Video to boardroom: More guys dig jewelry

First he raided your grooming products. Then he usurped your aesthetician. And now not even your jewelry box is safe.

Men are buying themselves bracelets, rings and pendant necklaces with increasing frequency and wearing their accessories with a confidence and flair heretofore unseen in the Western world, according to fashion experts and industry observers.

"From an industry perspective, men's jewelry has been one of the real stars of the last couple years," says Brian Nohe, president and COO of Spectore, a fine-jewelry manufacturer. "Men are spending more time grooming themselves. That carries over into the men's jewelry market."

So much so that insiders estimate the industry has seen a 20 percent growth in men's jewelry in the past few years.

I.B. Goodman. Konstantino. Nikos. Triton. Fibo Steel.

"In 2005, there must have been at least 20 new brands added in men's jewelry," says Jeff Prine, executive editor of Modern Jeweler magazine.

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons is the latest — and possibly one of the biggest names — to join the fray, launching the Simmons Jewelry Co. Men's Collection in December.

The collection of bracelets, chains, pendants, rings and diamond earrings has an edgy, urban feel; pieces are made of alternative materials such as rubber and steel and accented with hip-hop images, such as microphones and dice.

But male-oriented jewelry isn't strictly for the diamonds-in-both-ears hip-hoppers or the fashion-experimental young.

From the ball court to the boardroom, men of all ages, lifestyles and income levels are finding themselves more inclined to throw on a little something shiny.

"There are different segmentations of men [buying jewelry]. Some men are more of the Ralph Lauren set, penny loafers and blue blazers," says Nohe, whose company is behind the new and popular Edward Mirell brand of men's jewelry. "Then you have the Wall Street business types. It has really taken hold in all segments of the market."

Word-of-mouth has helped fuel this upswing, which industry insiders say is more the start of a new era in jewelry than a trend or fad.

Athletes and celebrities' obsession with "ice" filtered from the urban to the suburban market and created a demand for jewelry for the mainstream man, says Mary Moses Kinney, director of the Independent Jewelers Organization, which represents 850 independent jewelers in the United States and Canada.

Even nontraditional jewelry manufacturers want in on the growth in this segment of the jewelry industry, they say.

Montblanc, for example, the renowned luxury pen maker, has recently expanded on the practical accessories it was offering for men (cufflinks, key chains, money clips) to items made purely for style.

"It really started maybe two or three years ago," says Jan-Patrick Schmitz, president and chief executive of Montblanc, North America. "It really changed rather noticeably. The brand evolved from a functional brand to style — men's bracelets, rings and these sorts of things. Full-fledged men's jewelry."