Men’s Jewelry Box and the Use of Jewelry by Men Over the Centuries
In ancient times, men wore as much jewelry as women. Some kings wore jewelry as a talisman to ward off evil. So even back then, they had to rely on a handcrafted men’s jewelry box to keep their jewelry safe.During the 17th century, Greek artisans shaped beads with shells and bones to make jewelry. Men wore badges to denote social and official rank, and emblems of religious or social or political affiliation.Indian mythology is replete with tales of kings and male gods who wore large crowns encrusted with various precious stones. In real life too, Indian men wore jewelry such as rings, earrings, armlets, nose rings, lip rings, necklaces, and chains with big pendants. They also wore jewelry on the breast in the form of brooches, clasps, and buttons.On their hands and feet, they wore rings, bracelets, and anklets. The waist too was adorned with belts, girdles, pendants, chatelaines. To this day, there are some men from the state of Orissa in India who still wear jewelry all the time.In Egypt everyone wore jewelry. The men wore earrings, armlets, bracelets, and anklets. The men’s anklets were huge and round shaped. The whole body of the anklet would be hollow filled with precious stones.Egyptians wore beaded collars called a Wesekl. The rich wore jewelry made of gold or silver or Electrum (an amalgam of gold and silver) and inlaid with precious stones. This jewelry was handed down from generation to generation.In those ancient times, men usually followed in their father’s footsteps and wore what they wore. As the modern world goes through changes, men too have the opportunity to choose their occupation and way of dress. But there still are tribal men in every country who continue to wear their forefathers’ jewelry and live the same way their ancestors did.In today’s world, men are slowly gravitating back to jewelry and you can find many youngsters sporting rings, chains, bracelets, and earrings. There is also the professional ‘jewelry’ like cuff links and tie pins made of gold or other precious metals, and expensive watches, which has never lost its charm.Men have started wearing fashionably thick silver chains. They also like to match the chain with a bracelet of the same pattern. It is also considered macho and trendy to pierce an ear to wear a gold or silver stud.Rings were always worn by men. Western men usually wear only their wedding rings and there are those who were rings with religious connotations.There are the Asian men who like to wear their birthstone on a ring. There is a superstitious belief that if they wear it luck will keep knocking at their door. In India and elsewhere, male Bharatanatyam (an Indian classical dance) dancers wear jewelry and costumes very similar to their female counterparts and carry it off so well!Men are constantly evolving and nowadays it looks like their fascination lies more in fancy electronic gadgetry. Whatever be their interest, men can easily find a jewelry box to store their collection of jewelry and accessories.