In the seventeenth century, gentlemen did not disdain brooches or pearl jewelry. Likewise, Indian maharajas have often used pearls, along with precious gems, to decorate turbans or embellish brooches. Understandably, jewelers today are aiming for a return of the male audience to high jewelery. This is the case of Assael, a New York Maison specializing in pearls and coral, which presents a 2023 communication campaign in which the man wears a string of pearls and a flashy brooch.
It is not the first brand to try to persuade men to wear high jewelry: before Assael also brands like Mikimoto or Boucheron presented models wearing precious jewels instead of the usual chains with plaques and leather bracelets. The Assael campaign was shot in Miami by fashion photographer David Benoliel and involves models Michaela Kocianova and James Lorenzo, who wear Assael jewelry. A precious consensus to the style of the campaign came from the jewelery historian Vivienne Becker. Will it be enough to convince a manager to show up at the bank with a pearl necklace instead of a tie?
