Sotheby’s Celebrates the World of Men’s Jewelry With New Selling Exhibition
Sotheby’s Vice Chairman for Jewelry Frank Everett opens up his decades-long love affair with jewelry.
Photography by Aaron Lippman
Styled by Sachiko Earlene Clyde
A first-of-its-kind event, Sotheby’s new selling exhibition For the Boys unpacks the evolution of men’s jewelry from the mid-19th century to today. Spearheaded by industry authority Frank Everett, Sotheby’s Vice Chairman for Jewelry, the series presents a mix of archival works from legacy brands such as Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, and Tiffany & Co., as well as a healthy dose of more modern styles from cult favorites like Chrome Hearts, David Yurman, Shaun Leane, and more. In a trip across time, For the Boys features items such as 1960s Mod-era brooches studded with gemstones to ‘70s geometric styles. With a nod to today’s style icons like Harry Styles and A$AP Rocky, the exhibition also spotlights how recent shifts in celebrity fashion trends have spawned a renaissance in men’s jewelry outside of traditionally masculine-coded pieces. In shining a light on the past, Sotheby’s forges a path to pique the interest of the jewelry aficionados of tomorrow.
To get a better sense of Everett’s vision for the exhibition, and the jewelry world in general, L’OFFICIEL spoke with him about the past, present, and future of men’s jewelry.
L’OFFICIEL: How did you get into the jewelry world?
Frank Everett: Somebody just asked me this the other day. I think it's more rare than people think I really because I just love jewelry. It was a second career for me. I had a long career in restaurants and event planning in San Francisco and loved it for years, but was ready for a change. I owned my own restaurant, and it's a very exhausting business. I realized I had started to collect books specifically on jewelry. That had become a hobby. Instead of reading Bon Appetit magazine and Gourmet, I'd sort of put all that stuff aside for several years and was really just reading about jewelry, the history of design, the great collectors, style. So I thought, Why not give this a try? I had a friend who worked at Bulgari and my first job was behind the counter. So that's where I started, at Bulgari.
L’O: This selling exhibition For the Boys covers the evolution of men's jewelry. What are some of the hallmarks of that history of men's jewelry that we'll be seeing in this collection?
FE: For our purposes, we really rarely go much before the 19th century. It's very hard to find jewelry prior to that. There are dealers of ancient jewelry—you can actually buy rings that are thousands of years old—but we don't really handle that at auction. So mostly we're starting around the mid-19th century, and then going forward. I think it's constantly an evolution. There's always been some presence of jewelry on men, but it can be limited. I think we're in a time now where we can all wear what we want to wear. There are certain types of men's jewelry that seem to be easier for men to embrace. If you look at things that trace back to something masculine like dog tags—dog tags are considered “okay” because they relate to the military. Then you've got those bead bracelets that guys love to wear and that relates to surfer dude culture. So those things are around but what about other things? What about a brooch, for instance, which I'm always trying to get men to wear and they are now. I think you're seeing them more on the red carpet. But other things too: great long necklaces from the ‘70s, the things that have come in and out of fashion. I think it's just a time for men to embrace not only different types of jewelry but wearing more than one piece. I think that is where we're headed.
L’O: Do you have a particularly favorite piece from the collection or one that has a particularly interesting history that you enjoy?
FE: In this collection, because I'm so drawn to brooches and 19th-century pieces, there's one particular floral spray that's mostly old diamonds. It's the complete package for me because it's a 19th-century piece. It's got all the old cut diamonds, old mines with little touches of green tsavorite, which are just the most beautiful pop of color. It's set entente blanc so the flowers move a little bit, and it's just something that I love holding [and] looking at. I think that one is pretty special to me. And then you know, I think I'm really drawn to the pieces by Shaun Leane. Shaun is a dear friend, and we worked together on his auction of some pieces that he made for Alexander McQueen, and his pieces that we have in this show are really traced back to the roots of some of the McQueen things that he did, particularly that serpent tracer design which is basically a serpent's vertebra in the form of a necklace and a bracelet. And you can look right back to some of the McQueen things that he did with that vertebrate corset. So I love those pieces. And I love them because of the history that I have with Shawn and with his design world. So I'd say maybe those might be among my favorites.
L’O: How did you and Shaun start working together? And how did you bring him into this project?
FE: He had a personal archive of work that he did for Alexander McQueen, and he really didn't know what to do with it. We worked with him to bring it to auction, and it really was a watershed moment for what we call “artists’ jewelry.” There were no gemstones, and most of it wasn't even really made of gold or silver or precious metals. These really were art pieces that were worn on the body. So that was a very exciting project and very successful project that we've worked on with Shawn to bring to auction. I wouldn't have thought of doing this show without his pieces. Not that they're made for men. His jewelry really has such a unisex appeal to me. When you look at some of the natural forms that are threaded throughout all of his collections—whether it's a thorn, a claw, or the vertebra—these things transcend men, women, whoever. It's just beautiful objects in precious materials that he creates and look amazing on anyone that wears them.
L’O: One piece I love that I’ve seen men finally appreciating and wearing in their everyday lives is the pearl necklace.
FE: Real pearls are relatively affordable in the world of jewelry. You can even go to Tiffany and get a 17/18-inch strand of freshwater pearls that really fits a guy nicely for $1,000. That's a great starting place. Maybe a gold bracelet is going to be out of your price range because the price of gold is so high right now, so to get a nice, chunky bracelet, not so affordable. But pearls can be quite affordable. My favorite look is the standard pearls, and then maybe a little pendant on like a thin chain, and then a thin diamond necklace to sort of layer three pieces together. I like that look a lot.
L’O: I want to go back to brooches, which I know are a particular favorite of yours. What is it about them that you feel drawn to?
FE: The brooch to me is the ultimate expression of the jeweler’s art. In other words, it doesn't have to hang from your earlobe, it doesn't have to fit the finger, doesn't have to hang around your neck. It's just a little sculpture that you pin on. So I do like that jewelers [and] designers have more free rein to create these things. I also think brooches carry a certain weight that doesn't really lend itself to a lot of fabrics for women's fashion these days. Men's jackets hold it better. There's less and less women's fashion that actually supports a good-sized brooch. You get these vintage pieces from the ‘40s, ‘50s, ‘60s—ladies were wearing more tweed jackets and suits in those days. They still do, but for those reasons, I think they're just perfect for men. Personally, I've never been a guy that's drawn to pocket squares and cufflinks. I find them, for my style, a little bit fussy and not so much what I want to wear and you can't wear it all. You can't wear a pocket square and a tie and a brooch. It gets to be a little bit much. So for me, I'd rather wear the piece of jewelry and skip the tie.
L’O: From your perspective, what are some of the most interesting innovations or changes that you're seeing right now in the jewelry world?
FE: I think comfort level with multiple pieces is really key. I became first comfortable wearing more than one thing when I went to work for David Yurman. I see them really as the contemporary industry leader in what we traditionally call men's jewelry. Their men's line is unbelievable. David Yurman's son Evan is the chief designer on that line. Yes, they do make the traditional pieces like we've discussed with the bead bracelets and dog tags, but they also do incredible collections of rings, in particular, their Petrvs collection of rings is beautiful. They're all in a very rushed matte finish, 22-karat gold and there are different intaglios or scarabs, ancient forms, things like that. They do an incredible job with it. It's amazing how comfortable and easy it can look wearing four, five, six pieces. You layer two or three necklaces, a couple bracelets, a ring on each hand. It sounds like a lot of jewelry, and yet there's something that holds it all together. It's still a cohesive look. For me, that's where I learned to be comfortable wearing more than one thing at a time. I still don't load it on. I am jealous when I see people who can load on the jewelry, but then that's personal style. It comes down to what you're comfortable with what looks good on you and how you want to express yourself. So to me, that's going forward: thinking outside the box, wearing a piece that maybe traditionally was seen as a woman's piece, and wearing more than one thing.
L’O: It’s almost a spectrum where you have minimal jewelry on one side and very artsy on the other, and everyone exists and feels comfortable somewhere along that spectrum. And exploring that spectrum allows people to slowly tap into the artsier side.
FE: I think that's very true. I remember an event we did here at Sotheby's, I had worked with a fashion editor and I was showing her a necklace. It was a Bulgari piece from the ‘70s. She said, “You have to wear that to the party.” I don't wear necklaces usually, and then I thought, Why shouldn't I? It's a very cool piece. It had big square elements that were gold but covered in enamel with a groovy ‘70s design and some diamonds. Then, of course, she told me exactly how to style it. She was like, “Okay, you need to find a French blue and white striped shirt.” So I literally put the outfit exactly together as instructed, and it looked great. It's still one of my favorite looks that I've ever worn because that necklace was so cool.
L’O: I don't think people talk enough about how jewelry has such a presence and personality that sometimes you have to style the look around it.
FE: I’ve said that for years. I don't know why more great red carpet looks don't start with the jewelry. Start with some great vintage jewelry and then build around it. Once you've got the necklace, find a neckline that complements it right. Or find [a look] that looks great with a lot of bracelets that has a bare arm. But I think it's rare. It's very rare for somebody to start with the jewels.
L’O: As you mentioned, in recent years, we've really seen this renaissance of men's jewelry outside of the single chain or traditionally masculine pieces. Many people attributed that to celebrity style icons like Harry Styles, A$AP Rocky, and others who are known for blurring gender lines in their fashion. From your perspective, do you feel like one needs to engage with femininity to be able to appreciate jewelry as a man or has that just given men the opportunity to finally have an appreciation for jewelry?
FE: I think it's the opposite. I think there are pieces of jewelry that no longer have a strictly feminine attachment. One of the inspirations for this show was a photograph of Dwayne Wade years from a couple of years ago at the Met Gala. He had the white jacket with a classic diamond line necklace, which normally would have been for a woman, and a Schlumberger brooch. So not “guy jewelry.” Not even a geometric brooch. It's a bird on a rock. It’s a Schlumberger from the 1960s, pavé bird with feathers on its head sitting on a big I think aquamarine. So to me, he’s what you think of as a hyper-masculine man, and he's not wearing dog tags and curling bracelets. He's wearing a diamond line necklace and a Schlumberger for Tiffany & Co. brooch—he looked amazing.
Brooches continue to grow in popularity, and now all kinds of brooches have been worn by all kinds of men. So yes, you have Timothée Chalamet who also can cross [gendered] those lines, but you see all kinds of men wearing them now. It's almost like you can't put on a tuxedo and go to a red carpet event as a man without a little lapel. Probably there aren't as many flowers as I think there should be. I think flower brooches are really perfect for men because if you think back in the old days when men always had a little boutonniere. You had an actual flower, a daisy, or carnation, or a rose in your lapel. Why not have one that's never going to wilt? That's made out of gold and platinum and diamond. So I think it's the opposite. I just think that now it's just jewelry. And if it's worn by a man, then it's men's jewelry, and if it's worn by somebody else, it's not. But we're just trying to raise the awareness and put the spotlight on putting this fabulous jewelry on guys.
Video courtesy of Sotheby’s
MODELS Finlay Mangan IMG Hazem Aly The Society
GROOMING Kiyonori Sudo
PROP STYLIST Selena Liu
PRODUCER Hannah Westbrook
CASTING Onell Ednacot
DIGITAL TECH Ji Min Ou
PHOTO ASSISTANT Niko Margaros
STYLIST ASSISTANTS Sara Adelstein and Tyree Johnson
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Alex Sapp
