Wearing your jewelry creations

Jewelry Discussion
61 
Are there some men out there who like jewelry? Sure. Someone has to
be a pirate. Is there ever going to be a big market for it? Not in
my lifetime. The only men's jewelry I make up for stock are wedding
bands. Other than that, they have to custom order it if they want
it. I don't even carry tie tacs or cufflinks anymore because it
would, on average, take me about 5 years to sell one piece. There
aren't enough bikers around my location to try to grab that market
so...

The above quote is from a well respected member of this forum whose
postings I always read. It reveals a basis that surprised me.

We can only speak from our personal experience; mine is as a retail
jeweler selling exclusively at art fairs. I’ve been doing it for more
than 20 years at a modest level. I find that the comments about men’s
jewelry in this thread to be not relevant to my experience.

In dollar terms men’s jewelry is more than 50% of my income. A
comment I hear frequently at shows is “Oh! men’s jewelry.” Not the
diamond stuck in a nugget ring; but something different with more
design (he says modestly).

People do not know what they want until they see it.

It wasn’t a business plan on my part; it just evolved. Partially
because I’m mainly self taught and didn’t know ‘what was done and
not done’. It’s probably also due to the type of stones I use: Opals
in matrix, which I cut from rough and which lend themselves to men’s
jewelry, at least for me.

I started out as a stone cutter who came to concentrate on opal in
my work. I pretty much followed my own lead in design.

For me It’s pretty much a niche market; I don’t have to sell to
everyone. And finally, diamonds, rubies, and pearls are stones I use
infrequently.

I’ve sold men’s jewelry to Hollywood producers, game designers,
investment bankers, computer ‘geeks’ among others, but never to a
pirate.

KPK
www.kevinpatrickkelly.com

62 
Men just seem to be much more finicky about their jewelry than
women. They are also much more likely to >wear it out by never
taking it off, when they find something they like.

Dave, this phenomenon has interested and frustrated me for years. At
shows, I sell braclelets to a lot of guys, mostly first-timers. When
I see a guy approaching my booth wearing a bracelet, I know I have
very little chance of selling him another. These bracelets are
typically boring, but I so often find that the guy has been wearing
it for years, it has sentimental value, and he doesn’t want to
change- even though one of my bracelets would be way cooler!

I have finally come to terms with this counterintuitiveness, that a
guy wearing a bracelet already is LESS open to wearing another one.
So, ironically, I have had way better success with men who have never
worn a bracelet and certainly didn’t expect to be buying any jewelry
at the show. I,too, maintain that there is a LOT of untapped demand
in the men’s sector.

Allan Mason
Hermosa Beach, CA

63

A little heads up Orchid members.

While shopping in the men’s department at a Nordstrom’s here in So.
Cal. during the '07 holidays, I noticed that there was a very large
case of men’s cufflinks and tuxedo stud sets displayed.

I was shocked that so much room in the department was dedicated to
these pieces. The glass case was two-tiered and about 12 ft. long.
Being curious, I inquired w/ a salesman about the large number of
links & stud sets. This is the clincher. He said that he sells a
great quantity and it does justify the space taken for that purpose.
He said that the men love the French cuffed shirts that require
cufflinks and that they sell a large quantity of them, as well.
Didn’t ask whether they also stock tuxedo components, i.e. the
shirts, cummerbunds.

Could it be that the cuff links/stud sets are being sold where the
clothing that requires the jewelry is being sold? Maybe a new market
for those interested.

I was quite surprised when my 27 year-old son recently requested
that I fabricate a set of cufflinks for him. Lives/works in NYC,
where they are not required to gussy-up for work.

Best I better get to it before he runs to some wonderful gallery in
wonderful NYC!

Kay Taylor

64 
Lives/works in NYC, where they are not required to gussy-up for
work.

This is just an aside. Maybe your son doesn’t have to dress up for
work in NYC but every time I go there I am blown away by just how
many people are dressed to the nines there, unlike most other places
I visit. Maybe in CA everyone is dressed down and certainly in my
town of Cambridge where dressing down is an active sport, but I
think in NYC people actually understand and use fashion, both for
personal statements and as part of their entire lifestyle.

Daniel R. Spirer, G.G.
Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers, LLC
1780 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02140

65

Kevin,

Our relatively different experiences (vis-a-vis men buying jewelry)
are probably more based on different venues than anything else.
Although I did do craft shows early on in my career, I can no longer
remember whether I had better luck selling men’s jewelry then. But I
do know that in my store the stuff just doesn’t move. And please
note that I market heavily to, and am strongly supported by, the
local gay community. But even my gay male clients tend to go
primarily for very plain wedding bands. Do I give all my male
relatives and friends jewelry to wear? Sure. But do men just walk in
and buy something out of my cases? Nope. Part of this may very well
have to do with my location in the Republic of Cambridge where less
is always considered more (remember I get women in asking me to make
their big, inherited diamonds look smaller), and for all of their
hippiedom (not sure that’s a word) the men tend to be pretty
conservative. However I still think that overall, men’s jewelry has
never taken off the way it’s been repeatedly reported to be doing in
the trade press over the years.

Daniel R. Spirer, G.G.
Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers, LLC
1780 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02140

66 
I,too, maintain that there is a LOT of untapped demand in the men's
sector.

I think so too. The men of this world just need educating as to the
fact that they NEED jewellery and that wearing it will make them
attractive and desirable! :wink:

Helen
UK

67

You got it, Daniel. Isn’t New York wonderful?! The young people
working in his line of work are casual at work, but dress to go out
on the weekends.

And when my son gets dressed up, he wants French cuffs and the links
to sport them. His retired dad won’t be caught in them. He’s put the
ties away for some great bolos. You should see us when we all get
together! Isn’t life FUN? Our daughter is a painter there, and adds
another wonderful dimension to the family.

Kay

68

Sometimes you make me laugh just hard, Helen. Thank you. That’s a
little how my husband is. :slight_smile:

My husband is my guinea pig for men’s jewelry. He’ll wear something
to class, and he asks what folks think of it. (He won’t wear
something he doesn’t like) So we find out what men are buying. Or
what women are buying for them. Some work, some don’t.

Kim
http://of-the-earth.org

69

Hi Dave

Men just seem to be much more finicky about their jewelry than
women. They are also much more likely to wear it out by never
taking it off, when they find something they like. You can see the
same phenomenon in shoes.

I dunno, but it seems to me there is a difference between American
and European. I for one have five pairs of footwear and replace them
with exactly the same style (when I can get it), whereas my wife not
has “twice that number” but about TWENTY that number!!! And that
goes for my two daughters as well. Otherwise I fully agree :wink:

Niels Lovschal

70 
The men of this world just need educating as to the>fact that they
NEED jewellery and that wearing it will make >them>attractive and
desirable! ;-)

To add to the idea of men wearing jewelry:

It would be nice if there were male acceptable yet tasteful choices.
I soo get tired of seeing the gangsta bling on normal everyday men.
Ugghh!

The market only seems to go 2 ways: understated and god awful. We
jewelers need to push a midway point.

Tod Reed and Charles Lewton Brain are a good start and men need manly
examples. It would be nice if the fashion world would do a widespread
man -jewelry model photo op in GQ Or Maxim. Show the everyman what
could be.

Tired of too much and not enough!
Rae Mearkle

71 
Sometimes you make me laugh just hard, Helen. Thank you. That's a
little how my husband is. :)

Thanks Kim! I can be a right royal pain in the * sometimes but I’m
glad I gave you a giggle! :wink:

Men’s jewellery is something I want to make a lot more of. I’ve
enjoyed making some of the men’s pieces more than a lot of the
women’s pieces. I’ve tended to base the women’s pieces around
whatever gemstone I’m using (I’m addicted to gems) and the silverwork
is used to compliment the stone, whereas all the men’s pieces I’ve
made (keyrings, finger rings, cufflinks), I’ve not used stones and
have just let the silver do the talking. I’m planning to make some
women’s pieces just using silver/gold too, with no gems.

Helen
UK

72 
I soo get tired of seeing the gangsta bling on normal everyday
men.

Yes I couldn’t agree more! I don’t know what it’s like in the US but
over here in the UK we have teenaged school kids wearing very
chunky, solid gold chains just like their gangster pop idols - it
sickens me. It’s usually those who live in what I think you call
project housing (council housing) and with supposedly no money! They
are also the ones who buy designer clothes and designer everything
and walk around in designer sports clothing and matching designer
sneakers (trainers). We have a name for them over here. They’re
called Chavs. There are various theories as to the origin of the
label Chav. Although he denied it vehemently, my 21 year old son was
a Chav for a long while and is only just growing out of it. He can
now be seen to wear more normal clothing such as jeans and even real
shoes! :wink: And his musical tastes are veering away from the chav
culture too - there’s hope for him yet!

Anyway I digress. We do seem to have some middle of the road man
jewellery in the UK but as someone pointed out the other day, it
seems to be sold in the gentlemen’s outfitters (men’s clothing shops)
more than in the jewellers. When my then fiance and I were shopping
for cufflinks for our wedding for the groom, best man and my two
sons, we trawled the high streets looking in all the jeweller’s and
men’s clothing stores and we found nothing suitable or within budget
in the jeweller’s stores but in the clothing stores we were more
spoilt for choice. I think (IMHO) the jewellery stores need to catch
up with what’s going on in the clothes shops. So as Rae says, perhaps
we need to come up with something in between the two extremes.

Jewellery designers/makers of men’s jewellery who I really admire
are Todd Reed, James Binnion, Chris Ploof, Trevor F (touchmetal.com)
and Pat Pruitt. I reckon they’re going in the right direction.

As Orchid seems to represent the jewellery industry, especially in
the States, maybe it’s up to members of Orchid to set such trends
rather than wait for them to happen and follow them?

Helen
UK

73

On the issue of cufflinks and tuxedo studs, if you go to any really
nice menswear department or store, such as Jos A Banks, they always
carry a good supply of these, and do seem to do rather well with
them. I don’t make either myself, but have wondered whether a
jeweler who did could get “in” with one of these stores, or set up a
trunk sale.

In my rural part of SC we do have a small Banks store in the "big"
city an hour away, and the local Belks department store also carries
the mens cufflinks and tuxedo studs. Banks has a much better
collection design wise.

How that would translate into sales at an actual jewelry store I
couldn’t say. I do think much of the success the stores have is in
selling the shirt, then saying, oh, do you need the cufflinks to go
with that?

Beth in SC

74

Beth,

I do think much of the success the stores have is in selling the
shirt, then saying, oh, do you need the cufflinks to go with that?

Well, what about the jeweler selling the Engagement/Wedding Rings
adding, let me show you the Cuff Links and Studs for the Groomsmen.
Also, have you thought about a Chain Bracelet as Bridal Party Gifts,
for both the Bride’s and Groom’s attendants.

Don’t stop there, remember the parents and siblings. The
possibilities are endless, it is called Marketing.

Hugs,
Terrie

75 
On the issue of cufflinks and tuxedo studs, if you go to any
really nice menswear department or store, such as Jos A Banks, they
always carry a good supply of these, and do seem to do rather well
with them.

Good thinking. Beth,

When I lived in Santa Fe, I supplied a nice men’s store (yes, they
carried suits and such, not just jeans & denim shirts) with tuxedo
stud sets, bolos, and cufflinks. It was an excellent source of
income for me. I was their only artist supplying them and they
carried manufactured pieces, too. I am not pursuing this direction,
but if someone came up with a line of work classy enough for the Jos
A Bank type market, it could work. It would not be too expensive to
create a small sample line and test that market. I see it as untapped
and potentially lucrative. Targeting a small, well researched and
targeted market is daring, but the rewards can be great.

Megin
Megin Diamond Designs
www.megindiamond.com

76

Daniel-

Our relatively different experiences (vis-a-vis men buying jewelry)
are probably more based on different venues than anything else.
Although I did do craft shows early on in my career, I can no
longer remember whether I had better luck selling men's jewelry
then. But I do know that in my store the stuff just doesn't move.
And please note that I market heavily to, and am strongly supported
by, the local gay community. But even my gay male clients tend to
go primarily for very plain wedding bands.

It may well have to do with venues on an even larger scale; say the
northeast vs California, San Francisco and LA.

It’s been my experience that people from the east and midwest
characterize people from CA as being extremely different. This
attitude is mainly from people who have never been to CA. Although
those people may be right; I spent too many years in CA to be
objective.

I lived in the San Francisco area for over twenty years. Maybe people
from CA, especially from SF and LA, are very different. I know when I
go to New England It’s almost as if I’m in a foreign country. Those
years in San Francisco had a strong effect. The bulk of my jewelry
education took place in CA.

I started out doing street fairs and from early on I made men’s
jewelry along with other jewelry including women’s jewelry. It wasn’t
a business plan; it just went that way. I’ve always had a large gay
and lesbian following in addition to customers from 18 to 95.
Everything I do is on ‘spec’; I only do custom work for people who
have previously purchased work from me. The 95 year old, I’m sorry to
say now deceased, bought gold rings from me only if the opals were
very flashy. But I digress.

Daniel, your description of New Yorkers are how I would characterize
gay men in the San Francisco area. I make fairly high end jewelry.
Gay men usually have a higher level of disposable income, are better
education and are more articulate and witty than the average male.
There may be gays who don’t fit my characterization; but I haven’t
met them. But as I’ve said my experience is mainly in the San
Francisco area.

But even though I focused my comments on CA I’ve also sold to high
power lawyers in the D.C. area; educators, engineers, investment
bankers from NYC to LA and San Francisco. Almost all were rings with
fairly exotic opal.

I made the comment that people don’t know what they want until they
see it.

One of my favorite things is wine. I and my wife had a lovely white
in Beaune, France; a Sevigny de Beaune. We have a local beverage
store that looks like one of those old gas stations that one sees in
the southwest. But they do have quite a selection of wine. I asked
the wine person if he had a Sevigny de Beaune. He said he had the red
but not the white. I asked why he didn’t have the white. He told me
that people don’t buy the white. I said: but you don’t stock the
white.

Daniel I am in no way suggesting that you change yours ways; from
every indication you have a very successful business. My posting was
intended to note that we shouldn’t let our prejudices prevent us from
taking a broader view of this business.

KPK