At London's Royal Exchange bar, a popular hangout for investment bankers, gold bracelets, diamond earrings and platinum necklaces are on display. And not just on the women. This year men have started sparkling, too. Some of the world's most conservative movers and shakers are wearing understated gold cuffs from Tiffany & Co. and platinum and diamond pendants from De Beers's new Talisman collection. "We're a post-bling generation now," says Mary Brittain, editor of the British trade magazine Jewelry. "Expensive, sophisticated and subtle is in."
Men's pieces now account for more than 10 percent of jewelry sales in Britain--double that of a few years ago. In the United States last year, men's links of london wholesale accounted for more than 11 percent of the $57.4 billion jewelry market, making it the industry's largest growth sector. "It's a whole new business," says Tom Kalenderian, top executive for men's buying at Barneys', which now features 10 men's jewelry designers--up from none two years ago. "This isn't grown-up gaudy. It's artistic, bohemian and understated."
Top traditional jewelers are leading the way. Last year Cartier, Georg Jensen and Garrard launched full-fledged men's jewelry lines, going way beyond tie clips and cuff links to embrace matte platinum rings and subtle gold-sword necklaces. Following in their footsteps are lesser-known designers like Ten Thousand Things, Me&Ro, and Tawny Phillips.
At the same time, European fashion houses like Gucci, Christian Dior and Prada have expanded into jewelry with chic takes on macho staples. Dolce & Gabbana launches a new brand, D&G Jewel, next month, which promises to target men as much as women. Its "military-inspired" collection will feature 24-karat-gold dog-tag pendants. In March, links of london charms Vivienne Westwood launched a "hard-core diamond" line, with heavy orb rings for big hands and diamond-studded safety-pin earrings sold individually, for men. "We can't keep the stuff in the shop," says Peter Nyhan, men's fashion-merchandise manager at Harrods.
One key sign that this is a real trend: men are spending their own cash on the goods. Airport shops--the bastion of minted, mostly male business travelers--have just begun to introduce separate men's jewelry areas, according to Duty-Free International News. "The men are shopping themselves," says Barney's Kalendarian. "This is not a gift business." Let's just hope they don't forget to pick up a few jewels for their partners, too.
Better Than Green
A thousand years ago, during the Sung dynasty, Emperor Hui-tsung singled out white tea as the "pinnacle of refinement." Hailing from China's Fujian province mountains, this elite tea comes from the downy-white young leaves of the finest tea plants in early spring, before their buds have opened. Producers slowly steam or bake dry these infant leaves links of london I Charm within their natural pods, creating a tea that's sweet, fresh and much less bitter than its more processed and oxidized relative, green tea. Two recent studies, at Louisiana's Pace University and Oregon State University, found that white tea is the most beneficial of all brews, rich in cancer-fighting antioxidants and capable of boosting the body's immune system even more than the green stuff. With such mystical properties, it's not cheap; some varieties, like Silver Needle and Snowbud, sell for up to $14 for 57 grams.
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