Men's Jewelry Steals The Scene

METROSEXUAL!! The New Narcissus, a man of style and/or military chic. Dressed to the 9's in the latest fashions, today's man's sartorial elegance is attended with almost maniacal care. With larger showings in the biggest Italian fashion fetes, male vanity is periodically, and increasingly often, taking over magazine covers with special articles, surveys, graphs and tables. The macho man has morphed his look into the new buzzword for male fashionistas -- THE METROSEXUAL.

The macho man has morphed his look into the new buzzword for male fashionistas -- THE METROSEXUAL. These days the "Metro" is paying much more attention to his appearance, as proved by the constant

increase in sales of cosmetics and other grooming items. As such, the jewelry world is pricking up its ears because adornments are now a symbol of men's changing taste, with an unconventional splurge on fashion details in a generally conservative basic wardrobe. No accident then that all the largest of Italian jewelry fashion mavens are mounting exhibitions centering on male "Power Pieces" with extravagant creations conceived for men by major jewelry firms and designers.

With this increasing interest in their appearance, men's jewelry is experiencing a renaissance as a lifestyle phenomenon. No longer just the ghetto trend, all gilt chains and jewelry launched by Puff Daddy, nor the hot aristocratic dress of Schwarzenegger with a mega ring. The now look is a new youthful approach ranging from the new punk prickles to the rappers' pure gold and the "Bobo" (Bohemian Bourgeois)'s gold and platinum coats-of-arms. Yet in the everyday world, men's jewelry has been confined to a limited range of items: cufflinks, tiepins and a few chains. This is why many power designers have decided to send a strong signal to the market with their "Power Pieces", presenting the most stylish modern interpretations of men's jewelry.

There are Italians who are hostile and fanatic about men's jewelry, but the attitude is generally positive and especially so for bracelets. Always focused on the men's market, the brand Barakà has carried out a survey, with the help of Astra Demoskopea, on the opinions of a sample of 1,012 Italians aged between 14 and 79 (equal to around 47.4 million adults). So, who said that men don't like getting jewelry as a present? 25% of the men interviewed, when questioned about whether they preferred to receive or to buy jewelry, put the gift first and the purchase immediately after. And what exactly should one give a man? According to the men themselves, the gifts they like most are bracelets, followed by rings and small chains. Paradoxically, the very epitome of men's jewelry, cufflinks and tiepins, are at the bottom of the Italians' list of preferences.