Vicenzaoro Highlights, January 2025: The Freedom of Men's Jewelry

Last Saturday, in Vicenza Expo Center’s Palladio Theater during the event organized by Trendvision - IEG's independent observatory, jewelry historian Amanda Triossi explored the long and erratic journey of men's jewelry through the centuries, taking the audience on a journey that brought back forgotten meanings and a rediscovery of values that were never quite lost. For a long period, from 1800 to 2000, men's jewelry had a predominantly functional role, until it almost became only a service accessory. The situation was different in earlier centuries, especially before the Industrial Revolution. In the late Middle Ages, for example, jewelry was worn to flaunt wealth, power, and even a good state of health. Its significance changed with the Renaissance when accessories acquired more and more value as luxury items and became decorations in their own right. Examples abound: portraits of rulers, nobles, wealthy merchants, and bankers show men adorned with elaborate jewelry. “Enseignes,” extremely detailed clasps, were often embellished with miniatures of celebratory or sentimental value, and “aiglets,” small brass or silver ornaments, were used to fasten garments before the invention of buttons. In the seventeenth century, these were replaced by “aigrettes,” usually in the form of a brooch used to fasten a tuft of real feathers to headwear. Some extraordinary examples show how jewelry could transform nature into something eternal, such as Duke Francis I of Pomerania’s iconic heron. After the long lapse of ornamental silence, men's jewelry is now back to strongly define men's style, as artists and celebrities on the most famous red carpets prove. The question is, why? Amanda Triossi attributes this resurgence to the breaking of rigid gender rules. We are finally seeing masculinity in a different light: men are free to express themselves in ways that were not possible for a long time. But it is not a return to the past: nowadays, men's jewelry is returning to express, decorate, and narrate, with a strength and freedom that surpasses that of yesteryear. A huge opportunity for the industry with a market destined to expand.