Jewelry for Men -- yea or nay?

Some men look better in jewelry than others. Don't you agree?

I want to preface this post by saying we are not discussing whether men should be allowed to wear jewelry.  Of course they should!  I want to get your opinions on how it looks, and share mine as well.  So let's get started.

Friends, with very few exceptions, I hate jewelry on men.

My exceptions:

David Cassidy looked cute in puka shells circa 1972. 

Only wear puka shells if you 1) are under 22,  2) live on the beach, or 3) wear a loincloth on a regular basis.

Years ago, gold and silver jewelry for men was more popular.  There were ID bracelets, tie pins, shirt studs, pinky rings (belch), cuff links, and related stuff like watches, money clips, lighters, and cigarette cases.

Liberace, for better or for worse, could carry off the bejeweled look -- or as it's more commonly known today, bling.  Didn't he, like, invent it?

Hip hop/rap artists can also carry off bling, which I see more as an ironic statement about American materialism than a fashion statement, but what do I know (and where do you draw the line)?

Internationally acclaimed couturiers can get away with bling, not that they should...

I think that's it.

Diamonds are a boy's worst enemy, imo.  If you're willing to mine your own, maybe.

Anything on the pinky....so wrong.  Please leave that finger alone.

WAIT!  How about earrings on guys?

HATE them.  And call me old fashioned, ethnocentric, what have you: no part of the male anatomy should ever have a ring through it. 

Awful.  Only to enrage one's parents.

True confessions: I went through a jewelry phase years ago.

There was the American Indian phase...





The Danish Modern ring phase...





And the (very short-lived) chain phase...





I have some of my father's old cuff links, which I wear on occasion:



I generally avoid jewelry these days and I think (most) men should keep it to a minimum: one ring, cuff links, a watch -- period.

And please -- no piercings.

In closing, friends, I ask you:

What kind of jewelry do you think suits men best (if any)? How about stones? Are tiger's eye, star sapphires, and onyx acceptable? How about -- cough -- diamonds? 

Do some types of men carry off the look better than others, and if so, which types?

Jewelry for men -- yea or nay?

Jump in!