Jewellery has long been considered to be a woman’s realm. Right from everyday wear such as necklaces or earrings, to heavy jewellery designed for special occasions, there has been a lot of focus on jewellery for women. However, the lines between the typicalmanly and womanly fashion have been gradually shrinking over the years and men are happily experimenting with their looks.
The changes in look however have not happened overnight. We have seen them in bits and pieces. In the so-called “hippy era”, it was common for men to sport a one-stud earring and that too on a particular ear. Sporting it on the other ear implied a different sexual orientation. In historical times, Kings in Asia and also from the royal families of Europe adorned jewellery. But the fashion faded with time.
But things have changed drastically now with men wearing brooches, bracelets, necklaces, rings, and of course earrings. This newfound attraction of men towards jewellery can be attributed to the advent of social media, gender-neutral concepts, and also the influence of people on how some products are promoted these days. Also, people are more open to accepting the new trend of accessorizing men.
Men on their part are coming up with new ways to express their individuality and jewellery is one of them. The blurring of the gender barrier has opened up a lot of creative possibilities in various sectors like fashion and jewellery. The designs have also become fluid and therefore it is difficult to differentiate between pieces that are meant for men and the ones for women.
Social media has also had a role to play. With known personalities sporting jewellery and sharing the same on social media, people at large have been inspired to wear what their favourites are wearing and make a statement. This has led to an increase in demand for men’s jewellery.
It is mostly the younger generation of men who have taken up the mantle of breaking the stereotypes. One cannot deny their impact on modern consumerism. The sale of a piece of jewellery for men is often the result of their favourite celebrity donning the same and putting a picture of it on one of the social media platforms.
This generation though preferring established brands does not hesitate to try pieces by upcoming designers. They identify with designs that vary from global, exotic, diverse, and at times even traditional. Again, some of them choose to go with something trendier or with gadget-themed designs. Knot and round cufflinks are often the most popular pieces. Men have been seen to opt for regular-facetted diamonds, metals, or even black diamonds. Often, they, go for stones in subdued colours like malachite, opal, lapis lazuli, or turquoise.
This new trend of more and more men wearing jewellery looks like one that’s going to stay. In the future, we may see some exclusive lines of jewellery for men that set new benchmarks in the world of fashion.
