> HISTORY OF 40,000 YEARS - TIMELINE

spending few days in library, internet and book stores, found alot of interesting stuff about necklaces specifically, this is a short summery:

THE FIRST PIECE: Archaeologists believe the necklace was born during the Stone Age about 40,000 years before than previously believed. April 2004, scientists were excavating a cave in South Africa discovered forty-one mollusks that may have been strung as neck jewelry about 75,000 years ago.

2ND OLDEST: Before this discovery the oldest known necklace to have been found about 30,000 B.C. They are made mostly of shells, bones, stones, animal teeth or claws, strung on a thread.

BEGINNING OF GOLD: In 2500 B.C. gold was starting to be used in neck jewelry, discovered at the Royal Grave of Ur. They are in what is now known as Iraq. 2000 B.C. was when Sumerian bead neck jewelry started to use alternating patterns of colored stones and gemstones and metals such as copper or silver.

GOLD IN GREEK: Alexander the Great in 356 - 323 B.C. conquered the Orient. Gold was plentiful throughout the Greek Empire., which often used on making in necklaces and other types of jewelry for several centuries.

GOLD IN ROME: In Ancient Rome the wearing of jewelry was frowned upon. Laws regulated how much gold could be worn by women or buried along with the dead.

GEMSTONES IN ROME: From about the 1st century on, Roman Jewelry began to distinguish itself. Gemstones came into use and were usually cut in circles or rectangular shapes.

SEXES & ROYALTY: Ancient Egyptian neck jewelry evolved from simple stringed beads to complicated patterns and include the 'broad collar' and pectoral type. They were worn by both sexes, mostly royals and wealthy citizens. They were often buried with their dead owners.

3-DIMENSION: Classical Greek period from about 480 to 300 B.C. most necklaces were 3-dimensional pendants, mostly in the form of heads, seeds, or acorns. They were suspended from a row of flat elements usually some type of rosettes.

MULTIPLE NECKLACES: in the 2nd and 3rd century it became popular to wear multiple necklaces all at the same time. The types of neck jewelry sometimes indicated the level of wealth or class of the wearer. Necklaces were very popular in whatever form could be made. Over the next few centuries the popularity of wearing of necklaces waned significantly. In the late 14th century necklaces started to regain their popularity due to fashions.

> STARTS FROM THE BASICS – Necklace

FIRST would research more on Necklaces
I’ll look into the below:

- History
- Style (design, shapes, lengths, representations… etc) FIND EXAMPLES
- Markets, market segmentation
- Which segments am I interested most

> GENERATING IDEAS AND STRATEGY

what I want from my necklaces?
how to use it to explore and test "the change of taste" and "luxury"
and what market of target audience I would like to be using, talking to?

Need to do more research on kind of men I am interested in focusing. who interested me, who challenge my ideals.

so my strategy is:

1. research on men's accessories market
2. research on men's necklace in the market
3. research and identify which category of men I am interested to focus my product on
4. what market segment do they belong to
5. their demographics in specifics
6. does men care about luxury?
7. what luxury means to them? research on it
8. can and do luxury need to be translate into my products
9. if yes, how? and will it change people taste?
10. am I doing what it's already exisiting or making something surprising?
11. my product planning

> CREATING A MEN'S LINE - USE IT!!

I DECIDED TO USE A MEN'S LINE UNDER A NEW LABEL TO EXPLORE MY QUESTIONS.

My reasons to launch a men’s necklace line, to think twice:

- my interest in the always changing idea of LUXURY
- my basic knowledge in JEWELRY
- from my random play testing, I found myself very interested to make men's necklaces for the start
- my interest in enhancing SELFNESS AND INDULGENCE
- using it as a test to see WHEN MEN WILL CHANGE THEIR TASTE
- also, WHEN WILL MEN TRADE UP? (as they usually wear silver necklace the most, if they do)
- fill in the gap:-

o despite it exist in the market it’s not the way I’d like
o from observation, men don’t wear as much necklaces as women
o and again, they are missing around the necks!!

OBSTACLES:
necklaces is not a common accessories men will usually buy/use, not to mention about diamond pieces. To challenge the usage of it will consume higher effort and probably difficult to change how one "habitual behavior/mentality" vs. alot more common ones like cuff links, watches.

however, by using a difficult category, the process of exploring, testing will be more rewarding. also, will be able to test the change of taste expect.

> A QUESTION

"how luxuries associate with product"

As I am very interested in the idea of luxury as well. And my own personal experience on desire.

> TESTING THE RANDOM PLAY

These past few days, I brought my 3 pieces to friends and people in fashion that I have contacts with and ask for feedbacks.
also on 9thMay, passed the pieces to 2 friends to wear it for longer time span(2 days), as a better feedback.

feedbacks are generally positive, below are some of the comments:

very stylish
it may be too narrow
right length
can it be longer?
why make it so small?
what's the material
how much will you sell
silver, it's nice!
I like silver jewelery
design is simple and chic
pendant is good size
pendants can be bigger
looks good in shirt
why not make more "bling"

> RANDOM PLAY - II

getting tools and material right, I made 2 pieces of necklaces. and a bracelet for men

which is a freestyle play - important for my testing of an interest that I never done before:

design I feel like

design i think will make "a certain group of men" looks good
a trial and error test if i enjoy such process

and most importantly, I am using a very close person of mine as my model to imagine my design. someone whom I think "something" is really missing and what will make him look very "him" and complete in style. my desire to design for him - pretty strong.

> RANDOM PLAY (A QUICK TEST) -I

the search of the "missing" led me walked around places I used to go to source my material for women jewellery.
getting inspiration on how the exisiting can be incorporate into men's jewellery

spending whole day go around, looking at shops and also raw material places. I decided to test trial, making necklaces and bracelet from silver. Silver seems more substantial to most people in a general terms.

got my parts and ready to hand make one, just to see how I feel about it.

> CHANGE OF HABIT AND TASTE??

ANOTHER QUESTION:
is it even possible to change what people's habits, social constrains, buying habits, and tastes?

in this case, will a man who may never wear necklace, or wear a less luxurious one be able to and willingly consider to think of a piece of necklace and maybe a luxurious one?

is it even possible? in what environment, what conditions, what design, what attributes one needs to change their taste? just a piece of necklace, can design be so fascinating that will make one trade up?! (while I think this is quite arbitrary, what is stylish)

> HATE IT OR LOVE IT?

Despite these days, not most men wear necklaces, not to say expensive ones, since desire a lot of time is something you can't get, would luxury on the neckline maybe a desire?

there are necklaces brand but there isn't really a line that create for professionals to possess such thing? to feel it's not gay/feminine/gangster looking? or in general provide the right connection to what men prefer. or just, they hate the idea that's it?

men are into emotional connections. they like to possess objects that give them unity, history, functionalities, faith, strength, timeless, etc.

so, I would say a necklace CAN POSSIBLY CONTRIBUTE to few of these factors. to me, necklace is the closest accessories to their heart. men's habit on necklace, if they wear it, they don't change it as often as how often women do. so it can be a emotional connections. they feel they belongs to it, or vice versa. united. also, if it is made of gold/platinum (as in you found in watches) it give them strength, power as in luxurious, and timelessness as it will last forever and more expensive that you will treat it more carefully. and these days, men do like to take care of themselves. look at the metro sexual, and the 007 alike.

so maybe men actually may want a necklace, just forbidden by the society, or there isn't one that give them the right feeling, that's all

> THEY DID WEAR THEM

MEN DID WEAR NECKLACES
warriors wear necklaces as power
kings or nobles for a display of wealth
tribes as a spiritual symbole.

so men dated back they do. very much. in gold, and even chunky pieces.

however, history and culture evolves into quite a big resistance for men in gold/diamond necklace.. is that they really hate it?

> MEN SHOULD BE ABLE TO WEAR NECKLACE, DIAMONDS?

yes, I think men should have the option of luxury (AND LET'S ASSUME, GOLD AND DIAMOND FOR NOW) on the neckline but SO, NOW, THE QUESTINO IS: why men just don't wear as many necklace as women do??

It's because alot of men as said before, don't like to e related to those they don't feel belong to, and not to mention they despise at.

most men these days who wear necklace are: ganster/hiphoper/gays

so the logic is e.g. a banker, in general, would never like to wear a diamond necklace because they feel like it's hiphop, blink blink and while they are professional, educated and the elite.

so to find out, I asked over 20 male professionals on such, and the answer is yes, no diamond necklace please!

diamonds for men: ghetto, gay, femanine (as women love and wear them alot)
women, they love it, flaunt it

so is it true that men really don't like necklaces?

> MISSING LUXURY ON THE NECKLINE

for the missing 'thing/luxury' around neck, esp men - as this is the most i am not familiar, and would love to get to know more

--> can be anything really
a tie
a belt
chain-thick/narrow/almost invisible
a scarf-fat/thin/colored
necklace - material matters? big small? style? shape?
towel?
and more...

but more realistically and practically - for going out, being seen - which is inevitable, I'll narrowed down the list to :
a tie
a scarf
a necklace

drilling down on the idea of "luxury"
it comes down to necklace

and question:
why men just don't wear as many necklace as women do??

> ANNOYED, QUITE ANNOYED

Looking at people around again, especially paying attention to their neck, I felt annoyed. The more I looked, stared, the more annoying the idea was - the naked neck. One of the reasons I sunk into this may due to one of my nature of work designing women accessories, I just cant help not looking, staring

A tie, a scarf or some ‘thing” around the neck just seems safer, more complete, more soul foul, less naked.
But why am I (or is it just me) whom feel this way? Or is there even any ‘why’ to it to such, as if, insignificant and unnoticed phenomenon?

so many questions:-
is it just that piece around the neck matters?
just physically being there-is good enough?
or it has to mean something?
or it connect to the person?
or connect to the past?

assuming one wearing "things' around the neck,
will they in turn feel satisfied, less naked, or connected?
how does it feel?
do we actually need it?
and, what is this thing that is missing?
can be anything is it?
socially need to be acceptable or can be so unconventional?

- very interested and will find out -

> MEN ARE FROM MARS

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus

YES, MEN AND WOMEN ARE VERY DIFFERENT
in terms of luxury,
women like to flaunt it, men most of time, they hide it.
e.g. if a woman got a diamond ring, they love to show and tell the price to everyone even to strangers, while men, if they have a nice cuff link, they will not tell how much it is and show off so much.

however, from findings, despite men, most of the time, are in denial, they like to show and tell as well in some situation. like a group of men would gather in a evening, checking out a new watch from one of them. however, luxury accessories stop here on watches, most of the time.

so men do perceive or posses luxury differently than women do, in general.

> THE SHY MEN

"MOST MEN ARE SHY ABOUT LUXURY"

they deserve it, THEY WANT IT but DON'T WANT TO SHOW IT

if MEN ever possess a luxurious product, they NEED A REASON for it, mostly on functionalities , e.g. watch, cars, etc.

MEN also DON'T LIKE TO RELATE themselves to categories of things and people they don't like.

MEN NEED TO BE ACCEPTED. the least thing they want is their mates saw things they own and said "what the hell wrong with you?"