by Aimee Ortiz and Misty White Sidell
Lynn Ban, a celebrity jewelry designer and a star of Netflix’s “Bling Empire: New York,” died Monday, just weeks after she had emergency surgery for a brain bleed following a skiing accident in December.
Her son Sebastian confirmed her death in an Instagram post Wednesday, noting that “she wanted to share her journey after her accident and brain surgery, so I thought she would appreciate one last post sharing the news to people who supported her.”
Roughly three weeks earlier, Ban had posted on her Instagram account to reveal the news of her skiing accident. In the caption of a photo where she had her head partly shaved and was lying in bed, Ban said she had a life-changing skiing accident in Aspen, Colorado, on Christmas Eve.
The jewelry designer said at the time that she had been cleared by ski patrol, who had checked her for a concussion, after skiing to the bottom of the mountain and that her fall “didn’t seem that bad at the time,” even though she had a bit of headache. A paramedic suggested that she go to a hospital for a CT scan, where a brain bleed was detected. Ban said that she was then airlifted to a trauma hospital, adding: “Last thing I remember was being intubated and waking up after an emergency craniotomy.”
Ban, who was from Singapore, designed fine jewelry that adorned some of the world’s most recognizable artists and celebrities, including Rihanna, Beyoncé, Cardi B, Billie Eilish, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar and Post Malone. According to her website, Ban also worked with Rihanna on jewelry for her tours, appearances, music videos and her Fenty x Puma collections.
Ban often set precious stones like diamonds in oxidized metals to create visual contrast.
For a 2017 article in The New York Times, Ban talked about her signature armor rings, including a piece she created for Rihanna to wear in photographs for W Magazine. Told to imagine the pop star as the last woman in a postapocalyptic world, Ban created a claw armor ring, an articulated design that stretches up the finger and ends in a clawlike pointed tip. “It continues the theme of my signature armor ring but is even more protective,” she said. “It’s like a weapon.”
Ban added that it was no coincidence that the piece was created during a time of political flux. “Revolution and social protest have always sparked intense periods of creativity,” Ban said. “Just look at the 1960s.”
In a statement Wednesday, Jeff Jenkins, the founder and president of Jeff Jenkins Productions, which produced Bling Empire and Bling Empire: New York, called Ban “a genuine original.”
“Our entire Bling Empire family, in front of and behind the camera, is shocked and deeply saddened,” he said. “To experience Lynn was to receive a big slice of joy.”