Lil Kim expands brand & cleans up image

Lil' Kim is taking a page out of P. Diddy's book, joining him and other rappers by starting her own watch, bags, clothes and perfume lines.

Kim has designed a watch line called Royalty along with hip-hop jeweler extraordinaire Jacob 'The Jeweler' Arobo. The watch features diamond bezels and interchangeable leather bands. They will be priced at $1,800 to $3,500 with between 1.75 and 2.25 carats of diamonds.

Several celebrities, including Ashlee Simpson, Tyra Banks, Alicia Keys and Jessica Alba, have already been spotted sporting them.

"I love fashion and wanted to create a designer-watch collection that would translate my personal style into a product which would appeal to stylish women everywhere. These watches exude luxury."

According to the rapper's spokesperson Ronn Torossian, the new products are part of the "continuing maturation of the Lil' Kim brand".

The watch line is expected in U.S. retail outlets later this summer.

In other Kim news, the rapper who has made a living due to her raunchiness, is now trying to clean up her image. Facing 10 years of prison time if convicted on counts including obstruction, her camp has found it necessary to hire spin company 5W Public Relations to try and change her public image.

The company has already suggested that she immediately get behind high-profile charities - including Mercedes-Benz Carousel of Hope to benefit childhood-diabetes research and the Blossom Project that combats domestic violence - to improve her reputation after she pleaded not guilty to charges of lying to a grand jury.

Spokesman Ronn Torossian, explains, "We feel there are a lot of misconceptions out there about Kim, and we want to clear those up. She is completely innocent of these charges."