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Haute horology & jewellery for men & women. Hong Kong. November 2014

A New ORDeR: Times change with the dominant trend for women’s watches in 2014 • Magali Métrailler questions the notions of the ‘typical’ watch designer • Primitive notion and the rise in the market for men’s jewellery • Jeremy Morris • Bremont’s new collaboration with Jaguar •

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– A NEW ORDER – – THE BESPOKEN WORD –

PRIMITIVE

NOTIONWords by TARA LOADER WIILKINSON

A look back in time shows male adornment to be perfectly acceptable in polite society. For many years however, this was not the case. That is all changing as the market for men’s jewellery appears to be on the rise once again

M en’s jewellery is an enigma. Two hundred years ago men wore just as much jewellery as women. Four hundred years ago, they probably wore more. But until recently, no matter how hard retailers tried, the men’s jewellery market has

stubbornly refused to turn mainstream. For retailers it is frustrating that half of their potential clientele wear little more than a watch, a wedding band, a pair of cufflinks and the odd tie-pin.

“There has been burgeoning interest in men’s jewellery for some time because it’s the last frontier of fine jewellery design – with enormous revenue potential,” said Joanne Ooi, chief executive and co-founder of jewellery e-tailer Plukka, and former creative director of Shanghai Tang. “Although younger generations and some gay men express themselves through jewellery just as they do in fashion, ostentation has never really been in for men,” she explained.

For some men, at least in Western culture, the problem with wearing jewellery lies in its connotations of femininity. Others say that jewellery was used to mark out inclusion in a tribe or religious sect originally, or as a war trophy, for which there is increasingly little need. Whatever the

reason, men's jewellery has never fully recovered since around the time of Cecil B. Hartley’s advice to gentlemen in 1860, never to wear jewels for “mere ornament” but to let jewellery always “have some use”.

But a look back in time shows male adornment in a different light. A recent exhibition at the Museum of London shows that in the time of Sir Walter Raleigh (see image on page 50), William Shakespeare and Charles I, male baubles were perfectly acceptable in polite society. “In the past it was far more conventional for men to wear jewels,” said Keiran McCarthy, director of Russian antiques dealer Wartski and a Fabergé expert. “An Edwardian gentleman would have thought nothing of wearing finger rings, watch chains, button-pins and endless forms of buttons. He was also likely to have a gold cigarette case by Fabergé tucked in his pocket.”

When it began to go out of fashion was when gender roles became more entrenched in society, explained Beatrice Behlen, senior curator of fashion and decorative arts at the Museum of London who curated the exhibition. “The rise of the bourgeoisie in the West spelled the decline of men’s jewellery, when men were more obviously aligned with the sphere

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– A NEW ORDER –

of work and women with the home and family,” she explained. “Where jewellery was once a signifier of power and wealth, the corporate finan-cier or hedge fund manager now displays his wealth with a well-cut suit, an expensive car or a trophy wife.”

But as a status symbol, men’s jewellery has by no means been abandoned. Some reckon that in certain cultures its power is on the rise. Today, male ornaments are more acceptable in countries such as India or Africa, Italy and Spain, than the US or UK, for example, pointed out Behlen. “It has something to do with how ‘macho’ a culture is. The more macho the culture, and the more accepted man’s status as a superior being, the easier it is for them to flaunt jewellery as it does not distract from their masculinity, which is not questioned.”

Dr Rebecca Arnold, a lecturer at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, suggested that certain subcultural groups have always used jewellery for its original symbolic meaning, for tribal significance and to mark themselves out as part of a group. The likes of rappers and hip-hop artists including Jay-Z, Usher and Snoop Dogg are practically trade-marked by their dripping diamonds and gold chains. The Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club is known by the symbolic winged ‘Death’s Head’ rings and knuckle-dusters that mark them out as a group.

“Certain ethnic and social subcultural groups wear jewellery and claim it as an ultra-masculine fashion to show aggression and power,” said Arnold. “In that way, jewellery is used both to show difference and belonging within that circle, and slowly, certain forms of jewellery have been deemed masculine in recent years.”

This is the belief of Dr Thomas Tochtermann, a management consult-ant who was based at McKinsey for 30 years covering the luxury and fashion. Tochtermann said there has recently been a surge of growth in the sector, albeit from a low basis.

“Historically, watches have been the ‘jewellery’ for men, but this is changing and more brands are going dual gender, and have an offer either tailored for men, or suitable for men,” he said.

So why is jewellery now becoming an acceptable part of the man’s sartorial getup when two decades ago it was still very niche?

“Today men are experimenting more, they are becoming bolder and making fashion statements,” said Tochtermann. “It will be interesting to see how the sales channels for men’s jewellery develop. I expect that we will find additional jewellery in fashion stores that men frequently visit, rather than the growth coming in pure play jewellery stores, especially for first time buyers,” he added.

It seems that fashion jewellery – as opposed to fine – is setting the precedent for growth in the men’s market, at least if the street-peacocking at Pitti Uomo is anything to go by. At the fabled bi-annual menswear fair in Florence, considered a bellwether for men’s fashion, the trend for wrist-stacking and neck-candies is perennially outrageous.

For the mass market, certain fashion brands are gaining cult status. Miansai, launched by former male model Michael Saiger in 2008, and famous for its utilitarian hook and line bracelet, now has a retail presence in 40 US states and 36 countries. German brand Thomas Sabo started focusing on men’s jewellery around the same time, when it launched its Rebel at Heart range characterised by sterling silver, leather and black synthetic zirconia.

And for those with deeper pockets, Phillip Crangi and Luis Morais are covetable high-end names with steep price tags to match, selling gold pendants for $5,200 and sandalwood-and-diamond necklaces for $8,000. Large fashion houses are tapping into the new stream of demand, push-ing their own iterations of the leather cuffs and bracelets trend, such as

Saint Laurent and Bottega. Hermès now makes men’s versions of their female bracelets, for example the leather studded Rivalle Double Tour and the enamel Clic Clac H. Tiffany & Co. recently launched a unisex Tiffany T collection bracelet in larger sizes, while Paris-based Cartier re-ports more demand for larger Love Bangles with the iconic screw motif, and for the Just Un Clou range, resembling a nail and described as “the expression of a rebellious nature.”

Jérôme Lambert, chief executive of German luxury accessories brand Montblanc, believes that mens’ growing interest in self-adornment is, like fashion, purely cyclical. “There are countless points in history where men were more concerned with their appearance than women – think of the archetypal English banker of days past, tailored suit, bowler hat and braces or the Dandy whose style, and some instances flamboyance was integral to their being,” he said. He pointed to the recent development of global men’s fashion weeks, with London in particular re-establishing itself as the epicentre of male style, from the high street to high-end luxury.

Lambert believes that these days, roles and status are not defined sim-ply by gender. “Men are making a greater effort to dress well and acces-sorise their outfit to stand out. This, coupled with shifts in pop culture, with shows such as Mad Men portraying the 1950’s advertising world of sharp suits and cigars, greatly impacts men's style.”

But whilst many see a future in men’s jewellery, there are still many who doubt its long-term staying power. Salim Habani, director of London-based jeweller Tresor Paris, said that around 80 per cent of jewellery they stock is for women. They create fewer men's ranges as the pieces for men are “more timeless”, so they sell less.

“We’ve chosen to focus on accessories... rather than jewellery, for men. However, we have always maintained our bespoke diamond jewel-lery design and manufacture service for men,” said Habani.

Others believe antique jewellery is the way forward, as it demon-strates both discernment for craftsmanship and a mark of individuality. McCarthy at Wartski said: “Women are spoiled with opportunities to express themselves through dress, but for modern men it is not so easy. Wearing discreet and elegant jewellery is one way for men to catch up. Antique cufflinks in particular let them indulge in the highest levels of craftsmanship while simultaneously defining their originality.” A pair of Art Deco enamel and diamond cufflinks by 1920’s Boucheron, and a pre-1791 pair of gold cufflinks cast by Giuliano are among those that the royal-warranted family-run firm has on its books.

Others say that celebrity endorsement has helped the sector grow. Jewellery-loving role-models such as David Beckham, George Clooney and Pharrell Williams may allow men to feel manly while wearing jewellery. According to Theo Fennell, founder of the eponymous luxury London jeweller, famed for its oversized gem-encrusted rings: “Men are far more relaxed about wearing jewellery; perhaps it isn’t now seen as betraying your masculinity amongst those who might have cared about that sort of thing. But, as well as the more blingy gold and diamonds of the more flamboyant gentlemen, there has been the advent of informal things such as friendship bracelets and shark’s-tooth pendants.”

Fennell says that his fastest-growing segment is men's bespoke and collectable cufflinks, which has “grown out of all proportion over the past five years.” But though on the rise, will it ever reach the heights of its em-bellished Elizabethan heyday or the louche and lovely era of Oscar Wilde? Probably not, believes Fennell, for practical reasons as much as anything.

“I, for one, long to wear a big pearl drop like a Hilliard swain. But I don’t think either women or men will ever dress up as the Elizabethans did, since life is so different today: and a cod-piece is hell on a motorbike.” �

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– A NEW ORDER –

H ow do the residents of Primrose Hill, one of London’s most af-fluent neighbourhoods, sleep at night? Not very well of late,

thanks to Jeremy Morris, second-generation jeweller and managing director of his father’s eponymous brand, David Morris.

Recently, Morris has been receiving lavish attention from the national press, but not on ac-count of his jewellery. British tabloids have been buzzing with the story of complaints made to Camden Council by celebrity neighbours of the “late night parties” held at the house of Jeremy and his wife Erin. Some residents, who include Gwen Stefani, Jamie Oliver and media mogul Rupert Murdoch, have complained about not be-ing able to sleep even with the help of earplugs, and having to resort to sleeping pills.

When we speak on the phone, Morris is unrepentant. In fact he invites me to his next party, which I accept without hesitation.

“We’ve worked hard for a nice house and we want to share it with our friends and family and have a good time,” he says. “I don’t see a problem with that.”

He caveats by saying that they are planning to install sound buffers in the basement, to help mask the thumping bass.

Since Jeremy took the reins in 2003 as man-aging director and principal designer, David Morris jewellery has undergone a renovation, too. Since its 1962 launch under David Morris, it was delicate and classic, incorporating the world’s finest diamonds and gems priced into the several millions. Richard Burton bought a heart shaped David Morris necklace for Eliza-beth Taylor, on Valentine’s Day. David Morris made the Miss World Crown, still in use today. His pieces added sparkle to the sets of James

Bond, worn by Bond girls in four 007 movies. In Tomorrow Never Dies, Teri Hatcher is wear-ing the platinum diamond ‘Bond Necklace’ during an intimate scene with Piers Brosnan, shortly before being assassinated whilst wear-ing said necklace. It prompted several clients to come in to the New Bond Street store and request the same piece.

His father kept the brand localised – with a space at Harrod’s in the 1980s followed by a presence in The Four Seasons, Carlton Tower, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols stores.

But the brand has been given a fresh lick of paint – and become an international name – since Jeremy took over.

“My father was always proud of our discre-tion, but I didn’t want us to be the best kept secret on Bond Street.”

“Since taking over from my father I have changed it all out of shape,” he continues. “Back then we were more of a multi-brand store, with franchises of multiple brands such as Van Cleef & Arpels and Piaget. But I wanted to go back to the fundamentals and create our own brand.”

Morris has, in affect, diversified the fam-ily name, keeping its classic look as well as injecting a splash of youthfulness. As well as the fairy-tale Bond Girl jewellery that still appears on the necks of his great ambassadors Helen Mirren and Kate Winslet, David Morris is appealing to a newer sect of cooler clientele. The likes of Lily Allen, Nicole Scherzinger and Scarlet Johansson are papped and fêted on the red carpets dripping with David Morris gems.

And the designs are fresh – such as the 43 carat yellow and white diamond Amira hand bracelet, and the conch pearl, jade, onyx and diamond flower motif bracelet – marking the first time the brand used jade in its designs.

Black pearl and multi-coloured diamond neck-laces contrast with cute cherry-blossom shaped diamond and pearls “wildflower” sets, designed with a younger client in mind.

Since he took over, the brand has established a presence in Moscow, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong. Morris says he is eyeing more stores in Qatar, Paris, Monaco and Mainland China. They have six stores today and he would like to get to around 12, he says. “We have attracted a different set of clients and we feel the business has become more stabilised,” he said. “The home market was clobber by the financial crisis whereas the Asian market is a different market entirely, and they really believe in the transportable value of stones.”

But firstly he will be concentrating his ef-forts a little closer to home, when he opens the firm’s new store in Harrods, London, on December 10. The boutique will be created by interior designer David Collins studio and will be the second London store after the New Bond Street flagship.

Morris is at heart a family man, and claims that for him, “it’s not really about making more money, it’s more about weathering the bumps. By the time I pass it on, I’d like to be keeping a tidy family business.”

The third generation – his daughter Phoebe – is already being groomed for the business. She has been helping out with the firm’s PR in the past couple of years and he hopes she will soon start work on the bench. “It would be nice to always have a family member in the business,” said Morris. “But that doesn’t mean they should be running it. I grew up as a bench jeweller but you have to work out your own set of skills and always surround yourself with good people.” �

this timeof

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Words by TARA LOADER WIILKINSON Illustration by MATT WISNIEWSKI

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– A NEW ORDER –

T he first customers at the flagship New York store of Shambal-la Jewels, founded by Mads and Mikkel Kornerup, got more than they bargained for. During the winter of 1995, the Dan-ish Kornerup brothers DIY’d their first retail space in Lower

Manhattan, renovating it completely before launching in December. In keeping with their passion for Buddhism they transformed the shop into a forest: 12 enormous tree trunks spanning floor to ceiling show-cased their jewellery. Mads had a pet python that he kept in a terrarium in the middle of the shop; he would take it out and drape it around his neck when customers arrived.

“You can only imagine how many ran out of the store, terrified, when they realised my scarf was alive,” recalls Mads.

But it certainly hasn’t held them back. Today Shamballa Jewels is sold in 41 cities and counts A-list clients that Jay-Z, Valentino, Lewis Hamilton, Giorgio Armani, Diane Von Fürstenberg, Gwyneth Paltrow and various royal family members. The brand evokes spiritual icons and prayer beads with a hippy twist, but in style, is pure luxury. Sold at the likes of Har-rod’s, Lane Crawford, Barneys and Frost of London, Shamballa combines 18 karat gold and diamonds, often with nylon string. Prices ranging from €3,000 up to €500,000. Fundamentally it is designed for men, although

Words by TARA LOADER WIILKINSON Illustration by MATT WISNIEWSKI

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– ALL THAT GLITTERS –

Today they make rings, earrings, cufflinks and necklaces, all with a nod back to their spiritual roots.

“We practice yoga and meditation and study spiritual schools to infuse into our pieces. Buddhism is most noticeable in its influence on our work because Mads travelled a lot in Asia in the early days and a lot of the de-sign influence comes from the temples and monasteries of Kathmandu,” explained Mikkel.

The Pyramid bracelet launched last year, inspired by the pyramids in Egypt, while the Shamballa signature bracelet harks back to the prayer beads of the Buddhist monks. The name, Shamballa, translated from Sanskrit, means ‘a place of peace and tranquility’. Mads decided to call the brand after searching for a logo. He was inspired by his collection of Tibetan amulets, when he came across a double vajra, a double thunder-bolt. His ex-girlfriend’s father, who was a sculptor, created a five by five feet reproduction of the double vajra, which he gilded in antique gold and hung outside over the street. Soon afterwards Tibetan monks and Buddhist practitioners started to visit the store to tell Mads how powerful that symbol was and what Shamballa meant.

“I had had no prior knowledge of the meaning, but was instinctively drawn towards it. This is why I say Shamballa found me.”

Even today, the whole store practices the Shamballa philosophy. Every Wednesday morning the Copenhagen flagship turns into a private yoga studio and the whole team of 31 takes part in an hour-long yoga class.

In recent times the brothers say they have noticed a shift in tastes for jewellery, particularly from their male clientele. Men and women are happier buying more androgynous pieces and although their sales share is half women and half men, the figures are approximate because there is an overlap between both segments, they say.

“We have couples who buy one piece and share them,” said Mads. “The most noticeable trend for us is the increase in men buying

larger pieces, like our necklaces instead of just the bracelets. We believe this is because men are in general investing more in fine jewel-lery,” explained Mikkel.

“For many years, men’s jewellery meant something you could find in a museum, or something über casual you bought at the beach. The mod-ern man is quality conscious and likes well-designed, quality jewellery. They certainly don’t desire disposable costume jewellery after a certain age,” he added.

And what does the future hold for Shamballa? They hope to continue cementing men’s jewellery as a complement to a classic wristwatch, to create jewellery as a market segment on a par with watches in terms of craftsmanship and pride of ownership.

“When we stared, it was rare to find fine jewellery brands that catered to men,” said Mikkel. “In the old days men in powerful positions wore gold chains and rings. And now, I think that gold is finding its way back as the modern man is not shy of experimentation.”

He added that while there may not be a drastic change in the amount of jewellery that men wear, the trend is moving towards demand for quality pieces made of real gold and gems – even if they are smaller items such as tie pins, cufflinks or tuxedo buttons.

It has been a great adventure so far, they agree, and Shamballa feels like it still has a long way to go. What do they hope to achieve in future?

“Our aim is to create jewellery that will inspire conversation and intro-spection through design, just as prayer beads and spiritual symbols did in ancient times. But most of all we hope the act of wearing our pieces will encourage the wearer to find their inner Shamballa – their inner compas-sion and wisdom.” �

most of the pieces are unisex, according to the Kornerups. The brothers decline to comment on revenues but they say business is

good. And by the sound of it, it is. They have plans to roll out a mono-brand boutique in Zurich on November 26 this year followed by one in Amsterdam in March 2015, then flagship stores in London and Paris next year, after which they will tackle expansion into Asia.

Both the Copenhagen-based Kornerups have defined roles. Forty-four year-old Mads oversees the creative direction of the brand, while his younger brother by four years, Mikkel, looks after admin duties.

“Our parents always encouraged us to follow our dreams, no matter how ‘out there’ they were,” they say. “They even supported us when we wanted to go into business together, even though they were very concerned about their two sons working together.”

Their story is almost as colourful as the jewellery they create. In the early 1990s in New York, Mads started designing jewellery for

himself as he felt there was a void in the men’s range. His designs were inspired by his experiences in his early years, when he travelled to Nepal, India and Indonesia, observing and learning from master craftsmen.

His big break came six years after opening his first store. “A mutual friend brought Jay-Z to the store because he desired a bracelet different from the usual big bling that rappers wore,” said Mads. “He wished for a more zen, meditative feeling. At that point I was – and still am – deeply into meditation and yoga – so I made him a bracelet inspired by prayer beads used for meditation.”

On his travels Mads had learnt how to do macramé braiding that he added to the design, along with customised gold beads bearing Jay-Z’s initials, company logo and zodiac sign, and was held together by a braid made of repurposed nylon. And thus the signature Shamballa bracelet was born.

“Some thought I was crazy to mix precious gold and diamonds with the humble but durable nylon string. But it went on to receive the kind of popularity I couldn’t have imagined,” said Mads.

Sadly, the breakthrough would prove short-lived. The budding busi-ness was devastated by 9/11, which brought down the Twin Towers only a few blocks away from the SoHo shop. No-one was in the mood for buying luxury jewellery for a very long time, said Mads.

“Post 9/11 was the biggest challenge of my career as I had to close my store in New York. At that time I had just introduced my gold and diamond ‘Dorje’ jewellery collection and just created the first Shamballa bracelet as a special order for Jay-Z. But after September ‘11, people were not really shopping for high-end jewellery.”

Out of financing and with no money to cover the city’s high rental prices, Mads was forced to return to Copenhagen with his girlfriend and their son Storm, and start over.

Moving back to Denmark was not part of his life plan. An extrovert, Mads enjoyed meeting people and tribes from all over the world – which New York facilitated. Copenhagen’s secluded and mono-cultural envi-ronment was a shock to the system and 12 years later he still misses the people and buzz of the Big Apple.

But in many ways it was a blessing in disguise, he admits. After returning to Copenhagen, his brother Mikkel joined him in the busi-ness and they rejuvenated their mutual love of jewellery. In 2005 they launched the Shamballa bracelet with diamond full pavé balls, which became the starting point for female interest in the brand. After that, and with a strong female celebrity following from the likes of Carine Roitfield to HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Shamballa Jewels exploded as a luxury brand.

– A NEW ORDER –

Just north of Australia lies New Guinea, an island that is home to around a tenth of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity and 725 species of bird. On this lush archipelago live some of the most

beautiful and rare bird species on the planet, including the Papua Ri-flebird, Princess Stephanie’s Astraphia and the Greater Bird of Papua. These creatures inspired the inaugural collection of fine jewellery at Van Eyck, a luxury jeweller specialising in fancy coloured diamonds which launched in Hong Kong this year.

Thirty-four year-old Alon Garty is the founder of the brand. After starting work for an Antwerp-based diamond wholesaler in 2006, he moved to Hong Kong to grow an Asia presence. This led

a beautiful and rare speciesto setting up his own luxury jewellery brand in collaboration with renowned jeweller, Ivonna Poplanska, who designed the diamond jubilee brooch for Queen Elizabeth II. Poplanksa designed 25 intricate rings for the Birds of Papua collection, of which there will be only 10 each, priced between $30,000 and $300,000. Garty is a keen conservationist and gives one per cent of revenues to the Papua Bird Club, a New Guinea-based conservation non-profit that supports rural communities in Papua. He also works closely with the Kimberley Process, a UN organisation that assured miners have good working conditions and that wages are not being used to finance terrorism. �