There are two kinds of men: the kind that wears jewelry and the kind that doesn’t.
Jeweler Janina Dizon Hoschka designs for both.
It’s easy enough to lump all men who wear jewelry into one category, the sort that wears a flashy gold necklace, totes a man purse and likes to come on to inappropriately younger women.
But there’s a new breed of man that’s not uncomfortable with jewelry.
“I see all sorts of men rocking my jewelry,” says Hoscka, “from the classic dresser, the outdoor sportsman to the avant-garde. The pieces stand on their own but still looks good layered with existing accessories, like a nice watch or tattoo.”
“The process always starts with how I want my jewelry to be seen on a man. It’s quite tricky since it’s my first foray into designing a men’s collection so I gave them a unisex appeal.”
Hoschka began with silver as her base metal, a discreet hue designed to be paired with plenty of different textures. Her signature cuffs, which come in skins of stingray and crocodile leather, get a skinnier treatment. Embellished with gold or silver in asymmetrical patterns, the pieces are studded with precious gemstones.
Agates in drusy or onyx, tourmalines and sapphires are some of the stones that dot the designs.
Hammered metals with a wavy finish is Hoschka’s take on the dog tag, while an Eastern aesthetic runs strong in pendant necklaces and roughly-hewn rings, which remain a standout in the collection.
“From my experience, men will usually go for casual pieces first — dog tag pendant, bracelets — then as soon as they feel comfortable with the idea of wearing jewelry, they move on to more formal pieces,” she says.
And her clients have been receptive so far.
“I have a client who bought croc and stringray bracelets with the silver terminations at the end,” she says. “His wife came in recently and told me that he loves it so much that he builds his wardrobe around the bracelets!”
“Another one sent his wife to my store with specific instructions,” she laughs. “He said, ‘It’s your turn to buy me jewelry!‘”