There was a time, in days gone by that men more almost as much jewelry as women did. This was mainly worn by the people of the higher strata of society and was an indicator of class and power. This was probably due to the fact that it used to be quite expensive and thus affordable by only those who had the money.
You can find such depictions from sculpture and other remnants of Egyptian civilization. The more Spartan cultures of ancient Greece and Rome, however, restricted the wearing of such jewelry to women, though the wearing of rings continued. It is only in the 20th century that traditions led to wedding and engagement rings being widely used by both genders.
After World War II, males started wearing luxury watches, tie clips and expensive cuff links, as a matter of personal adornment. This continued as a symbol of wealth and status, till the advent of the Flower Children in the 1960’s. This was when, men wearing beads, flowers and other adornments came to be more widely accepted.
Since then, habits like body piercing of ears, noses, eyebrows and even tongues have been embraced by the modern male. Stage celebrities gave this tradition a big boost, and started wearing men jewelry with these piercings, along with pendants, heavy necklaces, bracelets and anklets.
Men have now started using male jewelry to make a statement of style.
Jewelry choices for males now extend to:
- Watches
- Rings
- Earrings
- Bracelets
- Necklaces
- Pendants
- Cuff links
- Money clips
- Fountain pens
- Key chains
Manufacturers of watches have switched on to this trend and offer their models made in precious metals, adorned with gems. In fact, certain models of watches automatically indicate a high economic status, which has led to male wanting to flaunt them. Rings had always been very common jewelry items used by male, mainly to indicate marital status.
But the wide choices nowadays available have led to male wearing rings for adornment, and they need not be necessarily made of gold. Precious metals like platinum, tungsten, palladium are now on the scene in men jewelry. Earrings are worn by men to denote a certain carefree attitude, but are still looked down upon in traditional circles.
Bracelets are akin to watches and can be made from even wood, ceramics or other materials. Male do wear necklaces nowadays, but again those that do, go against tradition. Sportsmen and many males who are in the limelight do wear heavy necklaces, more to indicate their status of having arrived on the scene.
Pendants are more an indication of devotion and used along with religious symbols. Cuff links, money clips, fountain pens and expensive gold key chains are more used to signify wealth, but are items of fairly commonly used male jewelry.
Men jewelry has now become fairly widespread in use. As a matter of fact, a lot of people in this market see this niche as one that requires as much specialized attention as that given to women’s jewelry.
Designs are constantly being innovated specially to suit the male, and the demand for this sort of jewelry just goes up every year.