Jewellery | Now, men bling it on

Download AppNewsTRENDSJewellery | Now, men bling it on Urban men across India are taking to jewels not just for ceremonial but everyday use. Spurred by celebrity adoption and dedicated product lines, the burgeoning male jewellery segment now constitutes 10-15 per cent of the overall jewellery market When Akshay Jhawar, 36, a textiles exporter in Surat, walked into a private jewellery show last year looking for some glint, he itched for something radical, something that quietly announced his personality to every room he walked into, unfettered by the shirt-and-tie decorum of formal society. The only jewellery he had worn since birth was a gold ring on his ear—a community ritual—and he wanted something more assertive. Venus Jewels, the diamond and solitaire exporters that had organised the show, had done so reluctantly, too, unconvinced by the profitability of male jewellery for anything other than ceremonial purchases. The industry truism, after all, was that men buy, women wear.