HEY, MEN! WHAT’S YOUR JEWELLERY QUOTIENT?

Daring and fashion forward is the new blending trend in the jewellery market, which is making barriers fall for men who are turning more confident in expressing their look. Designers and jewellery brands alike are all game to take this leap forward. With Tanishq recently launching ‘Aveer’, its exclusive range for men, and Voylla coming up with ‘Dare’ to appeal to the same massive demand, other brands like Orra, Gitanjali, Caratlane, etc. are also jumping on the bandwagon since industry experts feel that it’s not just a fleeting fashion statement. Ditching sophisticated norms, men today are pretty cool with wearing ear-studs, pendants or bracelets.

Tanishq launched Aveer when it witnessed the development of a huge market for men’s jewellery that was not limited to conventional engagement rings and cufflinks. It laid out a stylish range of rings, bracelets, chains, and ear-studs in gold, platinum and diamonds to cater to the style statements of men looking for traditional, contemporary, elegant and unique designs to complement their image. “The influence that is coming from rappers and the media now has youngsters wearing pendants over their shirts. They are also wearing studs and bracelets. This is basically becoming an extension of their personality as they feel free to accessorize themselves,” says Vishwas Shringi, CEO and founder of Voylla.

Evolving from the acceptable category of simple gold chains to products in leather, jewellery for men is surfacing with more innovative designs in rhodium, silver oxidized brooches, cufflinks, shirt pins and collar pins. The traditional forms have been modernized to specifically appeal to youngsters. “A combination of platinum with rose or yellow gold is in vogue. This adds to the design factor and the dual tone is working well not only in smaller value pieces such as rings but other products as well. We are presently observing a huge liking for dual tone chains and bracelets amongst men. This is especially in the case of platinum jewellery,” informs Vijay Jain, CEO and director of Orra.

Shringi reveals that with movies like ‘Bahubali’, the concept of jewellery has taken a new turn – traditional in form but modernized in style. He opines that the same thing has been done with Lord Ganesha or the trilogy concept of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, wherein design innovation is important. The other themes include army type quadrant designs that are given a contemporary look so as to achieve the goal of mass appeal among men and get them attracted to it.

The Pricing

While Aveer starts at Rs 20,000, available at Tanishq stores across the country, Dare offers an affordable price range that ranges from a few hundred rupees to about Rs 3,000. As per Jain of Orra, the demand for men’s jewellery has been posting 36% year-on-year growth. “We were taken by surprise when we saw double-digit growth in a month. A good 30% contribution is now coming from sales in the men’s category,” Shringi informs.

Future-Friendly

With men more comfortable shopping online when it comes to lifestyle products, Shringi feels that this proportion will continue to increase and in a few years be equal if not more to the women’s jewellery market. “The consumer demand for jewellery is constantly changing. They desire jewellery which is versatile and wearable. Hence, the industry has to pre-empt the consumers’ needs and create jewellery to fulfill it. Simplicity and elegance is and will always be the key for men’s jewellery,” Jain says with reference to the upward spiral in sales. “The market for men’s jewellery will be twice as much as the women’s category. Since it’s a new adoption, growth in this category will be higher,” Shringi predicts.

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