Is Gentlemen Wearing Jewellery Considered Faux Pas?

I’m gonna be upfront with this – there’s no right or wrong answer here. Some are totally against menfolk wearing jewellery, believing that it’s a womenfolk’s realm. Others are totally okay with it. In fact, some actually encourage it too. And yet some others, myself included, stand somewhere in the middle… But what about you?… Where do you stand?…

Jewellery Usage Through The Millennia

Jewellery, in the traditional sense, refers to decorative pieces that adorn and enhance one’s overall attire. Usually made from, or contain precious materials. Wearing jewellery is a symbol of luxury. On its own, it has no functional purpose whatsoever, other than as a decorative accessory. Ancient civilisation progressed through the millennia, but wealth distribution wasn’t proportionate. The royalties and the noble class (read: rich) wish to differentiate themselves from the rest of society. What better way to display one’s wealth than wearing jewellery made of precious metals and stones?

With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, an ever larger group of people are becoming wealthier than their ancestors. Everybody wishes to flaunt their wealth… However, jewellery became heavily favoured by womenfolk, whilst most men prefer to go sans jewellery… Most, not all… Unless, of course, you’re really into the hip-hop culture…

So if you’re not into hip-hop, and consider yourself a modern day gentleman, can you still wear jewellery?

Can A Contemporary Gentleman Wear Jewellery?

The short answer to that question is – yes… The long answer is – it depends on who you ask… Personally, I believe that the modern day gentleman can wear jewellery, as long as he doesn’t go overboard. That means, don’t weigh yourself down with precious metals and stones. Think of jewellery as spices – a little goes a long way. A dash of pepper in your mushroom soup will enhance its flavour. But scooping in spoonfuls of pepper will ruin the taste completely.

So let’s take a look at some sartorially approved, gentleman’s jewellery :-

(1) Tie-Clips

Whether tie-bars, tie-chains, tie-pins, tie-tacks, etc., I group them all into a common category of tie-clips. They all serve the same purpose. They keep your tie in place, so it doesn’t flap around in the wind… Or worse… dip into your mushroom soup when you bend over…

They can be solid precious metals (e.g. gold, platinum, etc.), plated precious metals, or plain old, industrial grade, stainless steel. Some models also come decorated with precious stones too. It serves an obvious, functional purpose. But it also gives you an excuse to adorn yourself with jewellery, or jewellery-like accessories.

(2) Cuff Links

Only applicable when you wear shirts with fold-over, double-cuffs (or convertible single-cuffs). Double-cuffs are rigid, with buttonholes on both ends, necessitating an independent accessory to fasten them together. The more common single-cuff has a button on one end, and a buttonhole on the other end. You fasten the button into the buttonhole.

Notice how double-cuff shirts look effortlessly more elegant than single-cuff shirts? And the fact that you can only fasten them with a mandatory accessory, makes it even more extravagant. Like the tie-clip, they come in solid precious metals, plated precious metals, or plain old, industrial grade, stainless steel. And just like tie-clips, some models also come decorated with precious stones too.

(3) Lapel Pins

Lapel pins show your affiliation more than keeping your garments fastened together. So technically speaking, lapel pins aren’t exactly a necessity in a gentleman’s wardrobe. However, when used for its intended purpose, I still it consider it a functional accessory. A lapel pin is, after all, not a purely decorative accessory, unlike a bejewelled brooch.

Usually seen on the jacket lapels of politicians, military veterans, or alumni of universities and colleges. Lapel pins is an inconspicuous way to show one’s affiliation to one’s organisation. In fact, you don’t need to wear a lapelled jacket to wear a lapel pin. You can simply poke the pin through any garment that you’re wearing.

(4) Wristwatch

On the practical side, a wristwatch is simply an antiquated time-telling device. Hence, it’s a truly functional tool. But watches come in all types of genres, with different levels of micro-engineering. They can feature both precious metals, or good old, industrial grade, stainless steel. Hence, some watches announce the wearer’s social status more than just simply telling the time.

This watch does more than merely tell the time to the wearer. It tells the others around him of his relationship with time. It projects his personal brand identity, as one who respects both his, and others’ time. You don’t need a gold watch, with diamond hour markers, laid onto a mother-of-pearl dial, to show luxury.

(5) Rings

Just like lapel pins, rings also doesn’t serve any functional purpose for the overall ensemble either. And just like lapel pins, rings also only function to identify the wearer’s status and affiliation. A wedding band on the ring finger?… Or a signet ring on the pinky finger or thumb?… They both serve to project a specific message. One screams “Hands off, I’m a married man”. And the other says “I’m a proud member of the XXX Clan”.

Whilst there are no rules against gentlemen wearing rings, there are some rules of thumb… Or rather, “suggestions”… No more than two rings on each hand, and never stack them on the same finger. Unless absolutely necessary, don’t wear any rings that doesn’t carry any significant meaning (i.e. purely decorative rings). Like I said, these are merely “suggestions”. I’m okay with it, as long as you don’t go overboard, with gaudy looking monstrosities… Or stack multiple rings per finger…

Wearing The Jewellery In Combination

As we’re all aware, jewellery doesn’t exist in isolation. We wear them in combination, together with our outfit. So it makes sense that the jewellery serves to enhance the gentleman’s outfit, rather than to compete for attention. And the litmus test?… Wear them all together, and see if it spices up your core ensemble, or leave a distasteful aftertaste…

Remember, a dash of pepper in your mushroom soup enhances the flavour, but spoonfuls of it ruins the taste completely. Henceforth, your jewellery, when worn sparingly, will serve to enhance your overall outfit. But overload on any one (or more) of them, and you’ll hurt your entire image.

Gentlemen And Jewellery, Pas Or Faux Pas?

Personally, I’d say it’s acceptable for the modern day gentlemen to wear jewellery with their outfit. Just make sure to keep them subtle enough to “fly under the radar”… lest you set off the metal detectors… Remember, your jewellery is there to enhance your overall image, not compete for attention with your core outfit. If you have any questions, comments or critiques, leave them below. And if you enjoyed this article, do me a favour, and help maintain my caffeine intake. All the research and writings are figuratively and literally caffeine-powered. You can buy me a coffee with the link below. Greatly appreciate your generosities.