Italian fine jewellery brand FOPE has launched its first full range of 18 carat gold jewellery aimed specifically at men.
While many of FOPE’s signature Flex’it gold bracelets and rings have been worn by men for over a decade, this is the first time that an extensive collection of jewellery has been developed with men in mind.
FOPE’s Product Development Manager, Claudia Piaserico, has designed bracelets, cufflinks, rings and necklaces for the FOPE man in 18 carat gold, predominantly set with black diamonds.
“These pieces for men are instantly recognisable as classic FOPE, using design references from our five core collections of Prima, Solo, Vendôme, Panorama and Eka, with a touch of masculinity from black diamonds and with accents of black rhodium,” said Piaserico.
“We have also reverse-set black diamonds along the bars of the Solo collection cufflinks, giving them a spikier, more contemporary look. Our Eka Tiny designs for men feature black diamonds set in black rhodium-plated gold hexagons that have an urban, industrial feel, and we expect the new cufflinks, bracelets and rings crafted from our wide Panorama gold mesh chain to be especially popular with men, as they are exceptionally comfortable to wear.”
“Many men already wear FOPE Flex’it bracelets alongside their luxury timepiece. Flex’it bracelets, with comfortable and ergonomic roll-on flexible gold chains, are a way to wear fine jewellery all day, every day, which is especially appealing to men. Just like our collections for women, our new elegant jewellery for men has been designed to be worn as everyday luxury.”
Cufflinks designed as part of the Vendôme collection also mirror new stud earrings for women, available in white gold and set with baguette-cut rubies or sapphires, allowing couples to wear matching sets of jewellery if they so desire.
FOPE’s CEO, Diego Nardin, said that the range was developed with FOPE’s retail partners in mind who had been requesting more products specifically for men.
“We know that men are already purchasing FOPE Flex’it bracelets to wear themselves, but we understand that some male customers can be reluctant to purchase jewellery marketed to women. This new collection has been designed and marketed towards the male market, and although some women may also want to wear these pieces, we expect men to now be even more interested in wearing FOPE. Our unique technology to produce flexible gold jewellery also appeals to men who are interested in the precision engineering behind each piece.”
FOPE mixes traditional goldsmithing skills, which the Italian region of Vicenza is famous for, and combines this with innovative technological approaches to jewellery, giving FOPE a unique approach to jewellery making. Most of the machines used in the production process to create FOPE’s iconic flexible gold mesh bracelets are bespoke and some are even adapted from the type of robotic technology utilised in car manufacturing. All FOPE jewellery is made at the FOPE headquarters in Vicenza, Italy.
The new men’s collection will be available for UK retailers to order from August onwards and will also be shown at Couture Las Vegas in August and VicenzaOro in September. Dedicated point of sales materials have been designed to showcase these pieces in stores alongside FOPE’s extensive women’s collections, and a marketing campaign that includes a short film produced by Italian film director Romeo Conti will be available in the Autumn. Retail prices start from £1,725.
