How to Wear Jewelry as a Man | An Easy Guide

Credit: Ties

As men, we want to know how to make the best impression on the people around us. We want to improve our sense of style not by just wearing great clothes and grooming well but in every way possible.

One way you can improve your sense of style is by wearing jewelry. However, knowing how to wear jewelry and wearing jewelry are two very different things. One can put on a necklace but looking good in these accessories is a whole different spectrum.

Today, we’ll teach you how to wear jewelry properly. There are several rules associated with wearing your favorite ring, bracelet, or pendant. But once you learn how to wear jewelry in a proper manner, you’ll find that your sense of style is at an upgraded level. 

How to Wear Different Types of Jewelry 

You can wear several types of jewelry. The four most common pieces are the bracelet, necklace, watch, and ring. Each one serves its own purpose when it comes to building up your style portfolio.

Bracelets are worn around the wrists and they help enhance the forearms. They can also pair up with the watch–which, as a piece of jewelry, serves the same purpose as the bracelet. 

Rings are usually worn for symbolic purposes. They can go around the different fingers of the hand. When used as a fashion statement, rings make the hand much more appealing to the eye.

Necklaces are worn around the neck and like rings, can be worn for symbolic purposes. However, as time has evolved, necklaces have steered more towards a piece of jewelry rather than a symbolic piece.

Necklaces help your shoulders and neck stand out, giving you a much more masculine look from the upper torso. 

P.S., if you like talking about watches and jewelry, then you might like our Bulova watch review.

How to Wear Jewelry

One rule you must always remember, though, is that jewelry isn’t meant to stand out and be the center of attention. It’s meant to complement your already-existing style and make you look better as a whole.

Putting too much emphasis on your watch or your necklace will result in a less-suitable version of yourself so make sure to keep this in mind when considering your options. 

Best Types of Bracelets for Men

To start off, there are many different types of bracelets and there are many different ways that you can wear them. There’s no one standard for the bracelet.

Beaded Bracelets

Perhaps the most common and popular type of bracelet is the beaded bracelet. They consist of round beads fitted onto an elastic cord. The beautiful thing about this type of bracelet is that you can find these in anywhere from small hole-in-the-wall tourist shops to luxury-brand stores.

Some beaded bracelets are connected by a link which you can disconnect when you want to take it off and reconnect when you want to wear it again. Others can simply be taken off due to it being an elastic cord. 

The beads can be made of simple plastic or it can be manufactured from obsidian as are Thomas Sabo’s Kathmandu bracelets

Chain Bracelets

Another popular style is the chain bracelet. Chain bracelets are exactly what they sound like. They’re bracelets that look like chains. However, they come in a variety of link types. You can get a standard link-to-link bracelet or you can get an extremely complex design that loops around like a spiral.

These types of bracelets come in mostly silver and gold colors. However, you might find a few chain bracelets that are a mix of the two. These are also usually more expensive since the materials cost more and the craftsmanship is high-level.

Leather Bracelets

If you’re not a fan of beaded bracelets or chain bracelets, then leather bracelets are also an option. Leather bracelets go great with formal outfits but they also look great when you want to go casual. 

Most leather bracelets are just a leather cord with a metal buckle to connect the two sides like a belt. Like beaded bracelets, you can find affordable pieces on online marketplaces such as Amazon and Etsy but you can also find high-quality designs from brand names such as Tom Ford and Miansai.

Bracelet Cuffs

The last option that you can choose for a bracelet is the cuffs. Cuffs are exactly what they sound like. They’re circular pieces of jewelry that can either fully connect around your wrist or semi-connect around your wrist.

Like the chain bracelets, these usually only come in gold and silver but other metals have also been used to craft this type of bracelet. For instance, there are brass cuffs out there on the market but they’re not seen as much because they tend to bend after a while. 

For these types of bracelets, it’s better to buy in-store rather than order online because of their restrictive fit. They aren’t as flexible as your average beaded bracelet or your leather band and because of this, you may order the wrong size.

How to Wear Bracelets

A man with a beaded bracelet and a watch on his left hand
Credit: Ring to Perfection

When it comes to wearing the bracelet, there are many different ways to style the look. The three most common ways are stacking bracelets, wearing one or two max on the opposite hand of a watch, and wearing a bracelet with a watch.

Stacking bracelets is one of the most popular styles out there right now since it shows off several different looks at once while bulking up the forearm. 

Others prefer to wear one or two bracelets on the opposite side of the watch hand to keep a balance to the two hands while some people prefer to pair their bracelets with their watches.

People like to do the third option because sometimes, the watch itself isn’t enough to stand out. Sometimes, you need to add a little flair. 

Should I Wear a Bracelet With My Watch?

One common rule when it comes to pairing watches with bracelets is to match the straps of the watch. If you’re wearing a watch with a bracelet strap, then pairing it with a beaded bracelet or a chain will look much better than pairing it with a leather band.

On the other hand, if you’re wearing a watch with a leather strap, then pairing it with a leather band would be the better way to go.

How to Wear a Necklace

A necklace looks great and does wonders for your upper body. However, that’s only if you know how to wear a necklace correctly.

Necklaces are a little trickier than bracelets. Since bracelets are meant to fit around wrists, it’s easy to find the perfect size for your body. But since necklaces dangle off your neck, it’s can be trickier to find the perfect fit.

To find a good necklace for you, determine how far down the necklace hangs. A good length will pass the collar bone but it won’t go farther than midway of your chest.

Necklaces are usually made up of materials such as silver and gold. But they can also be made from other materials such as pearls, diamonds, and even quartz.

If you want some type of ornament to hang from the bottom of the necklace, then you want a pendant. These can hang lower but the pedant can range in size so watch out for pendants that are too big.

Don’t put your money on a pendant with a flashy, large-scale ornament. While they’re great at helping you stand out, you’ll be standing out only because of the pendant. Your entire self-image will change as a result. 

We suggest that if you want a pendant, you go for something that is a little more subtle. An ornament such as your birthstone or a minimal design will always go a long way.

Best Types of Watches

Before you can even start wearing a watch, you need to understand how they work. There are five types of watches that you need to know about: dress watches, diver watches, chronographs, pilot watches, and field watches.

Dress Watches

Dress watches are meant for formal occasions and usually have a white dial, simple design, and come in leather straps. However, with the fashion world always changing, nowadays, you don’t always have to wear a dress watch at a formal occasion.

Swiss watches are the way to go if you want a high-quality dress watch. There are even some below-$500 Swiss watches that you can get from reputable brands based in Switzerland.

Diver Watches

Diver watches are meant to deal with water. They’re waterproof, can withstand depths of at least 100 meters, and have rotating bezels that can record sixty minutes of time with five-minute intervals on the bezel.

Chronograph Watches

Chronograph watches are watches that can be used as a stopwatch on top of its standard time-keeping procedures. There are three sub-dials, one that counts seconds, one that counts minutes, and one that counts hours.

Pilot Watches

Pilot watches are watches that were used originally for pilots in the mid-1900s because standard pocket watches were hard to use in-flight. To meet the pilots’ accommodations, pilot watches were handed their own set of features.

Pilot watches have a large, eligible dial, luminosity, an oversized winding crown, and dual time tracking since crossing time zones was a common occurrence throughout flights. 

Field Watches

Field watches are extremely sustainable and dependable watches that come in canvas or leather bands. Because they were originally used in war and called “trench watches,” they have a variety of features that live up to the name.

Field watches tend to have stainless steel casing, contrast between the numbering and the dial and a hacking second hand to allow easier time synchronization. If you’re a fan of field watches, you should definitely check out beater watches. They have a familiar feel to the field watch, but they’re much more durable.

From here, it’s quite easy to find your perfect starting watch. 

The Rules of Wearing a Watch

But which arm should the watch go on and what’s an acceptable watch size? A common rule of thumb is to wear the watch on your non-dominant hand. Since you do most stuff with your dominant hand, you’re less prone to damaging the watch by wearing it on your non-dominant hand. 

Now, once you’ve found the type of watch you want, you’ll want to get a watch that fits your wrist size. This is the tricky part. Too big of a watch dial and you’ll ruin the style completely. Too small of a watch dial and your watch won’t serve its purpose.

For a 6 inch wrist, a 38mm watch dial fits perfectly and for a 7.5 inch wrist, a 45mm watch dial does the job. If you don’t want to measure your wrist, then we suggest that you go with a range of 36mm-42mm.

How to Wear a Ring

a man holding a phone with a ring on his left finger
Credit: Di MODOLO Milano

Before wearing rings became a fashion statement, wearing rings was a symbolic gesture. The two most common reasons people wear rings is because it serves a religious purpose or because it is their wedding ring.

An example of wearing a ring for a religious purpose can be the Marianist brothers who wear signet rings in order to represent their vows.

Rings can hold a great deal of symbolism. However, worn correctly, they can also be very fashionable. 

When it comes to wearing the ring on the right or left hand, it doesn’t really matter. The only exception to this rule is the left ring finger which is traditionally meant for the wedding ring. 

It’s best to wear the ring on your pinky finger since this is the finger that stands out the most. This is the best finger for a “statement” ring since it has no religious associations with it. If you want to wear another ring, try for your thumb or your index finger. 

Rings should be worn to make an impression and help you stand out. They shouldn’t be the main source of attention. Wearing too many at once will make your hands feel tight and restricted.

Keep it at around two or three pieces spread out across both hands. These rings should have minimal to no design on them. Your purpose of wearing jewelry is to increase your self-image, not to draw all attention to the piece.

When to Wear Jewelry

Jewelry can be worn at all times. However, some types of jewelry are meant for certain situations. There’s everyday jewelry, workplace jewelry, and formal jewelry.

Jewelry You Can Wear All The Time

The best types of everyday jewelry are your watch and rings. For married couples, wedding rings are taken everywhere. And for those who don’t like looking at their phones, a watch can spice things up.

Your necklace is a good option too. That bad boy can spice up your entire outfit and catch eyes wherever you go.

Workplace Jewelry

Workplace jewelry is meant specifically for the office, which means the jewelry can’t be too flashy. Keep it minimal, with a watch and a bracelet. In some offices, you can wear a necklace, but don’t let it stick out.

Formal Jewelry

At formal events, you can go all-out. Because everyone is going to be wearing close to the same thing, try to express yourself. You can wear your rings, watch, and bracelet. Don’t wear a necklace.

However, because it’s a formal event, use your best taste. Opt for the dress watch, wear your rings on your pinkie finger, and wear two bracelets at most.

Why You Should Wear Jewelry

two fists with eight rings on the fists
Credit: The Urban Gentleman

As I’ve mentioned before, wearing jewelry and knowing how to wear jewelry are two different things. You can wear great jewelry but if you don’t style it right, then the entire purpose of the piece is null and void.

Jewelry is meant to help you as a whole stand out from the crowd by complementing with your clothing. A great watch, bracelet, necklace, etc. can get the job done but, at the same time, if they’re too flashy, then it won’t help you stand out in the right way.

Now that you know about the different types of pieces you can wear and how to wear jewelry, it’s time to go look for what fits you best.