We can discuss the aesthetic of the necklace, as stated before, which has not truly changed since its apparition as early as 420 BC. Doubtlessly, the main difference concerns gender, and here lies a perspective of questioning not forward-looking, but that, on the contrary, forces us to reappropriate the story of our past.
Wearing a necklace, for a man, and even more made of pearls, is a step out of the rooted concept of masculinity, more or less challenging depending on the environment. Some will argue that it is the perfect example of our society’s move towards a future gender fluid, tolerant, open-minded, and so on. And of course it is. What will grandmothers say when instead of giving their pearl necklace to their granddaughter, they will offer it to their grandson?
But it is not totally accurate.
For once, we have the right to claim that pearl necklaces are a perfectly natural fashion trend, and it is partially false to pretend they are to be only the products of a change in our mentality. Because, as shown by its story, the pearl necklace was first worn equally by men and women. At all stages of our history, pearls were adored by the richest kings and queens of the Persian, the Chinese, or the Roman empires. Julius Caesar in the first century BC even passed a law to authorize only the ruling class to wear pearls. Knights, in the Middle-Age, wore pearl necklaces on the battlefield to bring them luck. There is plenty of evidence that shows, historically, that the pearl necklace belongs to men as much as it belongs to women.