RIAA Diamond award for Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth album, commonly known as "Led Zeppelin IV," presented to Atlantic Records. In terms of title, the group had decided the album would be untitled and represented instead by four symbols, with one chosen by each group member, and feature no name or details on the album jacket.
Released on November 8, 1971, it was quickly certified Gold a week later by the RIAA on Nov. 16, 1971. By November 15, 1999 it had far surpassed the milestone of 10 million units sold in the U.S. (the requirement to be certified Diamond by the RIAA) by being certified at 22 million copies sold, earning it this prestigious RIAA Diamond sales award.
This is the rare chance to own an actual RIAA Diamond award -- the rarest of all RIAA awards -- for an absolutely classic album from the mighty Led Zeppelin. Regarding the album, it contained some of Zeppelin's all-time epic tracks, from the 8 minute-long "Stairway to Heaven" to "Black Dog", "Rock and Roll", "Going to California", "When the Levee Breaks" and more. The album went to #1 in the UK and Canada, #2 on the U.S. Billboard 200 Top Albums chart, and was on charts essentially worldwide. The album has become the best selling of the Stones' career. By 2021 the album was certified 24x Multi-Platinum for 24 million copies sold, and those are just its' U.S. sales.*
RIAA Diamond awards have a unique construction. Produced only since 1999, the design is a creation of renowned crystal designer Peter Wayne Yenawine, who was a master designer at Steuben Glass and who has been commissioned by five U.S. Presidents to create gifts. The award is topped with a diamond-shaped 728 ct. crystal placed in a sterling silver setting. The crystal portion of the award is 12" high and the crystal spire and diamond-cut crystal top sit inside a black tapered 3-1/2" high base which is engraved with the recipient's name, the name of the album and the date.
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Item Highlights:
- RIAA Diamond Award with diamond-shaped crystal top, sterling silver bezel (one)
- One crystal spire award and two bases are included--see details below and images
- Award made in 1999-2000
- In VG to Excellent condition (see details below)
- One of the first 500 Diamond Awards ever made (the first 500 had a sterling silver bezel, later editions had rhodium-plated bezels)
- Presented to Atlantic Records
- RIAA Diamond awards have been made since 1999 and are awarded to releases attaining over 10 million in U.S. sales, making them the rarest RIAA awards
- Crystal award measures overall approx. 16" high, base is 3.5" high
- Beautiful and very rare collector's item for any Led Zeppelin fan
- FREE, insured worldwide shipping. NOTE: For U.S. shipping, free shipping will automatically be applied at checkout. To have the item shipped for free outside the USA please email support@musicgoldmine.com with your address and we will send you a custom invoice showing free shipping.
Detailed Item Description: This RIAA Diamond award would have been made in 1999-2000 making it about 25-26 years old. It is presented to Atlantic Records.
The crystal award spire and diamond-shaped top is in Excellent condition. Two bases are included: The original base with "Zoso" symbols, which has some degradation of the original graphics and a small chip out of the back edge, and a new base made by the official RIAA Diamond award manufacturer noted above, which is in Excellent condition with text graphics (see images). Note: All Diamond awards are made as two pieces--the upper crystal spire, and a base that the spire sits in. Accordingly, either base included with this item can be used to display the award.
The sterling silver bezel has also been professionally cleaned by the official RIAA Diamond award maker (it had tarnished). The early edition Diamond awards had sterling silver bezels. See close-up photo of the bezel with its' "925" (the indicator for sterling silver) and "RIAA" stamps.
Don't miss this is a rare opportunity to acquire a coveted and exceedingly hard to find RIAA Diamond award for this iconic Led Zeppelin album.
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Notes on the condition of all vintage RIAA awards like this one: Please do not buy this item if you want a brand new piece of memorabilia. These are historical artifacts from the year they were produced. As a result they may show signs of wear. Frankly, if you see a 50-year-old award purported to be in 100% perfect condition, it might be too good to be true. After all, an antique should have "good' wear. If not, you might want to question the piece.
As to where they came from, they could have been displayed in record label offices, recording studios, artist manager's offices, radio stations, private collector's homes and yes, of course, possibly the artist's or songwriter's home. Typically, we don't know all the places they may have been over the years other than what we've stated in the description.
Finally, a word on photos: Our photos are zoomable so you can get a very good look. Do let us know if you want photos of any other details on our pieces and we'll be happy to provide.
*RIAA sales data source: RIAA.com