Men’s statement jewellery is booming
Are you man enough for the new statement jewellery?
“I think men are getting more adventurous,” says the jeweller Charlie Carr-Gomm. “I see a lot more of them wearing gemstone jewellery, necklaces with pendants as well as earrings that would have been considered feminine but have now definitely become unisex.”
Part of an emerging vanguard of sustainabilitydriven makers, Carr-Gomm, who works from her shop, Found Studio, in Hove, West Sussex, is increasingly crafting pieces for men. “My signet rings are always really popular,” she says, “a couple of years ago it was plain signet rings and now it’s signets with large stones or engravings.”
The signet ring is an interesting case study in the development of men’s jewellery. Once a signifier of staunch Home Counties conservatism, now seemingly every young man with fingers brandishes something on an outermost digit. In 2021, signets are chunky, brash, bejewelled and unbevelled, and the market is saturated with brands looking to riff on a trend for premium (but not eye-watering) finger-wear. Take your pick from Tom Wood, All Blues, Maple, Hatton Labs, Bleue Burnham, Miansai, M Cohen, Alex Monroe, Foundwell, Maria Black, Good Art Hlywd, Foundrae, Alice Made This, Peyote Bird, Luis Morais… all north of £200 but less than a grand.
This trend hasn’t happened overnight. And it’s not just small independent labels. At Dior, designer Kim Jones has long championed statement jewellery, working with Yoon Ahn, the Tokyo-based, Korean-American designer, founder of the cult clothing brand Ambush, and recently devoting a collection to the work of the late British jeweller, Judy Blame. The Gucci man wears 1970s-style necklaces, while clients of Alexander McQueen will adorn their fingers with skulls and crossbones, all realised in fine metal. Bottega Veneta’s jewellery collection for men is more industrial, and as you might expect, the image of Medusa features prominently in Versace’s range.
Men’s jewellery is not the subdued affair it once was. “I think men are more open to wearing jewellery than ever before,” says Daniel Todd, buying manager at online retailer Mr Porter. “Long gone are the days when men would only really wear a wedding ring or simple chain. Jewellery is now a natural extension of one’s wardrobe and men are experimenting with decorative styles to highlight their individualism.”
Mr Porter has recently seen a huge growth in its fine jewellery remit, Todd explains, and towards the end of last year, the company observed customers “seeking higher price-point pieces that can be worn ubiquitously and kept forever”. Bracelets, he says, are by far the best sellers in the department.
The same goes for Mr Porter’s rival, Matches Fashion, which anointed “fine jewellery” as a key category at the end of 2020. Its offering has grown by 60 per cent in the run-up to spring, with a slew of new jewellery-only brands available on the site including Spinelli Kilcollin (a Los Angeles brand), Shay (also from LA) and Le Gramme, a Parisian jeweller.
On a recent video call, Matches’ head of menswear Damien Paul speculated that the purchases of bracelets, rings and pendants are replacing the flamboyant, occasion-wear spending that would typically have preceded the end-of-year parties — which, of course, didn’t happen.
Whatever the reason, if you are so-far unadorned this spring, you might want to consider putting a ring on it.
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