There was one sneaker that I got to experience New York with the most, and that was none other than my diamond dunks low. And yes, I did wear these at the diamond district in New York. These are also a pair of sneakers I mentioned on the sneakers episode of Podcast In The Pod. For those of you who are avid sneaker collectors, you may look at me crazy for just walking around in a pair of these so casually while some may not know the significance. Well to me, this is one of my favourite sneakers in my collection and there is so much significance from this collaboration between a skater brand and Nike that goes beyond just sneakers.

Read below to learn more about the sneaker and my review on them in case you wanted to grab a pair.

The Story

Of course, there is a big Nike SB (skateboarding) wave right now, but among my SBs this is my favourite and its mainly because of the incredible story between Diamond Supply and Nike SB. Take a look at the short documentary that tells the story of how a collaboration that wasn’t supposed to be, became one of the most significant ones in Nike SB history.

The Aesthetic & Technology

The Tiffany dunks are a classic but instead of settling just for a retro of the release they decided to launch three new limited colourways (this is considered as a Quickstrike release). I am not sure if these were inspired by diamond themselves but they came out in a white, black, and canary yellow (most limited). They all came with a silver Velcro swoosh with the Tiffany color swoosh underneath and equipped with Zoom air. The quilted design inside the tongue was also a nice touch.

I really like the other details on it as well with the cracked leather and hidden “Diamond” branding underneath the flap at the hell tab. I also ended up switching the laces from white to teal (which was provided). Truthfully, the white pair was the only one I was interested in because I liked the white/silver combo and even without the teal laces it will still work. The black and silver were too similar to another sneaker I have, and I wasn’t feeling the yellow. Something else I liked about the release was that it came in a classic Pink Nike SB box with special paper as well. It is interesting because my other Nike SBs come in a teal box which is said to be inspired by the Tiffany Dunks.

The Price and Where to Buy

As I mentioned before, it was pretty hard to grab a pair of these dunks especially since they did not drop online on Nike.ca. The only way I could grab them is through online raffles (if any), and visit any Toronto skate shops to get a chance. Fortunately, I saw Adrift had a late shipment and I waited in line for these early in the morning. Unfortunately, they only had 22 pairs, 11 of each colourway. Thankfully, I was the 19th person in line but I only was able to get the black pair in size 7.5. The pair retailed for $140 CAD.

Even though, this was not my size I decided to cop it to see if anyone was willing to trade for the pair I wanted. After a couple of weeks, I did eventually sell it locally for only $40 more. Since I am not a reseller I don’t mind, however, in hindsight I should’ve sold it on StockX. Why? Because I finally found the pair I was looking for in an 11.5 for approximately $100 more than retail. I settled with it because the seller claims he bought it for more and it was a local meet up. The pair was clean and the guy was legit thankfully.  If I did initially sell via StockX I do think I would have been able to get more for the black pair which would have resulted in me spending less for the pair I wanted. If you wanted to buy it now you can via reseller sites such as StockX, GOAT, Stadium Goods, and other sites but fair warning… the resell value increased… a lot. You can also try Facebook or Kijiji like I did, but be very careful.

The Fit and Comfort

This is a bit tricky because I went with a size .5 above my usual size. Since I have worn these sneakers a lot now, especially through New York, I do have a good idea about comfort and fit. In terms of sizing I recommend going true to size if you can, if there is a size .5 above or even less than your regular size, I strongly think you will be fine. Even though it was a .5 above, my feet only got to get sore after a while of walking for the majority of the day. On other occasions where I am not walking as much, these are fine. If I am being honest, I don’t feel the zoom air unit but yet again my opinion might change if the sizing was true to size. Therefore, try to get your true to size but if you are getting a bit bigger size, then just wear it for a regular day that does not require a lot of walking.

Overall

Cop or drop? Cop

Comfort? Low

Aesthetic? High

Price? Fair, Resell price is steep however. 

Packaging? Nice, I like the pink Nike SB box with the special paper and laces.

 

These sneakers are dope. I love everything from the story behind the collaboration to the little details on the shoe itself. These are a favourite of mine for that reason plus the memories made while wearing the sneaker and even trying to get them. If you are looking for a pair then I definitely recommend monitoring the secondary market for any price drops.