Are Diamonds Just A Girl’s Best Friend? The Men Bringing Bling To The Red Carpet

In our enlightened times, where conventions on gender and masculinity are shifting, there’s increasing licence for men to express their style personas and identity in ways that would have raised eyebrows in more strait-laced days.

This year’s Met Gala is a case in point: it was a very public display of political correctness that would have been unimaginable for its inaugural run in 1948. Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion was a tribute to Black Dandyism, the early 20th-century cultural movement where Black individuals expressed themselves through personal style, in a form of civil rebellion against social marginalisation. And it opened the door wide for a red-carpet showcase of men in more bejewelled finery than you could shake a sceptre at.

Lewis Hamilton and fashion photographer Tyler Mitchell rocked up with articulated gold, pearl and feather brooches by British-Jamaican designer Grace Wales Bonner, while rap royalty A$AP Rocky, Bad Bunny and Pharrell were decked out in brooches, chokers and rings by Cartier, Bvlgari and Tiffany & Co. Actor Damson Idris chose the occasion to debut his own fine jewellery brand, DIDRIS, and arrived with an emerald, tourmaline, tsavorite and diamond brooch chain pinned to his ruby-red Hilfiger three-piece.

The 2025 Met Gala opened the door wide for a red-carpet showcase of men in more bejewelled finery than you could shake a sceptre at. (© Alec Michael)

And it wasn’t just Black culture on parade. Men from other backgrounds interpreted the brief their own way. Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh came in a bejewelled turban, with a multi-layered necklace of diamonds and semi-precious stones by Delhi firm Golecha’s Jewels. It was a homage to larger-than-life Bhupinder Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala from 1900– 1938, who had an insatiable appetite for wine, women, song, Rolls-Royce motors and, of course, jewels. Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan also flew the green, white and orange flag, stepping onto the crimson carpet brandishing a sapphire and diamond-set Bengal Tiger head cane by Sabyasachi.

Indian men have never shied away from self-embellishment. I’m half Indian and anyone who has attended an Indian wedding (or any formal knees-up) will know there’s an inordinate amount of glitter and gold on display. And if you’ve travelled in India – particularly in states like Rajasthan – the sight of a gold hoop, pearl, emerald or sapphire dangling from a man’s earlobe won’t make locals bat an eyelid. Cultural belief is at play here: in Hindu theology, it is believed that piercing the ears balances the body’s energy and wards off evil spirits. I had mine pierced recently at (almost) 40. My Indian male cousins all had their ears pierced years ago and I felt left out. I can’t unequivocally say it’s improved my luck in life, but my ear bling certainly garners compliments.

Despite jewellery being largely seen as ‘feminine’ in Western culture, men of centuries past blinged up more than the gals. Henry VIII and Sir Walter Raleigh favoured pearl-encrusted doublets, drop earrings and a ruby or three. Victorian-age values made men of influence tone it down, but now the likes of Harry Styles, Timothée Chalamet and Shawn Mendes pile on the bling, while Jared Leto and Johnny Depp have sported jewellery for years.

Does this increased visibility of men being bold with jewels – across a wide spectrum of ethnicities – make it more acceptable for mere mortals? While going full red carpet on the street might risk you getting jumped, you can nod to this new form of glossy self-expression in a more everyday fashion.

The likes of Harry Styles, Timothée Chalamet and Shawn Mendes pile on the bling. (Julie Edwards/JEP Celebrity Photos/Alamy Live News)

And fashion being a cyclical beast makes the rediscovery of forgotten pieces gathering dust in the attic an easy way to lean into the look without breaking the bank or putting pressure on the planet. The Cartier floral brooch worn by Pharrell to the Met Gala is from 1962 – a fine example of mid-century jewellery’s revival. While you might not have a diamond brooch from a leading Paris jeweller languishing in a drawer, rummaging can pay dividends. My great-grandfather was a jeweller, so there’s vintage bijouterie knocking around the family casa, and I’ve pilfered a few of my mother’s old brooches and chains from the 60s and 70s.

It might seem bad fiscal management to lavish money on jewellery in an economic downturn, but there’s surely sense in investing in gold and gemstones when interest rates are down. There’s also the advantage of reselling, remaking and recycling precious materials – a prevalent practice across the globe for centuries. I repurposed a nacre necklace after we reached ‘peak pearl’ in men’s style a few years ago by wrapping it around my wrist several times as a bracelet.

While I wouldn’t freely pepper myself with shiny trinkets, I’ve definitely become more experimental with jewellery. If our brave new world of men’s cultural expression is anything to go by, we might need to rethink whether diamonds are just a girl’s best friend.