Jewellery for men
Jewels for Men the very idea somehow sounds odd and out of place, as it is the popular belief that jewels are meant for women alone and to be worn and owned by women only. Jewellery is a privilege enjoyed by women, something that is unopposed by men, or rather enjoyed and encouraged by men. All women, except a few namely the nuns, etc., like to wear some trinket or the other. Given the choice many women would rather starve than not have some jewels.
If what is said above is true, how do I justify the title If jewels are the prerogative of the women only, what about men who bedeck themselves with ornate pieces like chains with pendants with initials or even words inscribed on them, rings, earrings and studs, bracelets, etc. Maybe to associate jewels with women exclusively is not altogether correct.
The tendency to look presentable and pleasing by adorning ones body with accessories dates back to even stone age. Irrespective of their sex, all people wore ornate items made from animal claw, bone, tooth, and tusk. The kings from any part of the world used to adorn themselves from head to toe with heavily studded jewels. The crown, earrings, rows of pearls and strings of other valuable stones around the neck, rings for all fingers, bracelets, sashes, belts with clasps and buckles made of precious stones; hilts of the swords, armlets, and anklets were all the necessary pieces of jewelry a king was expected to be wearing. Not only the kings but all men of social importance wore a crown or a headgear made of either gold or silver. The difference in their status reflected in the jewelry that one used. Even the ordinary men were no exception; only their jewels were not as valuable as the kings. As the jewels were status symbols, the gold and the real gems were for the kings, the silver and semiprecious stones were for the commoners. The possession of jewels in abundance evidenced the wealth and the prosperity of that society. That being the case, jewels were not an exclusively all-female item those days.
Though gold, silver and gems had replaced flowers, animal bones, teeth, tusks etc. claws or the nails of the tiger were irreplaceable. They were still in vogue; those who worn it as pendants on chains around their necks flaunted it as mementoes, from the tiger they had hunted, to prove their bravery. The tiger nails were believed to bring good luck to those who wore them; so tiger nails and elephant hair are hot stuff even today with the jewelers.
As the time passed and kings became a rare species, the amount of jewels that a man could wear must have fallen in number. Jewels like crowns are obsolete, weapons are forbidden, so are the jewels for men which have declined to almost nil to nothing. There was a time in history where men almost wore nothing except their wrist watches (if that can be called a jewel) and wedding bands.
Still certain customs encouraging mens jewels continue to be practiced. In Hindu families all male childrens ears are pierced like they do for female babies, and are made to wear earrings or diamond studs. For instance, Mahatma Gandhi recollects in his autobiography My Experiment With Truth about his wearing a pair of diamond studs when he was a small boy. But this practice stops there and no one insists that these boys wear those earrings throughout. In fact anybody wearing the earrings is made fun of and as a result nobody dare doing that.
Todays youth have revived that custom in the name of fashion and it is considered fashionable to wear earrings on both ears or only on the right ear. Also there is a sudden spurt of passion among men to wear jewels and they seem to compete with women in the number of pieces of jewelry they wear. The choice is very, very minimal. The list of the jewels for men is not very long and it has earrings/studs/drops, short chains with a variety of pendants, bracelets, the designer wrist watches with decorative metal straps, the rings and it stops there. Apart from these that are worn on the body, there are diamond-studded tie pins or cuff links and accessories like valets, belts, cigarette cases which they can boast of as theirs exclusively. Pendants can be the symbols of religion like cross or some idols, names or others like swastika.
Now for the availability part of it, mens jewelry can be custom made, readymade, or can even be ordered on the Internet. Costly and cheap, both are available to suit all budgets. Real or artificial, precious or semiprecious, jewels have found an important place in a mans life. Too many jewels on a woman look indecent; similarly too many of them on a man will turn him almost effeminate. So dear menfolk! Leave jewelry to the fairer sex and stand aside and see the jewels gain more beauty sitting on a suitable place.
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