Men in Gold: Mr Porter Invests in the Fine Jewelry Category
LONDON — At Mr Porter, jewelry is booming.
Now the luxury retailer is expanding its fine jewelry offerings with the likes of 42 Suns, Carolina Bucci, Duffy Jewellery, Elhanati, Jacquie Aiche, Lito, Suzanne Kalan, Sydney Evan and Yvonne Léon.
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It’s not the traditional take on fine jewelry with clean-cut diamonds and shiny gold, but rather an eclectic mix of colorful stones, charms, pendants, bracelets, rings and talismans that are reminiscent of the summer holidays.
The edit is a selection of jewelry from brands based in Los Angeles, London, Tel Aviv to Denmark, Canada and Greece.
“We wanted to really bring brands from different points of view, price points, aesthetics. We have the really colorful stuff and then we have someone like Duffy that’s very crafty using beautiful abalone shells,” said Maxim de Turckheim, senior buyer of jewelry and watches at Mr Porter.
The edit includes more entry price-point items, such as a 480 pound white gold pink sapphire single earring from 42 Suns, as well as the super luxe with a 61,340 pounds for a chunky white gold diamond bracelet from Shay.
Other notable pieces include beaded bracelets from Ileana Makri, which are handcrafted in Greece. They start at 340 pounds and go up to 820 pounds.
“We wanted to bring a bit of everything, tying it to someone that’s gone to a hippie market where there’s a stand selling the most beautifully curated fine jewelry and they’ve just put it on to wear to the beach,” said De Turckheim.
Since Mr Porter launched the fine jewelry category over 18 months ago, it has been surprisingly embraced by their male customers, proving popular in the summer season.
De Turckheim said the category had “really strong double-digit growth last year” with the business doubling, as well as the numbers of brands included on the website. The fine jewelry section features more than 45 brands now.
The start of the year was also met with “amazing high-double-digit growth,” De Turckheim said.
“Before men just saw jewelry as something that has been more inaccessible to them, whereas now, they’re seeing all the celebrities wearing them to red carpet events and fashion weeks,” said De Turckheim, citing Jared Leto at the Givenchy spring 2024 show as a muse that makes men feel more comfortable.
The actor was wearing a necklace with huge teardrop diamonds accompanied by two pearl necklaces and a bracelet with bold round pearls.
The Mr Porter customer is a creature of habit, said De Turckheim. They will buy a tennis bracelet and come back to buy it again in different styles and colors.
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