Pearls for Boys: How Men are Reclaiming Pearl Jewellery

By Hira Odedra
Nov 15, 2018

For decades, pearl jewellery was considered the height of femininity but the bivalve baubles used to be considered pretty butch and it seems that with the expansion of the male jewellery market more men are snapping up these precious Pacific beauties.


Pearls
Left: Qing dynasty, Yongzheng Emperor and right: Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala. Both adorned with regal pearls

We have evidence of pearls being worn by Song dynasty Chinese rulers as early as 2300 BCE. They’ve also long been a favourite of the Indian Maharajas. Julius Caesar, meanwhile, actually passed a law declaring them for aristocrats only. In England, they were often given loose to Tudor knights who would carry them into battle as a good luck talisman, and Charles the First was even famously beheaded while wearing a pearl pendant earring in one ear. So when did the pearl lose its rough, tough reputation and become so much more associated with dainty necklaces to be clutched at by feminine fingers?


Pearls
A young Charles I sporting the pearl earring he would eventually wear at his own beheading

It was when the Japanese perfected the art of growing and harvesting perfectly round pearls in a way that was much more efficient and cost-effective than ever before, that pearl jewellery took off with the masses. Jewellers adapted the gems to suit the ever changing fashions of the twentieth century, from the long pearly strings of the twenties to Dali’s signature mouth brooch with pearl teeth. But it was with the rise of film starlets wearing pearls that turned them into a gemstone more associated with women. As men bulked up into beefcakes for the screen they began to turn their backs on delicate soft-hued pearls.


Pearls
Starlets like Grace Kelly (Left) did a lot to feminise pearls. Dali got rather more creative with the gems with his famous “mouth brooch” on the right

But the times, they are a’changin, and once again men seem to be returning to pearl jewellery. Ever since Pierce Brosnan appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair wearing a single Tahitian pearl on a leather thong, the pearl’s potential has opened up from the tribal to the tailor-made. Most recently, American musical acts A1 Bentley and Pharrell Williams have made public appearances – decidedly unshy about their predilection for pearls – wearing multiple statement strings at once and typically opting for iconic white pearls over darker, understated colours.


Pearls
Left A1 Bentley, Right Pharrell Williams both sporting strings of white pearls.

If the idea of A1 Bentley’s flapper strings is a bit much and you’d prefer to ease yourself in to pearl jewellery, then consider smaller, more subtle pieces like cufflinks or tie pins. Or make like Brosnan with a single statement pearl as part of a more masculine design. Give the men’s marine jewellery trend a whirl with these pearly designs, all available at 1stdibs.com .


Pearls
Left: Versatile Spinel South Sea and Tahitian Pearl Gold Extra Long Necklace. Top right: Art Deco Diamond, Platinum and Mother of Pearl Cufflinks, Carrington, circa 1920. Bottom right: Tahitian Black South Sea Pearl White Diamond Yellow Gold Cocktail Ring.

Did you know:


  • A natural pearl takes six months to form
  • Although white pearls are the most popular, they can be found naturally in seven different colours
  • The global yearly diamond yield is ten times greater than that South Sea pearls

Text: Alice Duncan