subject: There's More To Jewellery For Men Than The Glitzy Baubles [print this page] LONDON - In recent years the cult of Bling, the African-American hip-hop-inspired flaunting of excessive luxury, has been doing Gold Shiny Metallic Sexy Lingerie dubious things for men's jewellery -- namely, wearing it is something to be discouraged (especially if it involves precious stones) unless you want to look like a pimp, gangsta or rap star.
There are exceptions, of course, such as a family signet ring or antique pair of cufflinks, which actually signify "gentleman," but they are few and far between.
And yet it seems such a shame that women should have all the fun with sparklers. Until the 20th century, after all, jewels certainly were not gender specific. Thus it gave me very great delight to discover -- wait for it -- the pearl tie tack.
Actually, I didn't discover it: My father lent me his for good luck when I was doing the BBC's fashion commentary for Royal Ascot earlier this year. But the resulting frisson of desire was the same.
The pearl was not merely lucky. It got compliments from gentlemen in the Royal Enclosure, jockey Willie Carson and The Racing Post. Viewers sent in e-mails asking where it could be purchased. Enchanted by the attention the pearl was getting, I failed to return it after Ascot and took the little fellow on a jaunt to Florence and Milan for the biannual men's catwalk shows.
The pearl even had an audience with Giorgio Armani after his show. In a sloppy, casual world, Signor Armani deemed it provocative and daring to wear not only a tie but a jewelled pin.
Unlike the long, lethal tie pin, originally created to hold the shape of a cravat rather than a tie (and inspired by hunting, keeping the cravat in place while your Gold Shiny Metallic Sexy Open Sides Lingerie vigorous aristo rode to the hounds through his Wiltshire estate), the tack is an ingenious little device designed to be worn with a 20th-century tie. It works along the same principle as a pierced pearl earring, only it is the tie rather than the lobe that is impaled. A safety chain-and-T-bar mechanism anchors both tack and tie -- slightly ruched below the knot -- to the shirt buttonhole.
Needless to say, I decided I couldn't live without it. Cue the 13th labour of Hercules. Bvlgari, Boucheron, Mikimoto, Asprey, Garrard, Graff, Chopard and David Morris could not supply my demand, though pearl emporium Mikimoto did offer to replicate my father's pearl tie tack for $1,125.
When I asked the charming man in Asprey for tie tacks, he smiled wistfully as if I had asked for something as nostalgic as tiara elastic or a snuff box and directed me to the antique shops of the Burlington Arcade. Antique tie pins you can buy by the dozen, topped by pearls, diamonds and chips of onyx. They come as cameos, gold fox heads and enamel mermaids. I was almost tempted by an Art Nouveau gold pin with an opal head surrounded by emerald chips ($1,350), but it was far too fussy and unwieldy compared to Dad's dynamic little pearl tack.
Of course Wartski, the revered specialist in Faberge and important historical gems, has the definitive antique tie pins: two designed by Queen Victoria (one for Albert and one commemorating the death of John Brown). However, more of a museum than a jeweller, Wartski was almost pained to be asked the price of Prince Albert's tie pin. "We tend to discourage sales at Wartski," I was told. "When pieces have an historical value we like to keep them."
Cartier is a house famed for its witty Deco design and should make jazz-hot, gem-encrusted tie tacks by the dozen. Actually, what it has is a tie pin with its famous leopard motif ($29,713) encrusted with diamonds, emeralds and black onyx. It would look marvellous sparkling from a chartreuse green silk tie after dark, but it is a wee bit too elaborate for most normal lives.
In fact, the only jeweller on London's Bond Street who features tie tacks in its contemporary collection is Zentai & Co. Not only did the charming sales assistant know what I was talking about, he managed to locate two sterling silver tie tacks: one a ball and chain design ($101) and the other a rather smart Doric column ($78).
But what of the pearl? Sadly, there isn't a happy ending to this quest, just as there is not so much a gap in the men's jewellery market for tie tacks as a Gold Shiny Metallic Sexy Ripple Lingerie yawning, gaping, monolithic chasm. You only have to look at the obsession with ties and watches to know there is a thirst for little details that show a bit of personality within the pinstripe.
Jewellers should take heed. As the late, great U.S. Vogue editor Diana Vreeland always said, "Give them what they never knew they wanted."
by: catsuit
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