An insight from Mark Ungar, Thorn Jewellery Limited, London, July 2008.

One only need walk down your local high street or take a stroll in the park to see that more men are wearing jewellery and in some cases, lots of it. As more men take pride in their look, men’s jewellery has become a growing phenomenon and in 2008 the growth year of the metro-sexual male, this trend is set to continue.

There are so many reasons why men choose to wear jewellery: A charm for the lucky gambler; dressing for a date or a night out clubbing; to personalise a mundane business look or to set oneself apart while on the beach, but what’s for sure is that men’s jewellery is no longer confined to the Harley Davison crowd because men’s jewellery products are now much more sophisticated and contemporary.

Leading the way were men from the worlds of music, television, film and fashion, who in years past commissioned pieces from leading designers, but now with a wider range of men’s silver jewellery available from leading UK designers, the finest quality products are becoming accessible to non-celebrities.

Extroverts like Russell Brand may wear several pendants and bracelets on each arm, but you don’t need to ‘bling-it-up’ as much as Russell to look stylish and cool.

Even a single pendant or bracelet can add loads of character to your look ad what you choose to wear will tell people much more about your personality than you would imagine, without ever saying a word. Things have changed" says Stephen Webster. "The fear factor, the reverence and the rather staid formality have all but disappeared.  Magazines now have fashion shoots featuring cheap H&M jeans worn with £5000 diamond rings. Having a diamond-studded accent to a watch or a piece of jewellery no longer marks a customer as a flashy, ostentatious type. It just makes a person look more…lively."  So wearing the right piece and the right brand of jewellery is so important. Unlike clothes where a good quality pair of distressed jeans looks good no matter the brand or cost, the quality of jewellery materials and the manufacturing process makes all the more difference to the end look. Your jewellery is much more about your personal preferences and a statement of self than some other fashion items and your options are plentiful. For example, men’s jewellery transgresses musical styles, where R&B star Jay-Z wears Stephen Webster belt buckles and dog tags while Heavy Metal acts like Ozzy Osbourne wear rings and pendants from the very same designer. Try getting them to wear the same brand of t-shirt!

So it is the UK with it's heritage of quality craftsmanship that leads the way when it comes to fashion and style. It leads the way in the design stakes too: Top end men’s jewellery designers such as Stephen Webster, Shaun Leane and Vivienne Westwood are in the premier league and together with a supporting number of talented up and coming young designers who handcraft their designs to the highest of standards, the supply of men’s jewellery to the UK market is extensive. Bolstered in 2008 by publicity from the inaugural London jewellery week, the UK market is set to continue to grow from strength to strength and there’s every reason to believe that superior design quality and craftsmanship will win over cheaper imported items from the rest of the world.