Hip Hop jewelry collectors have demonstrated the popularity of dog tag pendants in modern day bling fashion. Dog tags themselves evolved from military use but have been adopted by Hip Hop fashion. The simplicity of the rectangular shape of dog tags along with their inherent meaning seems to have fascinated the collectors of Hip Hop bling jewelry.

I.D. tags, commonly referred to as dog tags, are used by soldiers in the military as a rudimentary form of identification. They have come to represent more, however, in our society. The dog tag is the last remnant of a dead soldier’s sacrifice. They symbolize the courage, strength and discipline required in the dedication to a greater cause benefiting society. Standard military dog tags don’t generally qualify as bling as they are made with stainless steel and usually engraved with the name and unit of its owner.

Hip Hop artists and R & B singers are wearing a variety of dog tag bling jewelry. The popularity of bling fashion dog tags are in part due to artists flaunting their bling in public. You can usually see them in videos with bling everywhere from their chests and wrists to their ears and teeth. Dog tag pendants come in various styles and sizes and are usually made with silver or white, yellow or rose gold. They can be studded with diamonds or cubic zirconia stones. The attributes symbolized by bling dog tags combine the warrior spirit of soldiers and the showmanship of Hip Hop.

Hip Hop dog tags as worn by Hip Hop heads usually have some kind of diamond or cubic zirconia stones embedded giving it that bling look. The best cz stones come are Russian made. The designs can be inlayed bordering the pendant or prong set covering the entire surface of the piece. The latest innovation with bling dog tags involve flashing light electronic displays scrolling across the face of the pendant.

Hip Hop fashion is unpredictable. The newest bling styles can come from any corner. The interest in dog tag pendants is an example of the flexibility of Hip Hop fashion. Although the strictly disciplined military and the sometimes anti establishment Hip Hop community are not always aligned politically, it seems Hip Hop is intuitively acknowledging the importance of the military as protectors of our freedom by wearing dog tag pendants with bling.