If you want to add more flair to your style, invest in jewelry. Brooches, lapel-pins and cufflinks have been around for years, but some creative jewelers like Paloma Picasso have found novel ideas to create jewels for men by crafting elegant cuffs. The Caliper cuff designed by Paloma for Tiffany is one such jewel and has a minimalistic edge.
Indian Haute Couture jeweler Bina Goenka observes that earlier, men either wore no jewelry or donned ones that were subtle and quite unnoticeable. “In fact, I created the bow tie pin to modernise the classic bowtie look, which I believe is overdone. It takes a formal tuxedo to the next level of bespoke tailoring, adding luxury and opulence to the overall look. With the overwhelming response that it received, it will be a permanent collection, reinventing itself continually,” says Bina.
The late Andrew Grima redefined the concept of ‘modern jewelry’ during the 1960s and 70s with his creative designs. His daughter, Francesca Grima, has followed in his footsteps and taken to jewelry designing. However, her Invader cufflinks, inspired by the 80’s computer games, are more playful and young in style.
Nada G’s capsule collection Khaizaran, which draws upon the craft of chair caning, is the designer’s tribute to Lebanese workmanship. Armenian-Turkish jeweler Arman Suciyan’s new Dragon Knot collection has a 925k sterling silver ring inspired by stylised Chinese dragon motifs. Observe carefully, and you can see a fierce dragon peering at you with yellow marquise-diamond eyes. Black brown and white diamonds, milky rose-cut diamonds, red and green garnets add additional detailing on the ring.
Self-taught Armenian jeweler Alishan Halebian uses sophisticated techniques and works with various materials to capture the metal’s beauty in a myriad of textures. Alishan’s hand-textured jewels are made in Palladium and, often, in combination with oxidized sterling silver to imbue the pieces with a very masculine look.
Smitha Sadanandan