Celebrity Jewelry Designer Lynn Ban Dies

By Rob Bates | January 22, 2025

Lynn Ban, a jewelry designer known for her celebrity clientele and regular appearances on the Netflix reality series Bling Empire: New York, died on Jan. 20, three weeks after she was in a ski accident. She was 52.

Ban was born in Singapore and came to New York City when she was 4 years old. Her father was a prominent property developer, and her mother a gemologist.

“I had a very fashionable mom, and she really indulged me and cultivated my love of fashion,” Ban told 10 Magazine in 2021. “I would see how she dressed, and we would go shopping together. From a young age, my taste developed [through] poring over magazines and images and loving every aspect of fashion, from the clothing to the hair and the makeup to the jewelry.”

Following stints running a sushi restaurant and working in the music business, Ban drifted to jewelry. In 2002, she launched Lynn Ban Vintage at Barneys New York. Nine years later, she started her own jewelry line.

She initially made 10 pieces, figuring that “if nobody else liked them, I get to keep these great pieces of jewelry,” Ban said in a 2018 story in Prestige.

Ban became known for her bold statement jewels.

“My brand ethos is to design something that solicits a reaction,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “So either you love it or hate it, but I never want someone to be like, ‘Meh, it’s just mediocre.’”

She described her target customer as “a strong, independent man or woman who’s not afraid to make a statement. My clientele is not afraid to kind of pile it on and just be out there and not give a care.”

Her creations were eventually worn by Beyoncé, Cardi B, Billie Eilish, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar, and Post Malone. She also collaborated with Rihanna on jewelry for her tours and videos. In 2023, she became a regular cast member on Bling Empire: New York.

“I have been fortunate enough to be able to start my own businesses, but let’s be real—there are no shortcuts for anyone in building a career,” Ban told WWD before her Bling Empire debut.

On Dec. 30, Ban wrote on Instagram that she’d had a skiing accident during a vacation in Aspen, Colo. After a CAT scan, she was diagnosed with a brain bleed and underwent an emergency craniotomy.

Less than a month later, son Sebastian announced Ban’s death on Instagram.

“[My mother] was and always will be my best friend, the best mother to me, and someone who cared for all,” he wrote. “She always had a smile on her face even when times were tough during her recovery process. She was a fighter until the end and is the strongest woman I know. She was the funniest and coolest mum I could ever ask for…. Although she may be gone now, I will do everything I can to make sure she is never forgotten and for her life to be celebrated as it deserves to be.”

Ban is survived by Sebastian and her husband, Jett Kain.