Diamonds and Dissent: The Male Rebel Through the Ages
Explore the evolution of men’s diamond jewelry, from dandyism and hip-hop to today’s bold brooches, layered diamonds, and modern style rebels.
Connor Storrie leaves The Carlyle Hotel before the 2026 Met Gala celebrating “Costume Art” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. (Getty Images)
The ‘male rebel,’ armed with self-possession, an iconoclastic attitude, and a flamboyant taste in tailoring and men’s diamond jewelry, is an archetype that can be traced back to the original 18th-century dandy.
The inception of Dandyism redefined rebellion from the bold gold jewelry worn symbolically by ancient civilizations into elegance. Famed 19th-century Dandy, Beau Brummell, rejected the ornate accessories of the time, wearing one simple gold signet ring. Over the past centuries, the symbolism of the ‘male rebel’ continues to evolve through the subculture of 1930s Harlem black Dandyism (currently experiencing a style renaissance), the golden age of filmmaking, pop culture, gender fluidity, and a new era of global democratic image.
Meet the Expert
Davina Catt has worked as a features journalist, writing and editing for leading publications across the world, including Vogue.com, British Vogue, Financial Times, Observer and as a features writer at The Evening Standard. She is currently a UK contributing editor at Interview magazine.
Contemporary male rebels use an experimental approach to diamonds to challenge social norms: reinventing vintage jewelry with a modern edge. This summer’s eponymous trend is the return of the diamond brooch seen on runways and red carpets. At the Met Gala, diamond brooches were styled and stacked to be fashion, art, and masterpiece statements by a male rebel who is meeting the moment.
Men’s Diamond Jewelry Gets Playful on the Red Carpet
Love Story phenomenon, Paul Anthony Kelly, punctuated his Dior ‘Clark Gable Meets Dracula’ tailcoat with a sculptural vintage yellow gold brooch pinned to his lapel, Rami Malek glistened in an archival Cartier Diamond Bar brooch made from channel set baguette and round cut diamonds in Art Deco form, while Adrien Brody’s ‘Swan Lake’ inspired show stopper by Elsa Jin was created from a 5.3 carat pear-shaped green diamond and fringed white diamonds to illusional effect.
Brody continues to set the standard, regularly collaborating with bespoke jewelry artist Jin on diamond brooches as sartorial storytelling: he donned a ‘Ulysses’ brooch with a princess-cut 20-carat sapphire and 1279 diamonds for the 2026 Oscars and a sculptural La Danse de Nuit brooch set with yellow and black diamonds at last year’s Cannes.
Others styling diamonds ‘outside of the lines’ include Bad Bunny, who knocked it out of the park at the Super Bowl 2026 performing in a custom football-shaped marquise-cut diamond earring by Marvin Douglas, and Nick Jonas, who styled a single 18-karat white gold diamond stud by Marli New York as a lapel brooch at the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscars Afterparty.
Below, explore the continuing allure of the male rebel and how “the male rebel can now be anything because definitions of dressing aren’t as concrete as in the past,” according to Julian Day, award-winning costume designer of F1 and Rocketman.
Black Dandyism: Fashion as Activism
First emerging as ‘sartorial activism’ during the 1930s Harlem Renaissance, black dandyism stemmed from the need for rebellion. However, New York-based Dandy Wellington, contributor to 2025’s Met Costume Institute exhibition, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, and style activist for the UK’s historic Goodwood Revival, cites jewelry as the most versatile of a man’s wardrobe; he opts for 1930s golden age vintage diamond tie clips, cufflinks, and signet rings true to the Art Deco influence of the time. Some of his most prized pieces include a Bulgari Vintage Tubogas Ring featuring diamonds set onto a snake head, a vintage diamond Canary ring, and lapel pins.
Dandy Wellington notes the renewed interest in the Black Dandy style: “Sub-cultures will always exist as a place where self-expression and community converge… an embrace of timeless elegance in a modern age.” He cites Colman Domingo as “the best representative of the modern-day dandy.” Domingo’s ambitious jewelry choices are now de rigeur; notably, he wore the Boucheron ‘Serpent Boheme’ collection at the Met Gala.
Mixing up one double pear-shaped gold, onyx and round pavé diamond earring with a pear-shaped stud in the other ear, matching serpent-shaped motif brooch and pinky ring, with pear-shaped yellow gold and white diamond pavé rings stacked on other fingers to eclectic effect. Arguably Domingo’s most striking look was at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, where he caused a sensation sporting the Boucheron Nuri, Le Perroquet ear cuff made of brightly colored gemstone feathers and cut from pavé diamonds in white and yellow gold.
The Wild Ones: Motorcycles, Medallions and Male Rebellion
The most timeless image of male rebellion and masculinity of the modern age? Marlon Brando on a motorbike in The Wild One. Arguably the most shocking moment of the film is when Brando reveals the large semi-precious and diamond ring on his finger, since men’s jewelry had gone out of style at the time.
Other late studio system leading men, Steve McQueen and James Dean, followed suit; they experimented with men’s medallion pendants and charm necklaces in a new era of self-expression, in which male rebellion and jewelry became more symbiotic as a visual representation of individualism.
The rebel identity of these golden age movie stars continues to reverberate with each decade: modern chameleon and acting great, Daniel Day-Lewis turned heads on many 90s red carpets with his hoop earrings. Man-of-the-moment Jacob Elordi has openly credited Day-Lewis as the reason he got his ears pierced, notably wearing C de Cartier 18-karat white gold diamond studs at this year’s Oscars. (More on Elordi later.)
The Diamond Age of Hip-Hop
The emergence of male rappers wearing overt diamond jewelry during this period was an expression of the success these counterculture artists sought to project. From the oversized gold chains of the ’80s, “bling” kept getting bigger and bolder. In the ’90s, rapper Jay-Z sported Tiffany & Co. white diamond cufflinks boasting a total weight of more than 95 carats, along with his famous Roc-A-Fella Records diamond medallion pendant.
’90s hip-hop stars led the charge in transitioning men’s diamond jewelry from gold to “iced-out” platinum and diamonds. That trend continues today through the bold bling of A$AP Rocky, who took the popular diamond grillz of his predecessors and turned them into artistic expression. Continuing to make a statement with his standout jewelry moments, Rocky gave a masterclass in modern layering at the 2026 Met Gala.
Wearing bespoke Pavē Niteō x Maison Codognato creations, Rocky sported a massive “Grim de la Grim” pendant, once again redefining hip-hop jewelry codes through a blend of old-world Italian craftsmanship and contemporary swagger.
Statement upon statement, the massive “Grim de la Grim” pendant, cast in 18-karat yellow gold and intricately detailed with enamel and brilliant diamonds, took center stage. It was layered with an archival 18-karat yellow gold Codognato cross pendant set with diamonds, emeralds, pink sapphires, and pink tourmalines, featuring the Four Evangelists and the Holy Spirit engraved on the reverse.
Balancing the bold necklaces were a pair of Tweed de Chanel diamond drop earrings, a pink sapphire and diamond Chanel brooch, and oversized skull rings in 18-karat gold and silver, set with colored diamonds from Pavē Niteō. For the after-party, Rocky swapped in a custom Briony Raymond cigarette case crafted in 18-karat white and yellow gold, set with more than 200 round brilliant diamonds, and finished with an 1880s Byzantine-style antique medallion on the reverse.
During the 2000s and beyond, pop culture and luxury design continued to converge, with Pharrell Williams creating his own Tiffany & Co. jewelry line, Titan by Pharrell. Designed with a punk-inspired rebellious aesthetic, the initial collection featured spear-like motifs inspired by Poseidon’s trident, crafted from black pearls surrounded by 18-karat rose gold and pavé diamonds. The Tiffany Titan by Pharrell Williams collaboration is still ongoing today.
Jewelry’s New Gender-Fluid Era
The surge in gender-fluid dressing on the red carpet, driven by the Gen Z crowd, embraces “romantic realism,” blending traditional feminine shapes and often accessorizing them with layers of diamond jewelry.
Led by “male diva” Harry Styles, new iterations of the nonbinary aesthetic have emerged from the likes of Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie. The rise of gender-fluid silhouettes on the red carpet coincides with the emergence of the “It” stylist for men. Harry Lambert champions a playful approach to luxury jewelry that includes mixing traditional diamonds with avant-garde pieces in an effort to channel the “modern dandy” through his celebrity clientele.
Harry Styles’ eclectic approach to jewelry focuses on stacking. He has paired diamond eternity bands and a Veretta circular ring with five diamonds alongside his favored signet rings. Connor Storrie took ring stacking to new heights at this year’s Vanity Fair Oscars Afterparty red carpet, mixing old and new with the Elsa Peretti for Tiffany Split Ring, Bone Ring in yellow gold with round brilliant diamond accents, Cabochon Ring, and Fancy Color Ring in yellow gold and citrine, alongside a contemporary Tiffany HardWear Small Link Ring in yellow gold and diamonds, to striking effect.
The “image architects” are now part of the conversation. Super-stylist Law Roach has found his own diamond “sweet spot” by focusing on one story-invoking design. For the 2026 Oscars, he wore a bold, Art Deco-inspired brooch by Swadesh featuring a vivid ruby framed by lines of hand-set diamonds. Meanwhile, his sensational 53-carat Leviev Diamonds ring was the talk of fashion’s biggest night, the Met Gala.
The Progressives Rewriting the Rules
The new set of male rebels is harder to categorize, taking an experimental, anything-goes approach to modern style. As dandyism has been adopted globally, it has evolved from understated to unapologetic. Hudson Williams and Jacob Elordi are jewelry progressives. Williams recently rocked one Bulgari Serpenti Viper 18K white gold full pavé diamond hoop earring, a Bulgari 18K white gold pinky ring set with one round brilliant-cut diamond, 20 fancy-shaped step-cut diamonds, and pavé-set diamonds, along with a Bulgari platinum necklace featuring one pear-shaped diamond, one round brilliant-cut diamond, and pavé diamonds.
In a time of flux, Jacob Elordi is carving out a style statement that sits between modernity and nostalgia. He openly pays homage to movie heroes like Brando and Newman, emulating an old Hollywood nonchalance for the social media era. His off-duty looks center on layered jewelry paired with slouchy silhouettes and abstract, sculptural shapes, including his custom yellow gold emerald signet ring by independent New York jeweler Eli Halili and a Tiffany & Co. Hardware Link bracelet mixed with vintage diamond jewelry.
Even the infamously strict Cannes Film Festival dress code is beginning to embrace male rebellion. British actor Simon Pegg continues to define offbeat star-power dressing through his showstopping look from the 2024 festival, pairing a Victorian old-cut diamond star pin and diamond brooch from antique jewelry specialists Piccadilly Vaults with an 18-karat rose and white gold jeweled diamond gun pendant by vintage jewelers Susannah Lovis.
Pegg’s stylist, UK-based Arabella Boyce, comments, “There’s something incredibly cinematic about a brooch worn with sharp tailoring; it references Old Hollywood but feels modern again because it’s being worn with individuality rather than convention.” She adds, “Historically, the great male style icons have always been the rule breakers, from Brando to Bowie and Prince. I think we are seeing that spirit return now, with younger actors becoming far more experimental with jewelry and expressive dressing.”
Arguably, the most endearing aspect of the modern male rebel is that he doesn’t need to exist within any single moment or definition. This year’s Cannes Film Festival jury was headed by Swedish actor and statesman Stellan Skarsgård, whose classic approach to jewelry—Montblanc cufflinks, including fine jewelry versions in white gold and onyx with a subtle pavé diamond trim—coexists with his son’s avant-garde tastes. Alexander Skarsgård underpins his boundary-pushing red carpet looks with anachronistic jewels like the Panthère de Cartier brooch, crafted in white gold and set with two emeralds and 159 brilliant-cut diamonds, which he has said “can also provide flavor to a traditional tux,” continuing this intergenerational story of iconoclasm.
As fashion continues to evolve into visual entertainment, even this summer’s sporting stars, the DR Congo World Cup team, are exploring male rebellion through their jewelry choices. As award-winning costume designer Julian Day concludes, “The image of the male rebel will continue so long as they wear the [clothes] and diamond jewelry rather than the other way around.”
