Men's Jewellery Style 2015 - Q&A with Bobby White

Are men moving toward rose gold? Are males getting more experimental with their jewellery? I did an interview for this month’s issue of Professional Jeweller along side other of the UK’s biggest men’s jewellery designers and brands. The article was written for the jewellery industry to help brands and buyers make better decisions on men’s jewellery styles and what they’re buying for 2015. You can download the full article, which I will share with you below.

For now I would like to talk to you about men’s jewellery styles, what I have been designing and what I think will be big over the next year. I was asked several questions by Professional Jeweller which you will see below with my reply’s, it will give you an understanding of men’s jewellery from my point of view and what my brand was doing in the past, now and moving forward with men’s fine jewellery.

Q: What are your best-selling men’s pieces at the moment and what do you think it is about them in particular that is so popular?

A: My most popular piece are still my Motion rings, this design is over 10 years old now but still my best selling style of jewellery for men. It’s the engineering aspect of the Motion rings, which are grabbing men’s imagination. They love the fact that it does something apart from just looking pretty. This year I have added more colours in my rings to give more of a pop when the ring opens. My favourite is a Motion One made from 18ct rose gold and set with round brilliant cut black diamonds on the outside with rubies on the inside which is hidden until the wearer chooses to take the ring off and flesh the red.

Q: When it comes to the men’s jewellery market, do you think customers have become more adventurous and willing to experiment in recent years?

A: My brand as always had a big focus on men’s jewellery which I don’t think a lot of other brands do, so I have always had a lot of adventurous customers. 

For me, it’s not that men are getting more adventurous, it’s their taste in jewellery is changing. 10 years ago, I was making a lot of jewellery from white gold with round brilliant cut diamonds covering the piece. 

5 years ago, diamonds where not featuring as much in my designs. I was using black rhodium both in matt and high gloss together with white gold and maybe a few stones here and there to give my jewellery interesting levels of character. 

Today, I am featuring gold and rose in my men’s designs. I love using black diamonds combined with the colour of red. It’s a combination working for my customer’s and me right now. So it not that men are getting more adventurous, it’s just their taste in jewellery appeals more to the darker colours metals and stones then they did 10 years ago.   

Q: Do you see men in general as being more interested in jewellery in 2015 compared to say five years ago?

A: Like I said before, I have always seen a lot of men interested in jewellery because I have always offered a lot of jewellery for men. As a business, men’s jewellery as always been high for me. 

My gut tells me the market is moving in the right direction however I think the industry needs to do more to get more men interested in jewellery. Look how many great and interesting designs there're out there for watches compared to jewellery in the men's market. Now I know watches have a big appeal to the masses, you will always see me wearing a watch as with all my male friends but men will and do wear jewellery, but only if it catchers their imagination. Lets face it, no-body wants to wear a ring that looks like a steel washer on their finger but that is the sort of jewellery a lot of companies put out there for their men customers. Get interesting designs in your collections and you will get interesting customers.

Q: In terms of product categories, is it rings/pendants/cufflinks that perform the best for you?

Rings have will always be the king of categories when it comes to jewellery for both men or women however I have seen a rise in sales of bracelets lately. 

Q: Do you have plans to expand your jewellery collections for men, and if so can you give us any hints?

A: Like I said, bracelets have been popular and on the rise for me and with the launched of my new fine only website www.bobbywhite.com there’re dozens of new designs and combinations of previous designs introduced this week for men. I have just launched a new tennis bracelet for men called 'Love Game' and also for the first time ever a 'Motion' bracelet. I have already started taking orders for both designs so men’s jewellery is still and will continue to be strong for my brand. 

 Link to Professional Jeweller article here