspired by the singer’s “childhood obsessions” and “heritage as fantasy”.

The 25 pieces in the first collection have been designed in New York and handmade in Italy. Prices range between £284 and an eye-watering £1.4m, and any diamonds used are grown in the brand’s own domestic laboratory.

The collection will only be available to buy at the Homer store, which very recently opened on the Bowery in New York, filled with old school diamond setting and watch repair booths.

About Homer

The debut collection comprises a variety of high-end jewelry pieces made out of 18K gold, recycled sterling silver, hand-painted enamel and American lab-grown diamonds. The capsule also features a number of printed silk scarves.

The store is described as “Homer packaging exploded,” with the space constructed out of aluminum and urethane and designed in collaboration with New York-based architects Michael Abel and Nile Greenberg.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Ocean said that the new brand derives its name from the ancient Greek poet, Homer.

Homer is considered the father of history and history is meant to endure — the same as diamonds and gold — and I know Homer used papyrus, but I’ve always liked the idea of carving history into stone,” he said.

The Homer store can be visited by making an appointment online. The store is now open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. EDT to 6 p.m. EDT and Saturday from 10 a.m. EDT to 5 p.m. EDT: Homer at The New York Jewelers Exchange, 70-74 Bowery, New York, NY, 10013

About Frank Ocean

Frank Ocean (born October 28, 1987) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, rapper, photographer, and visual artist.

He is recognized for his idiosyncratic musical style, introspective and elliptical songwriting, and wide vocal range. Music critics have credited him with revitalizing jazz and funk influenced R&B, as well as advancing the genre through his experimental approach. He is considered a representative artist of alternative R&B.

Ocean began his musical career as a ghostwriter, prior to joining the hip hop collective Odd Future in 2010. In 2011, Ocean released his critically successful debut mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra and subsequently secured a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings. Drawing on electro-funk, pop-soul, jazz-funk, and psychedelia.

Ocean’s debut studio album Channel Orange (2012) was one of the most acclaimed albums of 2012. It was nominated for Album of the Year and won Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards, while the album’s hit single “Thinkin Bout You” garnered Ocean a nomination for Record of the Year.

Following a four-year hiatus, Ocean released the visual project Endless in 2016 to fulfill contractual obligations with Def Jam before self-releasing his highly anticipated second album Blonde (2016) a day later. Blonde debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Encompassing experimental, soul, and psychedelic rock, the album was acclaimed by critics and Ocean was praised for challenging the conventions of contemporary R&B and pop music.

Among Ocean’s awards are two Grammy Awards, a Brit Award for International Male Solo Artist in 2013 and an NME Award for Best International Male Artist in 2017. He was included in the 2013 edition of the Time’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world and the 2017 edition of the Forbes 30 Under 30. Two of his studio albums have been listed in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2020). Both Insider and The Wall Street Journal regarded Ocean as the most dominant artist of the 2010s decade. As a photographer, he worked with Vogue at the annual Met Gala and the British fashion magazine i-D. Premiered in 2017, he also has his own Beats 1 radio show, Blonded Radio, that often premiers his new singles.