6 Men’s Diamond Jewelry Looks that Ruled the Red Carpet in 2021
Just a few years ago—in 2019 to be exact—it was big news when men in Hollywood finally brought the brooch back into the forefront of style. The oversized pins that were once so popular for women had been taken for virtually dead until men started making them look cool.
Flash forward to now, and brooches have become such a ubiquitous part of men’s evening wear, they now have to be styled in special ways to make a real statement; they are just one of many ways in which men are breaking boundaries and standing out in diamond jewelry on the red carpet.
Read More: Antique Men’s Brooches to Elevate Any Outfit
Timothée Chalamet
Timothée Chalamet, who acts as his own stylist, pinned two Cartier Art Deco diamond and platinum brooches near the waist of the Haider Ackerman white sweatpants he paired with a white satin tuxedo jacket and Chuck Taylor converse shoes at the Met Gala.
Chalamet’s styling is exactly the spirit of how things have gone down this year: men have become wildly adventurous in their jewelry wearing ways.
Jared Leto
To clarify, a lot of the jewelry worn by men lately hasn’t categorically been men’s jewelry at all. Similar to the way they lifted the brooch right out of women’s jewelry boxes, now men are going for other jewels traditionally designed for women.
Jared Leto illustrated this point to perfection at the UK House of Gucci premiere on November 9. He paired a glamorous Gucci high jewelry necklace from the Hortus Deliciarum Collection with a teal velvet suit.
Billy Porter
At the Emmys, Billy Porter, the master of making a bold jewelry statement on the red carpet, stepped out in an all-black number by Ashi Studio, which functioned as a backdrop for the jewels he borrowed from Lorraine Schwartz. The Pose actor sparkled in a dramatic diamond bib necklace studded with emeralds and major diamond ear pieces.
Pete Davidson
Diamond rivières and tennis bracelets, two of women’s favorite diamond essentials, are rapidly becoming the go-to jewels for men on the red carpet. Timothée Chalamet often wears both by Cartier, while Drake, AKA Champagne Papi, reportedly spent $1 million on a heart shape diamond rivière he wears routinely. For the Met Gala this year, Pete Davidson also worked both into his bejeweled Kwiat and Fred Leighton look styled by Britt Theodora.
“Men are loving the diamond tennis bracelets and rivières right now,” says Leighton’s Chief Creative Officer, Rebecca Selva. “It is somewhat reminiscent of the 1970s when men really got into gold jewelry, but now men are leaning into diamond styles.”
Lil Nas X
Of course, men are not just dipping into women’s jewelry boxes, they still have a rich world of jewels made for them. While some men wear both, none do it quite as fluidly as Lil Nas X.
The stylish American rapper puts on whatever jewelry he wants. For his birthday in April, he pushed the boundaries of what diamond jewelry could be, showing off a full set of white pavé-set diamond nails made by Alligator Jesus on Instagram. Lil Nas X set a different tone at the 2021 WSJ Magazine Innovator awards. For the event he slipped into an Alligator Jesus chunky diamond and gold chain necklace and bracelet among other jewels.
LaKeith Stanfield
While many things have changed in men’s jewelry this year, chunky chains remain an eternal favorite. At the Oscars, LaKeith Stanfield, who was nominated for his supporting role in Judas and the Black Messiah, stood out on the red carpet in a Saint Laurent jumpsuit he lit up with a diamond encrusted Cartier watch and diamond and gold chain necklace.
The jewels were familiar to fans of the actor. He wears them all the time for photo shoots and in day-to-day life, clearly illustrating—as if any more proof were necessary—diamonds are also a man’s best friend.
