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Men’s Jewelry Trends Are More Adventurous Than Ever
On and off the carpet, men’s jewelry trends are seeing a more adventurous approach. Bigger stones, bolder colors, and delicate motifs are all up for grabs.
Lewis Hamilton attends the Wales Bonner Menswear Spring/Summer 2024 show during Paris Fashion Week on June 21, 2023. (Getty Images)
Over the past few years, men’s jewelry trends have undergone something of a peacock revolution, and suddenly it was no longer taboo for men not just to care about their appearance, but to actually prioritize it.
My earliest memory of jewelry is one that only came back to me fairly recently. I couldn’t have been more than four or five years old, in my mother’s bedroom, going through her things and becoming completely taken by the sparkle of pieces spilling out of her jewelry case, which looked like a miniature grandfather clock. I remember slipping on a few of her rings and bracelets, lingering over her earrings–there wasn’t much else I could do with them as my ears weren’t pierced–and then finishing with a spritz of her perfume, something I had seen her do just before leaving the house.
Perhaps she had a kind of sixth sense, because just as the scent began to settle, she walked in. I remember a time feeling like it froze as she took in the scene, while I tried to concoct a story about what I was doing.
Meet the Experts
Jennifer Shanker is the founder and CEO of the New York-based contemporary fine jewelry showroom and luxury boutique MUSE.
LA-based stylist and fashion editor Yashua Simmons has acted as a style editor for the Hearst Fashion Group, fashion director at Out Magazine, and more.
Selim Mouzannar is a fourth-generation Franco-Lebanese jeweler who opened his first workshop in 1993.
Renato Cipullo is a renowned, New York-based Italian fine jewelry designer whose brand merges Italian antiquity with the glamour of 1970s New York.
As Creative Director of Maison Boucheron since 2011, Claire Choisne designs High Jewelry that creatively blends savoir-faire and cutting-edge technology.
My story couldn’t hold water, which led to me being reprimanded and reminded that, as a boy, there were certain things I could and could not do, and certain things I could and could not wear. Even if I didn’t say it aloud, I know the question, “But why not?” was already percolating. It didn’t make sense to me then that self-expression had such clearly defined gender lines, and to this day, it still doesn’t. Thankfully, I don’t feel as alone in that sentiment as I did as a child.
Men Are Outspending Women in the Jewelry Department
I remember working at Saks Fifth Avenue as the world was reopening after the pandemic, when spending was through the roof. At a number of town hall meetings, a phrase tossed around in jest was, “the man had become the new woman.” Week after week, men were outspending women, not only in apparel but in jewelry as well. And though spending isn’t at the same level as it was post-lockdown, the sentiment that men are choosing to invest in their appearance hasn’t changed.
We’ve seen a meaningful increase in male clients over the past few years, and what’s most exciting is how adventurous they’ve become in their purchases.
When I spoke with Jennifer Shanker, founder and CEO of MUSE, she corroborated this rise of the male shopper: “Absolutely. We’ve seen a meaningful increase in male clients over the past few years, and what’s most exciting is how adventurous they’ve become in their purchases. Men are no longer limiting themselves to signet rings or simple chains. They’re exploring color, diamonds, and more expressive designs in a way that feels personal.”
Across my conversations, one idea kept emerging: this shift isn’t a trend, but a natural evolution of the approach to men’s jewelry trends.
Men’s Jewelry Trends Infiltrate the Red Carpet
Fashion editor and a bona fide jewelry lover, Yashua Simmons, tells Only Natural Diamonds, “I think it’s only a natural progression that we got here.” He says, “I think we tend to borrow from people that we might live with or cohabitate with. It’s like how a woman borrows her boyfriend’s blazer, I’ve always kind of had this idea about the guy borrowing a ring or a bracelet–just borrowing from a jewel box.”
When I spoke with Simmons, he was in Los Angeles, waiting for a few vintage Piagets to arrive for his client Usher, whom he was dressing for the Vanity Fair Oscars Party – speaking to the importance of the red carpet when it comes to men’s jewelry trends. Of course, there has always been a cohort of men who rival women on the red carpet, not only in terms of fashion but also jewelry, but this particular moment feels different.
Actors like Colman Domingo have turned the red carpet into something closer to a catwalk with their daring choices. Younger stars like Timothée Chalamet and Jeremy Allen White make jewelry choices that are perhaps more subtle, but no less impactful. There are also those you might not expect to be as experimental, like Oscar winner Adrien Brody, who stepped out on the carpet this year wearing a sculptural creation by Elsa Jin, celestial in shape and set with diamonds and sapphires.
Brooches & Beyond: Men’s Jewelry Trends Mark a Cultural Shift
For designers, that kind of visibility has a real impact. While in Paris, I had the chance to peruse and try on a few pieces by jewelry designer Selim Mouzannar, whose work reflects his dual worlds of Beirut and Paris. His pieces have also been worn by some of Simmons’s clients, including Usher and Giveon.
When pondering this cultural shift and the role of the red carpet, he says, “It’s a social phenomenon. Some influential men were courageous enough to wear some of these jewelry [pieces], and people saw it, and they discovered it. Now, on the red carpet, you can see men wearing brooches. Three years ago, it was not really common.” When I asked Shanker what she believes is driving this shift, and how much of it can be attributed to the red carpet, she responded, “The red carpet certainly helped normalize it, but what we’re seeing now goes far beyond that.”
Men’s Jewelry Trends Are Breaking Gender Barriers
Though it is certainly becoming more normal for some, this phenomenon is not entirely new. Jewelry designer Renato Cipullo, who has been in the industry since the ‘60s and started his own line in the ‘70s, says, “For me, this moment actually feels very familiar. When I began designing in the 1970s, there was an incredible sense of freedom in fashion and jewelry.”
He continues, “A piece wasn’t confined by gender in the way it sometimes became later. People were inspired by art, travel, music, and the spirit of individuality that defined that decade. What I see today reminds me of that energy. Men are rediscovering the pleasure of wearing jewelry that feels expressive with larger stones, color, or motifs that once might have been considered unconventional. It isn’t really something new; it’s more like a return to a broader idea of personal style.”
The Evolution of Men’s Jewelry Trends
Claire Choisne, Boucheron’s creative director, echoes this notion. “Historically, many aesthetic codes were strictly divided: certain stones, colors, or motifs were considered ‘feminine,’ while men’s jewelry trends were expected to remain discreet,” she says. “But when society begins to question rigid gender roles, those stylistic borders start to dissolve as well. Men today feel less constrained by those old expectations, and that opens the door to a much richer form of self-expression.”
This moment is in part about gender, but more broadly, it reflects a sentiment of self-allowance among men to engage with jewelry in a more expansive way. The entire jewelry box, so to speak, is no longer off limits.
Before my trip to Paris, I was in London, and I knew I wanted to buy a piece of antique jewelry as a sort of homage to Jacqueline Onassis. I had just written about her jewelry collection, including a piece she purchased in Wiltshire. Instead of going to Wiltshire, I popped into Gray’s Antique Market, a two-story building on Davies Street that houses what feels like miles of booths selling jewelry, watches, and antiques.
I had very little time to truly peruse, so when I walked in, I turned right and went straight to the first booth I saw. I looked at a few things, and the shop owner told me to take pictures and think about the piece I wanted. I chalk this up, perhaps, to being an American, or just downright impulsive, but I made a quick decision and settled on a tie bar from the 1910s in gold and platinum with a row of sapphires and diamonds.
For the entirety of the trip, I wore the tie bar day and night. At first, it was practical; I had limited options because I only traveled with a carry-on and needed something to add a bit of presence to my outfits. But it also felt right to wear it every day. It became an extension of me, and perhaps a subconscious way of answering a question that I posed at a young age: yes, a man can dare to wear a piece like this, because everyone has the right to a diamond.
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