Men’s Jewellery - Fashion Not Just for the Women!
In the modern world, men’s jewellery has a certain degree of taboo that is why most men tend to shy away from wearing them other than the occasional silver tie clip or the platinum cufflinks. In the later years, men seem to move towards the acceptance of jewellery more. Bracelets and necklaces are now commonplace among the younger set and even more mature gentlemen are slowly expanding their jewellery items further than just cufflinks, key chains and tie clips.
History of Men’s Jewellery
Jewellery has always been worn by men and women over history. Before the discovery and utilization of precious metals, man has managed to find things considered to be beautiful and worthy enough to be worn as ornamentation for the body. People made necklaces by stringing mollusks or animal horns and teeth in remote regions of the world like in Africa and the early tribes and civilizations of Asia. This was considered a sign of wealth and status in the community.
In the undiscovered Americas, Native Americans made jewellery out of polished stones that they had discovered. These people are known for their work with turquoise jewellery. In ancient Egypt, Rome and Greece, both men and women wore jewellery on their heads, neck and arms. The same goes for the Arab people in the early Middle East.
No matter when or where, jewellery has always been a part of the culture of the people. It is only in the recent centuries’ around the start of the Victorian Era, that Jewellery started to get a feminine connotation and men’s jewellery were effectively reduced to just smaller and subtle items. Now, men seem to shy away from jewellery because it is perceived as emasculating.
Such a view was opposite to what the Egyptians saw when they thought of jewellery. These adornments are nothing compared to the glitz and pomp of the ancient times where men were in favor to wear glamorous links around their shoulders and enormous stoned rings on every finger.
Pharaohs wore jewellery that was as extravagant and sometimes more than what the women wore. Even their tunics were gilded with the finest crafted gold. On the neck lay a massive amount of carved gold that cascaded down to the chest. On the fingers sat large stones and impeccably crafted golden rings. None of these things were seen as feminine at that time.
The kings of neighboring countries wore gold pins on the locks of their hair. They too wore necklaces and rings. On the feminine issue, it was quite the opposite, in fact these individuals were highly revered and respected. The higher one rose in the ranks, the more jewellery he could pile on himself.
The Tudors of England, especially the famed Henry the VIII wore his share of jewels. Aside from the English Crown, he did not shy away from large rings and gem studded shoulder links. The reign of the ill-fated Marie Antoinette in France also saw men wear jewellery with pride. Jewelers were as busy creating trinkets for women as they did the men.
When the Victorian Era rolled around, the relationship of men and jewellery seemed to dwindle into crisp and bold cufflinks to other minor accessories only. Men still wore rings but the fascination started to die a slow death as the era came to an end.
In the late part of the 20th century, the male one sided earring came into fashion, perhaps catalyzed by the fashion choices of men who were in the constant eye of the public. The male earring had remained a constant over the years, but its appeal is fairly limited and not every man desires to have one.
It was also during the 20th century that silver chain links became a flagship for men’s jewellery. It has however gained a certain degree of negativity among fellow men and women. Like all trends, the silver chain necklaces and bracelets have not fully died down and remnants of it can still be seen worn by the local ‘gangster’.
It was in the recent years that jewellery companies have started to make tasteful men’s jewellery. New favorites came out like the thin platinum or white gold cuffs that are often worn by the younger set as ‘promise’ or ‘friendship’ bands with their lady friends. The hip hop scene also sported flashy necklaces with bold pendants and were referred to as ‘Bling-Bling’ for a minute, now it is just called ‘Bling’. Bling refers to everything from the encrusted pendants to flashy watches and even ‘grillz’. Grillz are custom made jewellery that is worn over the teeth for a flashy smile.
In the past years, men have started to rekindle their love affair with jewellery and the jewelers have noticed. They have started to create Jewellery from all sorts of materials. Wrist bands made of leather sell just as well as silver necklaces and bracelets. Famous men have started to sport jewellery themselves which encourage the young generation to follow suit.
Jewellery: For Women Only?
One of the main reasons why men shy away from wearing jewellery is that using jewellery is believed to be something feminine and is worn only by women. The American Sitcom ‘Friends’ touched on this matter when one friend Joey gave his roommate Chandler a gold bracelet as a sign of friendship. It ended up in comedic situations with Chandler trying to get out of wearing the gold cuff without hurting Joey’s feelings. Such was the taboo of men wearing jewellery that even the rubber wrist bands were rarely referred to as jewellery. They were seen as merely accessories.
This is one of the negative beliefs that jewelers are fighting against. They claim that it is very damaging to the sales of jewellery because it reinforces the idea that only women can wear jewellery.
More and more jewelers are creating jewellery that look more masculine than feminine. They have long focused on creating cufflinks and key chains only. It was only recently that men’s accessories like belts were given an upgraded look by using silver and precious stones inlaid in the designs. The cuffs made out of leather were cut wider and made of darker shades just to allude to the masculine specie.
Modern Day Men’s Jewellery
Modern day Men’s jewellery has been a very limited discipline and their availability is lesser than that of women’s. Nonetheless, the fields of men’s jewellery like the tie clips, key chains, rings, as well as the occasional necklace and bracelet have been so carefully honed that they now become expertly crafted creations.
Examples of modern crafted men’s jewellery are the cufflinks. Cufflinks are worn with French cuff shirts for work suits or in tuxedos and dress robes. They give men’s clothing a finished look as well as one of luxury. Cufflinks are generally made of metals, Gold, silver and platinum being the top choices. The heads of these links is where the design is often found. It can be intricately crafted designs like the cufflinks gifted to Prince Charles of Wales that portrayed several elements of his coat of arms. They can also be made to contain gem studs. Diamonds are the common choice.
Tie Clips and Key Chains are very common form of jewellery for men. Like the cufflinks, they are often made of precious metals and have a very subtle and simple design ideal. Men’s Rings are often wedding bands. They used to be available only plain designs, but now jewelers are coming up with stylized bands that have diamonds and other stones inlaid or attached in a pave style.
Of course, there is the small demographic of the Hip Hop and the music scene where men are free to wear as much and as many ‘Bling’ that they want. Bling jewellery can come in all forms from necklaces, bracelets, rings, and even teeth jewellery.
The occurrences of male necklaces and bracelets have been more profound lately. With high end jewelers coming up with them, they have taken on a new and elevated status in men’s fashion. Red Carpet Celebrities have been seen sporting them. The recent designs are more tasteful than before and are slowly gaining acceptance.
Future for the Male Jewellery Industry
The Future is Bright for the Male Jewellery Industry. One of the main reasons that we can say so is because the fashion world has taken an interest in it. It is highly likely that more and more men will wear jewellery. Maybe not the way Mr. T stacked gold chains on his neck, but in elegant ways. It is predicted that men’s comfort level towards the donning of jewellery will continue to increase. Although, the man who is used to his cuff links and tie clips alone may not be as enthusiastic to dive into wearing platinum on his neck and wrist.
As for the Jewelers, they must learn to keep in mind that Fashion is fickle and they must grab the opportunity while it is here. They can come out with exacting designs that will be appreciated by men these days.
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