# Acceptable Jewlery for a Man



## Joe Frances (Sep 1, 2004)

I am of the unshakeable opinion that the only acceptable jewelery that a man should wear is a watch and a wedding ring. I lieu of a wedding ring, perhaps a signet or collage ring, but this concession is frought with slippery slopes of God knows what. I am pained to say that it is not uncommon for men to wear some other things that I will not mention, but others may strongly advocate. My opinion stands. What do other Fraters say?

Joe


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## jbmcb (Sep 7, 2005)

Seconded. A college or service ring is pushing it, but OK in some circumstances.


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## ChubbyTiger (Mar 10, 2005)

Oh, I think that the college/fraternity ring is acceptable pretty much all the time. But that's as far as I'll go. No bracelets, no ear/tongue/eyebrow/other rings, no (visible) necklaces. I break out my old college ring every now and then. 

CT


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## globetrotter (Dec 30, 2004)

for me - wedding ring, watch, cufflinks, rossette in lapel

I can see wearing a school or service ring, or family crest, or possibly club ring, but that isn't for me

if you are southern european or latin american, a bracelet is acceptable, too.

if you are south asian, 1 or 2 gem rings.


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## Joe Frances (Sep 1, 2004)

Oh, yes, forgot cufflinks. Didn't think of them as jewelry for some strange reason. Thanks, Globetrotter.

Joe


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## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

So you have a medical condition meriting a 'medi alert' bracelet. Your observing the High holidays, Ash Wednesday and don a Star of David or Crucifix.[?][?][?]


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## Karl89 (Feb 20, 2005)

Gents,

I am of the opinion that only four things should ever go around a man's neck - dog tags, a tie, a woman's arms or a noose. A wedding ring is the only acceptable type of ring. Maybe some men can pull of jewelry but no examples come to mind. Then again I could be wrong.

Karl


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## Vladimir Berkov (Apr 19, 2005)

I would say that neither a watch nor cufflinks are really "jewelry" because they aren't really worn for the purpose of decoration or adornment. 

Rings, bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and the like are more what I consider jewelry.


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## CaliforniaDreamer (Nov 17, 2005)

Watch, links, wedding ring, eternity ring. If we get another set of rings for our silver wedding, I'll wear that one too.

Carson wotsisname said it doesn't matter what the rules about jewellery are, if your wife gave it to you, you have to wear it. There's something in that.


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## Rich (Jul 10, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Karl89_
> 
> Gents,
> 
> I am of the opinion that only four things should ever go around a man's neck - dog tags, a tie, a woman's arms or a noose.


Excellent! (for me too, a watch, cufflinks and a wedding ring).


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## The Gabba Goul (Feb 11, 2005)

As I've stated before...this subject should be taken on a case by case basis...I think some guys can wear literally pounds of jewelry and look very stylish doing so...other guys look like they have a point to prove or something when they wear anything more than a watch...Sometimes when I go out with a very good friend of mine, he'll have on over a hundred thousand dollars in jewelry...and because of his size, stature, and personallity, it looks very effortless, and in fact quite stylish...I personally always wear a gold chain which is always under my clothes, so unless I'm wearing an open collared shirt people dont see it anyway...a watch (usually with a leather strap though (although I do have one on a metal bracelet for when I want to get "all gussied up")...and at least one ring (right pinky)...on occasion two (right hand ring finger)...I'm not a huge fan of french cuffs, so I only own 2 pairs of cufflinks, which I'll wear less than a dozen times a year...I continue to kick around the Idea of having a bracelet made...and probably will do so sometime in the near future...
...but that's just me...

*****
"When you wear lapels like the swellest of swells, you can pass any mirror and...
*smile*
...You've either got or you haven't got style!!!"​


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## a tailor (May 16, 2005)

i wear nothing, except when the weather turns cool.

Alex Di Pietropaolo


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

I don't wear any jewelry, as much out of laziness as anything. I don't own any jewelry now. I had a nice watch, but it was stolen in a break-in.

I don't like a lot of jewelry on others. I probably would not hire a man with an earring or any other piercings for my department. (That is a prejudice on my part, but I don't think that piercings on men are universally accepted yet.)

However, there are some people who can pull off rings and fancy watches.


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## Holdfast (Oct 30, 2005)

Watch, links, wedding ring, signet/other ring. That's about the limit I would wear (not married yet). If I was religious, maybe a small discreet cross or other appropriate device.

As has been noted though, a small minority of men manage to wear more jewellery with considerable panache. The vast majority just end up looking cheap and tacky.


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## Fogey (Aug 27, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by a tailor_
> 
> i wear nothing, except when the weather turns cool.


Surely, at least, a fig leaf? [:0]


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## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

Theres an obnoxious habit among service academy graduates called 'ring rapping.' Whenever anything of debate comes up you get this tap, tap,tapping of these big class rings to remind you they are occiffers and gentlemen with inherent better judgement,breeding and education. The old man on my icebreaker was a 'mustang' and full line captain who came up from the ranks.I'm on the bridge and this LTJG notices the skipper has this massive ring on of a deep strawblued coloured steel. The dummy flashes his gold academy ring and says class of 1970. Skipper pulls of his ring, which we then recognised as an old shopfitter's rivet and said USCGC Taney,December 7th 1941


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## maxnharry (Dec 3, 2004)

Wedding ring, watch and links if wearing a french cuff shirt.


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## n/a (Sep 4, 2002)

Gentlemen,

Aren't you being a mite bit severe? Only a watch and wedding ring? Suppose one is not married. Would a simple ring on the right hand be acceptable? And what is your definition of "man" anyway?

I wear a discrete gold earring in my left ear that even the stuffiest businessmen in The City of London barely notice. (At least I think so.) I also wear a necklace with a Celtic cross which in any case would be unseen under my suit.


> quote:_Originally posted by The Gabba Goul_
> 
> Sometimes when I go out with a very good friend of mine, he'll have on over a hundred thousand dollars in jewelry...and because of his size, stature, and personallity, it looks very effortless, and in fact quite stylish...


Gabba Goul makes an interesting point. I would tend to agree, though he is most assuredly referring to straight men. Somehow I don't think gay men can pull it off. I was in a London club once and saw the counterpart to Gabba Goul's friend. I started snickering so uncontrollably that I had to leave the room. Some people have a remarkable ability to appear in public completely unembarrassed.

"The Bishop of _Rome_ hath no jurisdiction in this Realm of _England_."
Thomas Cranmer, _The Book of Common Prayer_, Article XXXVII.​


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## Fogey (Aug 27, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Jason Evans_
> 
> Some people have a remarkable ability to appear in public completely unembarrassed.


Yes...the decline of dignity is the hallmark of a broken society.


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## Coolidge24 (Mar 21, 2005)

wedding/engagement ring
maybe college or signet ring...maybe
collar pin, collar bar or tie clip/tack (only one of these at once)
not-visible necklace with religious meaning (cross, David, etc)
cufflinks
watch
medical bracelet if required

no earrings, piercings, bracelets, or other rings in Western culture.


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## n/a (Sep 4, 2002)

> quote:_Originally posted by Coolidge24_
> 
> not-visible necklace with religious meaning (cross, David, etc)
> no earrings, piercings, bracelets, or other rings in Western culture.


We are about the same age I presume? I agree with you about the non-visible necklace, piercings, bracelets and other rings. (Yet I will still wear a simple one on my right hand.)

But the (discrete) earring? I will disagree there. Yet I've read other posts of yours and respect where you are coming from. 

"The Bishop of _Rome_ hath no jurisdiction in this Realm of _England_."
Thomas Cranmer, _The Book of Common Prayer_, Article XXXVII.​


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## Fogey (Aug 27, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Jason Evans_
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From the few posts I've read of yours, you seem rather traditional for your age: braces, practising Anglican, literacy, and so forth. Why the ear-ring?


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## n/a (Sep 4, 2002)

> quote:_Originally posted by JLPWCXIII_
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I don't know. Maybe because all my friends have them? (Oh dear, that won't do, will it?)

Or perhaps I would like one "kookie" aspect to set me off from the rest? My friend, I wish I had the answers, but I do not. You have called me on an inconsistency.[:I]

"The Bishop of _Rome_ hath no jurisdiction in this Realm of _England_."
Thomas Cranmer, _The Book of Common Prayer_, Article XXXVII.​


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## FlatSix (Feb 23, 2005)

Wedding ring, yes.

Watch, perhaps. Face it: a man's watch in the modern era is jewelry, plain and simple... or not so plain and simple, as the case may be. 

Imagine, if you will, that you have two methods of telling time on your person. One method is synchronized to within a fraction of a second with a major phone carrier's network; the other is a delicate assemblage of a hundred gears and a self-winding mechanism. If your life depended on knowing the time, which would you consult?

I own a sack of watches including some of the bigger/smaller names and I cannot get myself to wear one. My phone keeps perfect time and is virtually worthless so I don't worry about it being damaged. Would you rather see your LG phone or your Vacheron Constantin damaged?

Beyond that, nothing is acceptable, unless you are

* of Mediterranean or African heritage
* a pimp
* a common thief
* some combination of the above. 

I don't understand the fashion among young men for earrings. You have only to see one forcibly removed in a brawl once to have a real distaste for them. 

----------------------


"When you wear something like spats, I think you might as well wear your favorite players jersey bc what youre saying is I want to be powerful like the bear and Im wearing its hide to tap into its power." - Film Noir Buff

"First sense of what "normal" good clothes looked like came from my dad, of course, and from Babar books." - Concordia

" I have a related problem in that I often have to chase people. Leather soles are no good for this kind of work." - Patrick06790


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## globetrotter (Dec 30, 2004)

> quote:_Originally posted by FlatSix_
> 
> Wedding ring, yes.
> 
> ...


wow, flatsix, that is pretty severe. no cufflinnks, no wedding rings?


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## mpcsb (Jan 1, 2005)

Fortunately I inherited almost all my jewelry though I admit to wearing very little. I do on occasion wear my late dad's signet ring, ID bracelet with his name and service number given to him by my mom in 1942, various old watches, and cuff links. Usually I just wear wedding band and my old timex.


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## AZTEC (May 11, 2005)

*



quote:Originally posted by FlatSix

Beyond that, nothing is acceptable, unless you are

* of Mediterranean or African heritage
* a pimp
* a common thief
* some combination of the above.

Click to expand...

Why is it acceptable if you are pimp or a thief? You may not have intended your remark to be racist but why then say it this way?

AZTEC*

**************************************


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## Coolidge24 (Mar 21, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by AZTEC_
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EDIT: wrong thread

However, I think Aztec's response is a bit knee-jerk


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## Yckmwia (Mar 29, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Coolidge24_
> 
> no earrings, piercings, bracelets, or other rings in Western culture.


I hope we can grandfather this guy into "Western culture":










It would be a shame to give him the boot because of a mere earring.

"Cross-legged under an umbrel umbershoot, he thrones an Aztec logos"


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## globetrotter (Dec 30, 2004)

> quote:_Originally posted by Yckmwia_
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his contemperaries also wore lace collars, and mostly wore swords.

but I am not sure that I would use the term "western Culture" - I think that it is perfectly acceptable for some mediteranian and latin cultures to wear bracelets.

by the way, I think it also acceptable for indians to wear jeweled rings.


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## Fogey (Aug 27, 2005)

> quote:


I believe that was painted in after the Second World War [}]


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## FlatSix (Feb 23, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by AZTEC_
> 
> Why is it acceptable if you are pimp or a thief? You may not have intended your remark to be racist but why then say it this way?
> 
> ...


It's acceptable because it's part of your working outfit. To preserve his business and possibly life, street criminals need to look semi-prosperous in a manner clearly understandable to those around them, pimps perhaps being the most subject to this.

Mediterranean and African cultures attach special meaning to jewelry, but to those of us without such an excuse, wearing jewelry is lame. Real men don't: wear bracelets, obsess about their bodies like teenaged girls, or fail to stand up for what is morally correct, even if it is temporarily unpopular.

----------------------

"When you wear something like spats, I think you might as well wear your favorite players jersey bc what youre saying is I want to be powerful like the bear and Im wearing its hide to tap into its power." - Film Noir Buff

"First sense of what "normal" good clothes looked like came from my dad, of course, and from Babar books." - Concordia

" I have a related problem in that I often have to chase people. Leather soles are no good for this kind of work." - Patrick06790


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## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

Mr. T was infamous for dressing like a gymn towel dispenser with half of Pharoah's gold on his neck, fingers and ears. I believe he battled cancer and fell on hard times. I saw him on a televangelist broadcast recently, bereft of gold but sporting a massive wooden cross- and still in his towelboy couture. HEY FOOL! Get a clue!


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## JLibourel (Jun 13, 2004)

I note that practically everybody has cited wedding rings among the "good" jewellery. I frankly still regard them as somewhat un-American. Prior to World War II, American men did NOT wear wedding rings. European men did, we didn't. My grandfather, who was about as "old stock" an American as you can get without being an Indian, never wore a wedding ring. (My grandmother, however, was part Mohawk.) I do not wear a wedding ring. I wore the damn things during my first two, short marriages and found them a great annoyance. Although this will no doubt ruffle some feathers, I believe wedding rings are something women have imposed upon American men in relatively recent times and just another symptom of the "pussification" of our culture!


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## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

My first post was regarding tietacks, failing like so many to read the website contents or archives[:I]. I later discovered a real tidy solution.Gemstones and precious metals are a sometime fool's investment and you need to know your mateials and market. But if you do find a lady worthy of adornment all those earrings, bracelets, brooches, pins necklaces can still be worn on your arm- so to speak


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## LabelKing (Sep 3, 2002)

*"In truth, I am not altogether wrong to consider dandyism a form of religion."

Charles Baudelaire*


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## n/a (Sep 4, 2002)

> quote:_Originally posted by LabelKing_
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Quite Roman Catholic. 

"The Bishop of _Rome_ hath no jurisdiction in this Realm of _England_."
Thomas Cranmer, _The Book of Common Prayer_, Article XXXVII.​


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## Mr. Di Liberti (Jan 24, 2006)

Heh, Some intersting opine on this topic.

Pierced my own ear at 17, first time I crossed the equator. I wear a watch, sterling rings, bracelet and a chain around my neck daily when in casual cloths. Tattooed from above my wrist up to my collar bone, from there and down to my knee's.

When dressing to go out (evening jacket, sport coat, slacks and shirt with buttons), I wear nothing but watch and cufflinks. Other then my stature I don't stand out, and anyone seeing me at Delmonico's or Derek's wouldn't have a clue.

"Real men... " Have Charater and Disciplined, and are Accountable.

They do not compromise there beliefs. Understand that success only comes with discipline and there is no room for excuses. Allow themselves to be challenged and held to a higher standard than the world would dictate. And are true to themselves.

Anthony


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## Fogey (Aug 27, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by LabelKing_
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The lesson being, if one is a Rennaisance Cardinal, then several rings are quite acceptable.


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