Do You Make Men’s Jewellery?….

Jewellery for everyone - rings made in recycled gold and silver, with pink sapphire and moissanite.

I work in an industry that sometimes can be really pretty sexist and un-inclusive! I’ve often been asked “Do you make men’s rings?”, to which my answer would always be “Yes”, because ALL of my jewellery is suitable to be worn by a man, or a woman, or a person of any gender. I’ve never categorised it to be only suitable for one particular type of human.

A couple of weeks ago I attended a Zoom Open House session from Fairluxury about inclusivity in the jewellery industry. We talked about how this is something that, as ethical jewellers, we also need to be thinking about. I found it really interesting that some of the speakers said they found it uncomfortable going into a standard jewellery shop to look at engagement rings as they’re almost always aimed at cis gendered/ heterosexual couples. They spoke about how some jewellery is clearly intended for women and some for men, but why should this be the case?

Thankfully, things are changing, and also thankfully, I can say that I “think” I’m already doing all of the suggestions they gave in order to make someone from the LGBTQIA+ community feel included and welcome.

It’s all simple stuff really, such as not having trays of “men’s” rings and “women’s” rings and not assuming that just because someone “looks” like they’re a particular gender, that they actually are, and would choose a particular style of jewellery.

As you hopefully know if you’re reading this, I specialise in wedding and engagement (and promise/anniversary/civil partnership) rings, but I’ve never “gendered” any of my jewellery and I never will do. I just make jewellery for whoever happens to fall in love with it!