Men's Jewelry on the Rise

RAPAPORT... It seems men are tired of letting women do all thesparkling. In September 2018, The New York Times printed a story aboutthe growing popularity of men's jewelry, tying the trend to the introduction ofmen's fashion weeks and the rise of Instagram. More recently, nautical-cordbracelets, upscale chains, signet rings, and dog-tag-like pendant necklaces havemade style headlines in magazines like Forbes and Men's Health.But this isn't new to jewelry store owners. "The men's jewelry market has made a big turn in the pastfew years, especially with a large influence coming from the entertainmentindustry," says Zahir Jooma, co-owner of Icebox Diamonds & Watches inAtlanta, Georgia. Jooma, whose family-owned business has served the area forover 40 years, ties some of the demand to the mainstreaming of hip-hop. "If youlisten to the big, big rappers, they're talking about diamonds," he notes. Inthe song "Put a Date on It" by rappers Yo Gotti and Lil Baby, for example, aline mentions not only diamonds, but their clarity: "VVS diamonds drippin' overmy t-shirt," raps Lil Baby. "Right now, hip-hop is the number-one [music] genre," saysJooma. "It used to be pop. But now there's a lot of men rapping about jewelry,and the [listener] demographic is older, and they can afford to buy forthemselves." While celebrities may drive trends, Jooma - who has plentyof celebrity clients - says his customers also include young professionals,teens whose parents buy them jewelry, and suburban men who drive into the cityto visit his store. Many of his clients want to emulate their favoritemusicians, athletes and entertainers. Bring the bling Self-purchasing men are also driving sales at Shyne Jewelersin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which has an entertainer- and athlete-drivenbase as well. "It's definitely a culture in Philadelphia," says LeaD'Onofrio, the company's business development director of e-commerce. "We'veseen a strong increase in men self-purchasers investing in jewelry. Ourbusiness here is 85% male self-purchasers, and we only see it increasing." Younger men in particular are beginning to buy, she adds."We find a strong focus in millennial men wearing jewelry. Many men in theirlate 20s are investing in their first piece of fine jewelry." Whereas traditional ideas about men's jewelry are usuallylimited to yellow gold chains, tastes have changed, Jooma says. Naturaldiamonds - his customers are not interested in lab-grown stones - are bigsellers, as are tennis bracelets, tennis necklaces, and diamond-covered Cubanlink chains in white, yellow and rose gold. He says custom pendants, largepinky rings, and athletic championship-style rings are also trending. Size definitely matters, according to Joseph Aranbayev,co-owner of Avianne & Co., which has been operating in New York since 1999."The bigger, the better," declares Aranbayev, whose clients also includecelebrities and young professionals. He says his customers insist on natural diamonds overlab-grown, and that many clients want custom. "Big chains, big medallions.Everybody wants to put something right up on their chests. It speaks right there.The jewelry says hello right before you even say hello." Of course, lots of men also want more low-key pieces. "Weneed simple, basic stuff, too," comments Ben Smithee, CEO of consumerconsultancy The Smithee Group (TSG), which specializes in digital strategy andmillennial marketing. He suggests that classic items such as rings, braceletsand stainless steel cuffs are good entry-level pieces for both customers andretailers. "Ask what allows a man to tell a story about himself," he says. "Mysignet ring is a lion, because I'm a Leo and king of the jungle. And it'ssomething I can wear with shorts and tennis shoes as well as a suit." Male-order bridal Regarding prices, Jooma says the average self-purchase inhis store ranges from $7,000 to $10,000, although many items are much higher -$30,000, $50,000, and even $200,000 sales are not uncommon. Those sales alsotranslate into bridal. "People who buy a lot of jewelry for themselves spend a loton the engagement ring, and they want higher quality for women than they buyfor themselves," explains Jooma. "They buy large center stones for women, andthey also buy a lot of men's eternity bands to match the rest of their jewelry- a plain band for daily wear." He says the average men's eternity wedding bandin his store costs between $12,000 and $20,000. When people buy gifts for theirmale partners, the sales are more modest, ranging from $1,000 to $3,000. In New York, Aranbayev says men spend an average of $8,000to $10,000 on self-purchases each time they shop, and that the average price ofa men's diamond wedding band in his shop is $3,000. "There's a lot of men whodo basic, but in the last 15 years, it's become flashier, like a big diamondeternity wedding band," he says. "And everything is custom." When it comes to gifts, Aranbayev says many significantothers receive accessories that go with items they already own. "I have aclient with numerous custom pieces," he relates. "For his birthday, hisgirlfriend came in and bought him something to go with his diamond bracelet." Gifts are also big sellers at Shyne, where D'Onofrio sayswhite sapphire initial pendants, costing between $150 and $350, are bigsellers. Of course, many people spend bigger. "A woman recently came in andspent over $10,000 on a Father's Day gift," D'Onofrio reports. Self-purchasers, who overwhelmingly prefer mined diamonds tolab-grown, are heavily investing in gold chains and custom work, she continues- especially in pendants, which start at $1,500 but can run upward of $50,000for larger pieces, such as diamond-covered portrait necklaces. "Men want thingsthat are crazy and out of the box," she says. Instagram inroads The majority of Shyne's customers find the store via itsInstagram account, where it has over 358,000 followers, according to D'Onofrio."We try to keep our feed organic, and we post throughout the day. Our clientswant to see what we're working on at the moment." Digital is important for Aranbayev, too. "Social media has abig role," says the New York jeweler, who has over 288,000 followers onInstagram. "The hip-hop industry has become mainstream, and that culture comeswith a lot of men's jewelry.... It's trendy, and the more you read about it andhear about it, the more you want to wear it." With over 1.8 million Instagram followers, Jooma is clearlyembracing his dedicated online following. But his success is really predicatedon knowing his clientele. "Marketing to men is more of a year-round sale," heelaborates. "Women are more seasonal. And men buy a lot more fashion. A lot ofmen are buying their fifth diamond ring or their third diamond watch. The wholeculture of collecting watches has moved [instead] to collecting jewelry." Companies such as David Yurman, John Hardy, Inox, and GothChic are serving the men's fashion customer, but without enough retailers tostock them, many are going directly to the consumer. "We're forcing the men's consumers online. I shop directlyfrom brands on Instagram," says Smithee. "Someone has to be the tastemaker. IfI were a jewelry store, locally, I would find men who were Instagraminfluencers and have them create a men's audience and a men's line for me." Jooma says retailers looking to dip into the men's marketshould start small and build. "Start with items that are actually women'sitems, like a ladies' diamond necklace or a diamond tennis bracelet, but alonger version," he advises. "You can always cut it shorter and sell it towomen. Then you can add some risky men's pieces, like a large pendant." Stores can also tap into the online consumer basethemselves. "I see a continued increase in millennial men investing money injewelry," says D'Onofrio. "We also see the online market increasingcontinuously, even in the luxury business, so it's crucial that we provide thesame intimate relationship online that we do to our customers face to face." Open to diversity One of the reasons men's fashion jewelry hasn't yetpenetrated the market more deeply, suggests Jooma, is that some retailers arenot ready to accommodate the customers who seek it out. "Some of these storesare not welcoming to the hip-hop customer who wants hip-hop jewelry," he says."But a lot of those stores are suffering, and they can't have that attitude forlong. A lot of people come into our store because they feel respected. We haveheard about some jewelry stores not showing love to them, but people who havethat attitude will miss out." Jooma understands some of the hesitation, from a businessstandpoint. "The diamond jewelry market is still over 90% women, especially ifyou [don't count] bridal," he notes. "So it does make sense for [the industry]not to dive into men's jewelry. But a lot of stores are failing, [and] it's notbecause people don't want diamonds. As [men's jewelry] becomes more prominent,one or two years from now, we'll see them adding more proven men's designs." Stores that aren't already courting men may be hurtingthemselves. "People are missing out on the market," agrees D'Onofrio. "InPhiladelphia, we get a lot of diversity, and people with tattoos on theirfaces, and piercings and shaved heads. I don't know if those clients would behelped by associates in some stores. But you have to be able to cater toeverybody and take everybody seriously." Part of the problem may be that the industry continues tostruggle with a changing demographic. "There's a big disconnect between whiteAmerica and urban America, and that's why white America doesn't want to accepta large amount of men's jewelry," says Aranbayev. "And you have to understandthe trends. If you're talking to a whole bunch of old-timers, they don't knowwhat's going on. Traditional studs or earrings or tennis bracelets are nice andall, but there's a market that hasn't been tapped into. In the next 20 years,everything will be different. You should just start accepting it now." Smithee agrees. "There's a lot of jewelry dollars [thatretailers] are leaving on the table because they feel like it's not theircustomer." Elsewhere in luxury fashion, brands are already embracing adiverse clientele. Smithee points to Virgil Abloh, the creator of urban fashionbrand Off-White, who is designing at Louis Vuitton. "And there's people like mewho wear a lot of men's jewelry, who are not hip-hop artists and not bikerdudes," he adds. "Why not serve all those communities?" Businesses already doing so say the space is lucrative. "We had some kid come all the way from China," recallsAranbayev. "He's 15-and-a-half years old and he spent a quarter of a milliondollars. The kid heard about us through rap music... That's how mainstream thisis." Case Study: Todd ReedColorado-based designer Todd Reed has always been a part ofthe men's jewelry market, both with his designs and, in recent years, as a standaloneretailer. "In 1992, I had a lot of men's jewelry, because I'm a guy," he says."I always made men's jewelry and men's accessories." Still, he says, that side of his business hasn't grown asmuch as he expected. "I did think men's would be a big part of my business. Butin most jewelry stores, [men's jewelry offerings are] mostly bridal and notfashion." A lot of jewelers just aren't interested in stocking men'sfashion inventory, he says. "It's difficult as a designer, because every squarefoot has to equate to a certain amount of sales, or it doesn't stay." Nonetheless, Reed says male self-purchasers are making animpact. "Our two top customers in our Boulder store are self-purchasing men,"he says. "They buy big funky art jewelry, and they buy big chains and diamondsand stacked bands. And they're both wanting to do more custom." Indeed, he's looking to design more custom pieces for men,albeit in limited quantities. "Like the rest of my jewelry, I'm trying to makeless, and make it more unique." Even if he wanted to enter the men's market moreextensively, he continues, it's not cost-effective right now. "I'm a smalldesigner. You have to balance the brand and market what's selling. And to do amen's campaign, it would have to yield so much return that I don't think it'ssmart." The strategy that seems to work best for Reed is connectingwith men in person. "Events strategy is the only one that works," he says. "OnInstagram, I have 100,000 followers, and it feels like 99% of that is otherjewelers. But at events, I can curate the results and the energy in the room,and I make it what I want." And once men become customers, he adds, they're in it forthe long haul. "If men buy something, they're very loyal. They find somethingthey like, and they stick to it." The original version of this article was published in the September issue of Rapaport Magazine. Image: Ice Box Rolo link necklace with 225.96 carats of diamonds and Icebox Mariner link necklace with 95.67 carats of diamonds. (Icebox)