With Father’s Day coming up I’ve been turning my attention to something to make or buy for my husband and I keep finding myself drawn to stores and websites which feature jewelry made for men. My husband doesn’t wear much jewelry, but he does have a few different rings and even he’s noticed how popular jewelry is becoming for men.
Making jewelry for men is really not much different than making jewelry for women, though the styles may differ quite a bit, depending upon what you’re used to making. You can use most of your traditional jewelry making and bead jewelry design skills to make jewelry for men or women, but again, there are some general differences in what sort of jewelry most men like to wear.
Materials You Can Use to Make Men’s Jewelry
Yes, you can use traditional beading wire, beads, silk cords and other sorts of materials to make men’s jewelry, but you’ll also want to consider venturing out into a lot of the more alternative and non-traditional jewelry making materials that we’ve seen. When we think of “manly” jewelry most of us think of heavy jewelry making supplies like leather, rubber, carbon fiber, dark stones, strong woods and lots of metals other than just gold and silver. Platinum, tungsten, titanium and even stainless steel are all popular materials to incorporate when you’re making men’s jewelry. A lot of men are still getting used to the idea of wearing jewelry, so sometimes making jewelry out of non-traditional but familiar materials can be an attention-grabber. Consider making jewelry out of bike chains or even making necklaces and bracelets out of hardware and washers.
A lot of women’s jewelry tends to stick with a single material theme, but men’s jewelry tends to mix jewelry making materials more often. Think of using leather and metal together to maybe make men’s bracelet or possibly attaching a wood pendant to a thick silk cord for a sort of men’s necklace.
Types of Men’s Jewelry
When it comes to making jewelry for men you almost have more types of jewelry you can make then you do for women. For most women the big sellers of handmade jewelry are earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings and then you can move into beaded bookmarks, beaded eyeglass holders, cell phone charms and lots of other little beaded jewelry type accessories.
Men’s jewelry can be a little more variable including the traditional rings, bracelets, and necklaces. Yes, plenty of men wear earrings but most men’s earrings are relatively plain and there are not a lot of custom made earrings for men on the market yet. Other types of specialized men’s jewelry include cuff links, tie tacks, tie chains and money clips. Women tend to wear more brooches and pins than men, but I’ve seen some custom designed jewelry pins for men, though they are usually promoting a specific cause or sports franchises.
When men wear jewelry around the neck it’s sometimes referred to as a “neck chain” instead of a necklace and they often are designed to store or convey a message. Dog tags are a popular type of neck jewelry for men, and ID bracelets are a popular jewelry item for men’s wrists. Either of these can have any sort of message imprinted on them, from a name to a date to a favorite saying or quote.
Men’s Jewelry Styles
Just as with women’s jewelry, there are lots of different styles of men’s jewelry you can make. When you’re making men’s jewelry you may want to think about making jewelry that’s can be worn in formal and informal settings equally as comfortably. The exception to this is cuff links, which can almost only be worn with French shirt cuffs and obviously tie tacks and tie chains.
The most common style for men’s jewelry these days can probably be described as a modern style that embodies smooth and simply lines that conveys sophistication without a lot of detail or ornateness. Most men’s jewelry you find in jewelry stores falls into this category. It’s often made out of polished metals like platinum, titatium or tungsten and it is often darker in color. Men’s jewelry can have some “bling” and shiny metal and stones, but it’s usually tempered by more muted colors.
Industrial looking men’s jewelry is also popular and this is where you can often see the alternative metals and materials being used to make men’s jewelry. A lot of men like jewelry made from bicycle parts or even jewelry accessories made from various computer parts and pieces of junk. This is also where you might want to try using other alternative materials like steel mesh, rivets or other metal objects that have a unique shape, color or texture.
Other the other extreme from industrial and modern jewelry is rustic men’s jewelry. Rustic men’s jewelry invokes images of the American West, Native Americans and the great outdoors. You can use natural materials like bone, wooden beads, leather and other natural jewelry making materials to make men’s jewelry that’s natural in style. This is where you might be able to bring in some color with stone jewelry beads of various sizes and types.
An often overlooked style of men’s jewelry is religious jewelry. I wouldn’t get too flashy here, but crosses and other religious symbols and pendants hung from a black satin cord, hemp line or even chain can make for a simple piece of men’s jewelry with wide appeal, depending upon where you’re selling your items.
Skills Needed to Make Men’s Jewelry
The only skills you really need to make most men’s jewelry are not much different from those skills that you need to make women’s jewelry. Really, the skills involved with making a particular jewelry piece will vary according to the design and materials you are using.
Since many men’s jewelry designs involve materials other than beads on wires you may want to expand your skillset a little bet. Having any sort of skills or experience with leather and hemp cord tying would be helpful and possessing welding and metallurgy skills would be completely invaluable. Even having some basic power tool skills can be helpful when you’re making men’s jewelry because many of the materials are thicker and stronger than what most women’s jewelry is made with.
Special Considerations When Making Jewelry for Men
Remember, the jewelry you make for men has to be worn, so you want to be sure that it’s something that looks good and conveys traditional values that many men associate with, even if they do sound a little cliche. You want your jewelry to convey strength, power, sophistication and even be a little flashy if appropriate. Men don’t necessarily want to feel “pretty” but they do want to feel good about their appearance so you should make jewelry that conveys a sense of success and purpose.
Don’t forget to change up your jewelry packaging, too. You don’t want to sell someone a leather and steel men’s bracelet and then give it to them in a pink jewelry bag with Swarovski crystals dangling off of it! Consider making special men’s jewelry boxes that are designed to appeal to men. If you’re going for funky you could look into using plain cardboard boxes (or maybe old boxes that were used for hardware) and “wrap” your jewelry in newspaper (make sure the ink doesn’t stain the jewelry). Or instead of a men’s jewelry box maybe you could include a little leather drawstring bag or some other clever way for a man to store a piece of jewelry.
You’ll also want to watch your sizing when it comes to men’s jewelry. Men are typically built a little larger than women, especially when it comes to wrist and neck sizes, so be sure to add a few inches into your jewelry patterns.
You also don’t want to underestimate the popularity of men’s jewelry with women. I know a lot of men and women who actually have rings and necklaces that match or compliment each other and they can be worn together so that husband and wife have coordinating jewelry.
If you start finding that women are buying your men’s jewelry for themselves then you might start making a wider variety of sizes and marketing it less as men’s jewelry and more as “unisex” jewelry.
Good luck with your men’s jewelry making ventures! If you make custom men’s jewelry I’d love to see your work and share it with others here!