Is Jewellery the New Tie? What Men Wear to Work Now

Monday morning, in front of the mirror. Shirt on, collar open, no tie, because nobody's worn one to your office in years. And then the small question most men have asked themselves at some point: does the chain stay on, or does it go back in the drawer?

It's a question that matters again. After a few years of working from kitchen tables, more and more of us are being asked back into the office, more days a week. At the same time, the rules of what to wear there have never been looser. One men's style magazine, The Gentleman's Journal, went as far as declaring business casual dead this month. Smart, comfortable and personal has taken its place.

So it's worth asking properly. If the tie was how a man showed a bit of himself at work, what's doing that job now? And is jewellery at work just part of getting dressed these days, or does it still read as unprofessional?

When did we all stop wearing ties?

It didn't happen overnight. Dress-down Fridays chipped away at it first. Then the tech companies turned up in hoodies and trainers and made it look like the smart move. Banks and law firms, the last places you'd expect, started relaxing their rules too.

Even a decade ago, the tie was on its way out. One survey of 1,200 professional men in Australia, back in 2015, found more than half didn't wear a tie to work at all, and only a quarter wore one every day. Then the pandemic sent everyone home, and the tie never really came back with them.

Most men under a certain age have now spent their whole working lives without one. The only time it comes out is for a wedding, a funeral or an interview, and even the interview is up for debate.

What the tie was really doing

Here's the thing, though. It was never really about the tie.

For most of the last century, a man's work clothes were a uniform. Dark suit, white or blue shirt, black shoes. The tie was the one bit he got to choose. The colour, the pattern, the one his wife bought him, the one he wore for every big meeting because it had never let him down. It was a small piece of personality in an outfit designed to have none.

So when the tie disappeared, the uniform didn't just get more comfortable. It lost the one detail that said something about the man wearing it.

And that space hasn't stayed empty for long.

So where does jewellery fit in?

Look around most offices now and you'll see it. A signet ring on a little finger. A fine chain just visible under an open collar. A bracelet next to the watch. The things men used to keep for the weekend have quietly started coming to work.

It's not as big a leap as it sounds. The watch was always allowed, and nobody ever called it jewellery. A wedding ring never needed anyone's permission. So why does a signet or a chain still feel like a risk to some people?

Mostly, it's habit. The line between what's acceptable and what isn't was never written down. It was just how things were. And the numbers suggest the line is moving fast. Analysts now put the global men's jewellery market at close to $50 billion a year, and still growing. That's not a niche. That's men, at work and everywhere else, deciding jewellery is part of getting dressed.

When it's better to keep it simple

That doesn't mean anything goes. There's still a line, and it isn't always snobbery.

If you're meeting a new client, starting a new job or walking into an interview, there's a fair argument for keeping things quiet until you've read the room. Some industries are still more traditional than others, and that's their call to make. And there's a difference between wearing a piece and wearing everything. Three chains, a stack of rings and two bracelets can be a great look at the weekend. At a desk, it can start to feel like noise.

The point of the tie was never to be the loudest thing in the room. It was to be the detail someone noticed when they looked twice. The same rule works for jewellery.

Why one good piece does the tie's job

This is where we come down on it.

One considered piece says more than five, and it says you chose it. A signet ring that was your grandad's. A fine chain that sits under the collar and only shows when you lean forward. A ring you bought yourself when you got the promotion. It's personal, it's quiet, and it does exactly what the tie used to do.

We'd know. Everyone at CRAFTD wears jewellery to work. Rings, chains, bracelets, the lot. It hasn't stopped us building one of the fastest-growing businesses in the UK. If anything, it's part of how we turn up every day: as ourselves.

If you want the practical side, our guide to the men's jewellery rules worth keeping covers what works where, and our look at minimalist jewellery for men is a good place to start if you'd rather keep it subtle. For most men, a signet ring is the easiest first step.

The tie used to be the last thing a man put on before he left the house. The final check in the mirror. The bit that said he was ready.

Most of us don't reach for one anymore. But most of us still want that last detail that makes the outfit feel like ours.

So what's yours now?