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Mytheresa can’t get enough men’s jewellery — literally.

“There’s a struggle to find enough product to offer,” said Sophie Jordan, the luxury retailer’s menswear buyer. “Some of our biggest menswear brands could easily build out collections — customers would buy into them straight away.”

In fact, Jordan said the fine jewellery business has been growing faster among men than women this season, albeit off a smaller base. “That shows the opportunity,” she added. “It’s vastly untapped.”

Sales of men’s jewellery have been growing for years, even outpacing the women’s category. But the momentum feels especially noticeable now, when the broader luxury market is in a pronounced slump. Jewellery has been one of the few bright spots, consistently outperforming luxury fashion, with men’s jewellery offering a lucrative niche for existing brands and space for new ones to strike.

At Mytheresa, fine jewellery sales for men are currently up triple digits compared to last year, with names like David Yurman, FoundRae and Shay leading the way. Fashion jewellery is seeing double-digit growth, anchored by masculine leather bracelets from Bottega Veneta and Tom Ford.

Selfridges also said its men’s jewellery sales are steadily rising, led by rings, necklaces and bracelets. Silver, emerald and black onyx are the most popular materials, with demand spanning grunge, minimalist and playful designs from brands like Tom Wood, Serge Denimes, Poubel and Vivienne Westwood.

Driving the surge is a powerful blend of cultural influence and shifting gender norms.

“Men want to express themselves; we’re just giving them the tools,” said online creator Gstaad Guy, founder of Poubel, a brand specialising in playful charm bracelets. “Charms were a big thing for girls when I was growing up, not so much for men since they made noise and did not feel very masculine.”

At the same time, male stars from Harry Styles and A$AP Rocky to athletes such as Noah Lyles and Travis Kelce are making jewellery a focal point of their looks, clearing the way for others to follow their lead.

“Athletes are hyper-masculinised figures,” said Presley Oldham, whose handcrafted freshwater pearl designs have resonated with male shoppers. “So seeing them wear jewellery gives people permission. It penetrates in a different way — if Lewis Hamilton or an NFL player is wearing studs or a chain, it becomes accessible to people who might otherwise think jewellery isn’t for them.”

The hunger for self-expression is especially pronounced among younger men, who are less interested in fitting in than standing out. David Reinke, chief executive of the GLD Shop, a decade-old US brand known for its chains and custom-made pieces worn by celebrities like Bad Bunny and Micah Parsons, noted that older generations of men were often afraid to look different for fear they’d be mocked, but Gen-Z and Millennials want to be distinctive.

New names entering the market aren’t guaranteed success. Dedicated men’s jewellery brands often struggle to establish recognition compared with fashion houses or heritage names.

But the category is still in its infancy — with room for a number of players to grow.

Reinke compares the moment to sneaker culture. “Luxury used to be about the glass case, the heritage. For Gen-Z and millennials, it’s about authenticity and cultural relevance. Jewellery has become part of that, the way sneakers did 20 years ago. And it’s not a hype cycle — this shift is going to last for decades.”

Men’s Jewellery Goes From Locker Rooms to Luxury Retailers

In the US, athletes and celebrities representative of urban, predominately Black culture in music and art have been the most visible promoters of men’s jewellery. That cultural cachet is something retailers and brands say is impossible to ignore. At GLD, sports stars remain critical to its expansion.

“Athletes are aspirational for our customers,” said co-founder Christian Johnston. “We never pay people to wear our jewellery — they wear it because of the cultural relevance.”

The effect trickles down fast. Johnston said men will first buy a simple Cuban or rope chain as an entry point and then start adding pendants and bracelets. The brand’s audience ranges from high school kids to NFL stars, with entry-level products at $100 and custom commissions reaching the $100,000s.

Poubel’s prototype customer is “high-spending, wearing Loro Piana and Hermès. They’re using Poubel to discreetly express themselves without changing who they are,” Gstaad Guy said. The charms – shaped like iced matcha lattes or backgammon boards — do particularly well at resort locations like Aspen and St. Moritz, where high spenders vacation.

At David Yurman, men’s jewellery already accounts for 28 percent of sales, with executives confident it can grow to one-third. Founder David Yurman said clients often want bespoke modifications to personalise their pieces.

“That appetite for customisation could be a critical driver of future growth,” he said.

Slow Evolution, Big Opportunity

The category does face some challenges. Menswear tends to evolve slowly. It can take time for the mass market to follow the early adopters, and unfamiliar brands can face obstacles.

“It’s much harder for a men’s dedicated jewellery brand to establish a customer base,” said Mytheresa’s Jordan. “Men tend to stick with brands they know.” That’s why crossover names like Bottega Veneta or Tom Ford are seeing success in jewellery — customers already trust them.

Role models can also be crucial. “Brands with large social followings are helping customers see how pieces can be styled into their existing wardrobes,” said Sarah Cartwright, accessories buying manager at Selfridges.

Poubel exemplifies this approach, given that founder Gstaad Guy has his own Instagram following of 1.5 million. He noted that there’s a good deal of overlap between the Gstaad Guy persona and the Poubel brand.

For now, Mytheresa sees bracelets as the most promising category, followed by chunkier necklaces and rings. Jordan also predicts signet rings will make a comeback, while colour will become more prominent, especially through sapphires and masculine gemstone designs. The sweet spot for men’s fashion jewellery purchases on the site is €400, for fine jewellery €3,000. Sales are rising fastest in the US, Germany and Asia.

Genderless designs can help boost sales of men’s jewellery, since women are more likely to buy men’s pieces than vice versa. Cartwright said at Selfridges women also shop the men’s collections, while at Poubel, 70 percent of customers were initially men but now it’s closer to a 50/50 split, with women at the brand’s Dubai popup adopting the bracelets as bag charms.

It’s less common for men to shop women’s collections, even if a good deal of jewellery isn’t obviously gendered. Oldham said he didn’t set out to target men specifically. He founded his brand during the pandemic and had only himself as a model. Today, his sales are evenly split between men and women.

While jewellery has traditionally been women’s territory in most parts of the world, the shift among men feels overdue. Retailers are now scrambling to expand assortments, designers are reframing collections through a gender-fluid lens and cultural leaders are making it aspirational.

“It’s a slower process to get brands to build men’s jewellery,” Jordan cautioned. “But the growth we’re seeing shows it’s worth it.”

With additional reporting by Joan Kennedy.