Accessorize thug-style, thanks to the state

RALEIGH -- In the world of gangster jewelry, nothing says "bling" quite like a diamond-studded crucifix, a golden pit bull, or a jewel-encrusted gorilla.

Seized from drug dealers, some items appraised at more than $35,000 apiece, this collection of ill-gotten trinkets goes up for bid on Thursday -- everyone welcome.

The N.C. Department of Revenue will hawk nearly 200 pieces of confiscated goods by public auction for the first time in nine years, hoping to win back as much as $500,000.

Too timid for a pair of Tweety Bird and Tasmanian Devil charms dangling from a gold chain?

"There is stuff in here that ordinary people would like," said Jill Lucas, spokeswoman for the state Department of Administration, pointing to a ladies' Rolex appraised at $10,800. "I would not be at all offended if somebody bought me that watch."

The merchandise was all taken through the state's unauthorized substance tax, which levies penalties against anyone caught with more than 42.5 grams of marijuana, 7 grams of cocaine or 7 grams of heroin.

In recent years, seized jewelry was sold by sealed bid. But hopes run high that an open sale at the N.C. State Fairgrounds, with advance time set aside on Wednesday to inspect the items, will lure more bidders. Imagine a convict's cache at Christie's.

"It's about appealing to the type of bidder that is purely into jewelry," said Cale Johnson, director of unauthorized substance tax for the Revenue department.

In previous years, he noted, jewelry has sold well below appraisals, meaning a $38,000 diamond-studded Breitling watch might go for a bargain bid.

Fashion innovations exist among drug dealers, such as wearing a second pair of pants to conceal contraband in hidden pockets. But bling jewelry is as popular as ever, said Raleigh police spokesman Jim Sughrue.

Around the world, law-abiding consumers are turning from ostentatious jewelry in reaction to lean times. Billed as anti-bling, a "Diamond Inside" ring can be purchased with the stone tucked behind the band, facing the finger. The Wealth Report, a blog written by Robert Frank for The Wall Street Journal, recently featured this headline: "The Coming Backlash Against Bling."

"The wealthy are becoming increasingly sensitive to 'softer' issues, such as their impact on the world," Frank writes. "They are worried about ostentation at a time of heavy media coverage of inequality."

Taste shouldn't be a concern Thursday.

Even if a $21,600 golden gorilla covered in 233 diamonds doesn't entice you, it's still made of precious stones and metals, said Jerry Ehrenwald, president and CEO of the International Gemological Institute in New York.

Gold was trading near $750 per ounce Monday.

"You can always melt it," he said. "As for bling jewelry from gangsters or whatever, again, if it's diamonds, if it's precious metals, there always will be a value."

It's a good guess that 80 percent of the people at a jewelry auction are tradesmen who can make their day's pay by liquidating -- or melting -- a drug dealer's chain. One gold rope being auctioned on Thursday weighs nearly 1.5 pounds. But there's always somebody with an eye for the flamboyant, an aficionado of the gaudy, hoping to rescue golden schlock from a life of crime.