Handmade Silver Jewellery for Men – The Second Sex…

Posted by: silverjewelryblog on: July 14, 2010

• In: Jewellery | Men Jewellery
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When it comes to handmade silver jewellery, it is men who are most decidedly the “second sex”. Most silver jewellery is associated with women – even though women are not the only ones who like to fiddle with their attire and adornment to attract a romantic partner.

In fact, in nature, it is the male of the species who is most often the flamboyant one. To illustrate: it is the peacock, and not the peahen, whose ravishing feathers are flared in courtship, and the male lion whose head is surrounded by a corona of mane. Any woman who has ever been wooed knows that a man who wants to gain her attention will “show off” – sometimes by bragging, sometimes by preening, and sometimes, by buying her jewellery!

In centuries past, men’s costumes were as elaborate as women’s. Men wore wigs as elaborate as the wigs worn by women; they wore fancy hats with feathers and brooches; their shoes had scarlet heels and silver buckles; and they were as likely as women to adorn their fingers with rings and their breasts with necklaces. Today’s men’s clothing is relatively streamlined and sober.  But increasingly, gold and silver jewellery is appearing for, and on, men.

Cufflinks and tie clips were the “traditional” silver jewellery for men in the 20th century – especially men who worked on Wall Street or Fleet Street. Men who roamed the outback of Australia or the ranges of the western U.S.A. might also sport silver jewellery in the form of a heavy silver belt buckle, a bolo tie, or silver spurs for their cowboy boots. And the wristwatch, whether of gold, platinum, titanium or silver, is a classic accessory for men that is practical, aesthetically pleasing and, in some cases, worthy of leaving to the next generation.

But here in the 21st century, at – if not past – the height of postmodernism, we can see a proliferation of silver jewellery for men that mimics conventional silver jewellery for women. Silver rings and silver bracelets all exist for men, and have been spotted on the likes of Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp. Many men wear silver necklaces with a pendant of religious significance. Others restrict their silver jewellery to a silver or gemstone stud earring or hoop earrings – like those worn by Daniel Day-Lewis. Amongst younger men, silver jewellery is increasingly worn as body art – in piercings around the eyebrow and chin, for example.