New York – In recent years, the men’s jewellery category has gone from unexciting to the peacocking attitude of centuries past.
Steeped in the context of gender-fluid dressing – or the disregard of societal sartorial standards dictated by one’s gender – today’s return to more ornate jewellery styling for men is a welcome change for Sotheby’s Vice Chairman of Jewellery Frank Everett.
He has curated ‘For the Boys: A Jewellery Exhibition,” which features more than 100 pieces of jewellery that demonstrate the evolution of men’s jewellery from the mid-1800s to the present day.
For the Boys will feature antique and vintage pieces from the likes of Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, Tiffany & Co, Verdura and David Webb, alongside contemporary jewellery from David Yurman, Shaun Leane, Chrome Hearts and NN by Nghi.”Since the dawn of time, men have always worn jewellery,” explains Everett.
“However, this renaissance has recently gained traction thanks to the aspirations of celebrities such as Harry Styles, Lewis Hamilton, Pharrell and others, who have helped to drive the modernisation of men’s jewellery and the embrace of styles and materials that were often thought to be for women only – those with precious and semi-precious stones and that generally evoke more personality.”
With more than 150,000 Instagram followers, Everett has been influential in championing men’s jewellery style, such as his social media campaign to #bringbackthebrooch.
He got his start in the retail side of jewellery, working for Bulgari, Tiffany & Co, Harry Winston and David Yurman.
He joined Sotheby’s in 2013. He oversaw sales including “The Collection of Mrs. Paul ‘Bunny’ Mellon” and “The Personal Collection of Shaun Leane”.
Everett teamed up with British Vogue jewellery editor Carol Woolton for the “In Bloom” sales exhibition in 2019.
In 2021, she will co-curate Brilliant & Black, a groundbreaking showcase dedicated to black jewellery designers, with jewellery editor and author Melanie Grant.For the men’s jewellery showcase, Everett said he wanted to break down gendered jewellery norms, rather than reinforce them.
“The purpose of this show is not to genderise jewellery – as I’m a firm believer that jewellery should and can be worn by anyone – but rather to celebrate self-expression and the ever-changing evolution of men’s style from past to present,” he explained.
“With this exhibition, we hope to not only educate and introduce jewellery to a new male audience, but also to break down pre-existing boundaries and cater to an audience that consciously wants to freely express their individuality through the power of jewellery.”Items in the sale will be priced from $3,000 to $300,000.
For the Boys: A Jewellery Exhibition will be open to the public at Sotheby’s New York from 23 September to 5 October.
