Men's Jewelry

“From the Mayans, to the Native Americans, the men of Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, most African tribes, Polynesia inhabitants, men always wore, alongside tattoos, and other body ornaments, jewelry.”
-Nicolas Mekchoudi

Men’s jewelry often gets a bad rep as being for the overly effeminate or the man who likes to show off his wealth, but the truth is that many elements of men’s jewelry were created to fulfill a practical function. For instance, cuff links are clearly an adornment in modern times but were first created to keep shirt sleeves closed at the wrist. The same is true of the tie clip or pin and the money clip to keep bills organized in your pocket. Necklaces, pendants and rings have always held personal, social or religious symbolism for the wearer. Bracelets are often seen as over-the-top for men in North America, but the rest of the world embraces and encourages such adornments for men. The modern wristwatch was not a popular item 100 years ago; men preferred the pocket watch if they could afford one, but then, as the United States entered the Second World War, the U.S. Army issued a wristwatch to each soldier for the very practical purpose of coordinating battle strikes. When the men returned, they continued to wear their watches and jewelers began to meet this new market with fashionable designs in precious metals and stones.

Men's Jewelry on AM

Well-chosen jewelry from watches to bracelets allow a man to express a side of his personality to the world that clothing and men's hairstyles simply cannot communicate. While a slow shift back toward the acceptance of men wearing a variety of jewelry items is beginning to take shape, consider the prominence of body piercing among younger men. Is a pierced ear or nose symbolic of anything other than a man choosing to adorn himself with jewelry as an expression of himself ? As fashion trends change and the taste for men’s jewelry oscillates between the practical uses of the wristwatch to the symbolism of the signet ring, you can be assured that AM has the latest reviews of designer offerings and are on the pulse of the next great trend in men’s jewelry.

Men's Jewelry fact

The trend toward wearing only a wristwatch and perhaps a wedding band can be traced back to the cultural shift in men’s fashion that occurred after the Second World War as returning soldiers retained their personal habits of wearing only functional and practical items.