Eight years after the Nike Dunk SB low top collaboration with Diamond Supply Co. brought the “Diamond Dunks” to the sneaker market in 2005 the skateboarding division of Nike has released the same color blocking upon a Nike Dunk in high top form. Over those eight years the colorway upon that Dunk that was inspired by the jewelry boxes of Tiffany & Co. gave way to a slew of customs. The simplicity of faux black gator skin with white constrast stitching, metallic silver Swooshes, and a shade somewhere between aqua and egg shell blue translated easily to most any base sneaker. For the occasion of the new Diamond Supply Dunk Hi released this past weekend here are the customs worth remembering that probably wouldn’t have existed if it weren’t for those Dunks.
Note: As always the pairs on this list are selected based areas like quality of the effort, details, uniqueness, and cleanliness…otherwise it’d be just a bunch of crap that used black and Tiffany blue colored paint. If you think some were missed please prove us wrong.
Nike Blazer SB by Desp1 of Fresh&Fly Customs
A micro suede replaces the aqua leather along with black on the toes and heel strip in this effort from 2012. Desp1 kept the gator look alive using a faux material on the heel tabs and eyelet panels. Of course metallic silver Swooshes were kept on the Blazers fat versions. The Diamond Supply Co. stitched into the back heel tabs sets these on another level. Oh and these were hand stitched with an awl.
Air Jordan VI Tiffany by Ecentrik Artistry
It might seem weird to paint the Air Jordan VI Olympic base shoe but the customer gets what the customer wants in this case. The Tiffany Blue takes on the majority of the AJ VI by Ecentrik Artistry. A bit of black on the midsoles, tongues and heel tabs tones them down a bit with the Diamond Supply Co. logo on the back heel.
Air Jordan XI by Mache Customs
The Gamma Blue Air Jordan XI gets a brighter look thanks to Mache. The black patent was painted that Tiffany blue with an overlay of a snakeskin print in metallic silver. Who wouldn’t want to see this look on some other sneakers?
Air Jordan V by Mr Exclusive Customs
The nubuck upper of this Air Jordan V black/silver retro is all Tiffany blue-d out thanks to Mr. Exclusive back in 2011. The shark teeth feature a bit of speckle detail while the front of the laces and the Jumpman logos have a bit of an extra touch with what looks like Swarovski crystals for “diamond” look.
Air Max 90 by Tragik Kicks
The Air Max world hasn’t seen as many of the Diamond customs as their Air Jordan counterparts. But with this recent custom Tragik Kicks proves that they are just as worthy in this take on the Air Max 90. A bit of hand engraving on the mudguard is complemented by the silver Swooshes and Tiffany blue upper upon the all white base.
Air Jordan 1 Tiffany by NBProductionz
The look of the Diamond Dunk is translated in exact color blocking to this Air Jordan 1 retro by NBProductionz from 2013. Not the first to do the idea but it was the best AJ1 we came across. The faux gator scales were engraved along with a set of custom printed Diamond Jumpman tongue tags to be just a bit more official looking. Do you think there is a chance we ever see a Diamond Supply Co. X Jordan Brand official release? The AJ1 makes the most sense.
images via SneakerFiles
Air Jordan IV by Sal_TheCllctiv
The picture below was seen posted on the Instagram account of Nicky Diamonds, aka Nick Tershay, the man behind Diamond Supply Co. and the whole phenomenon that is the Diamond Dunk. Of course the lack of info posted leads people to believe an Air Jordan X Diamond collab is a real thing. Hypebeasts everywhere started salivating. Eventually it comes out they are 1 of 1 customs made by Sal_TheCllctiv and just happened to be seen someplace by Nicky. The custom was the Green Glow IV base with a bit of Tiffany blue on the toes, the green glow changed to Tiffany blue and a Diamond embroidered patch on the tongues.
Air Jordan IV by Mache Customs
More Tiffany than Diamond this custom by Mache has the closest look to what could be an official release. The color blocking is pretty much that of the Air Jordan Toro Bravo just hold the red for Tiffany blue. A bit of black and silver let them live. Do you like them as is or do they need some gator skin somewhere?
Custom Hi Top Dunks by emmanueLabor
The idea to release the high could have been a plan of Nike and Diamond the whole time. Chances are that it probably was not until they caught fire like they did. Naturally the Dunk hi and Air Force 1 the most common of bases at the time were customized in this color combo and the leather engraved with a wood burning pen as seen in this pair made by emmanueLabor in 2006
Python Diamond Dunk SB Low by JBF Customs
This didn’t start out as a pair of OG Diamond lows (I assume) but the look of faux gator and buttery leather gets exchanged for that of authentic python throughout in this reconstruction. Some skate shops raised the price for “non skaters” who wanted to buy the recent high top Diamond Dunks, but could you imagine ANYONE skating in these? With a minimum price of $1000 for his customizations and an avid fan base upon social media, the followers of @JBFcustoms would likely comment you to the point of deleting your profile if you happened to skating in these and post a photo of the accomplishment.
OG Diamond Nike Dunk SB with Tiger Camo Print by C2 Customs
What was I saying in the last custom about the base not being the OG Diamond lows? Well this pair is. Consider yourself a veteran of the customizing game if you remember these. A shoe that many would remark as perfect was no challenge to Chris of C2 customs looking back at the outcome. C2 painted a couple tones of aqua to create a subtle tiger camo upon all the Tiffany blue panels. This was done a couple weeks after the original release in 2005.
