Gems and the man

Who says jewellery is for women only? Not the contemporary Indian male, surely? At Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers (VBJ), the 107-year-old store in the heart of Chennai, single men just walk off the street and buy jewellery "" rings, bracelets, earrings, chains and even necklaces in gold, platinum and diamonds.

Last year, VBJ launched a special collection, "Platinum No Equal" especially for men. The range, with its clean, sophisticated lines, understated elegance and masculine motifs like nuts-and-bolts and golf-clubs are a big draw today.

Jithendra Vummidi, director of VBJ, says, he sells 150-200 pieces a month, with rings (starting price Rs 10,000) and bracelets (from Rs 40,000-1,25,000) being the most popular. Looking at the response, Vummidi has added a number of designs to the collection, including some for belt buckles, in a combination of platinum and gold.

Earlier, men's jewellery was clumped together with those of women, but now this gender is getting its own space. It is a small corner, comprising only 10 per cent of the store's 5,000 sq ft area, but still it's definitely a start. Men, Vummidi has found, are decisive consumers. "If they're convinced and have ready cash, they buy immediately," he says.

Vijay Jain, CEO of Orra, one of the popular brands in gold, diamond and platinum jewellery that is also in the retail space, offers interesting insights into male consumer behaviour when it comes to jewellery.

Men prefer plain metal jewellery, platinum more than gold, studded with no more than one stone or a solitaire. They often go for solid, stylish designs, but flashy is completely out. On the contrart, the understated, matte look is in.

Sales of Orra's men's line, Male Mettle, has doubled in the past three years, informs Jain, while at Tanishq, V Govind Raj, vice-president (retail & marketing), reports that jewellery-purchase made by men is growing at the same pace as the brand itself "" by over 50 per cent. "As a segment, it is still small ", says Rajendra Godara, COO, Uni-Design (India), adding, "it is beginning to pick up in the last 18 months or so, especially in the south."

All this shouldn't come as a surprise. As Godara points out, "Men of royal families used to wear a lot of jewellery and in the villages, men have been wearing neck-wear and ear-studs (murki) long before Salman Khan made it famous! In the north, the kada is quite common for men. The only difference is that, perhaps, in the metros men pick up jewellery for fashion or as a style statement, and in the smaller towns it is more a sign of status and of having 'arrived'."

Whatever the reason "" more disposable income, a more heightened fashion consciousness, or the long shadow cast by men like David Beckham flaunting metal "" more Indian men are buying jewellery.

In recent times, it was Sharbari Datta, the designer from Kolkata who specialises in men's traditional attire, who first brought men's jewellery to national consciousness. It created quite a splash, the first-ever ramp show of gold jewellery specially designed by Datta for men at the Oberoi Grand, Kolkata in 2001, a show that was directed by Prasad Bidappa and presented by the World Gold Council.

That collection, which a number of top male models, including John Abraham, modelled for, had button-caps and sherwani-collars, arm-bands, bracelets and pendants, besides tie-pins, cuff-links and rings in animal and tribal motifs that were masculine and rich without being ornate.

Two years later, in 2003, Datta also did a commissioned line for men in gold and diamond for Uni-Design. Looking back, Datta says she is happy at the way her work helped break inhibitions and influence fashion.

"That show was a trendsetter. Men's jewellery, until then, had very little options, just the boring old rings and chains. But my objective was not to promote jewellery-wearing among men, only to give those who wanted to do so some options," says the designer.

Since then, a number of designers like Poonam Soni and Manali Vengsarkar have designed jewellery for men, restricting themselves not just to the precious metals and diamonds, but also venturing into leather, steel and other materials more suited to contemporary lifestyles.

For example, Kolkata's Ina Ahluwalia launched a collection for men last month, in which bits of brushed silver (currently the designers' metal of choice) are set on a leather cord, giving her pieces "an industrial look".

Ahluwalia says her designs, "minimalist, subtle and masculine yet sophisticated" are meant primarily for the metrosexual male, the kind that "live their own lives, do their own things". One of her clients, S Singh, says that he loves Ina Ahluwalia's radical designs, and that he would rather wear silver than gold and platinum. And he does wear them with kurtas and achkans, and also with T-shirts and casual shirts to nightclubs and parties.

In Delhi and Mumbai, he doesn't have a problem where men often sport chains and ear-studs." But in Kolkata, he has to be really careful since, as a finance consultant, he is expected to dress conservatively. "Here, people aren't used to men wearing jewellery, especially silver jewellery." Still, a few fancy baubles are finding favour in men.