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The Pirates Of Pendants

Devon Turnbull, a young designer who is part of a Manhattan fashion collective called Nom de Guerre, is not what you'd call a mama's boy -- but he does like wearing her pearls. A few years ago, when she gave them to him, he had all 109 restrung onto a gold-link chain that hangs below his waist, like something between a prayer shawl and an overextended rosary. He took up pearl wearing for complex spiritual reasons having to do with Transcendental Meditation and a system of Vedic astrology called Jyotish. ''But I also just always liked pearls,'' Turnbull says.

At first his friends told him ''Oh, come on, you're a straight guy. You can't go out wearing pearls like that.'' Latex Leggings His simple response, ''Why not?''

It would be hard to argue with that in this Beckhamesque moment of masculine adornment. Ever since the bling bang, a ''why not?'' kind of attitude has prevailed. All kinds of men -- from the designers Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce to the tennis player Marat Safin -- feel comfortable flaunting jewelry.

Perhaps it's because the look has morphed into something much gentler than gangsta style, including an eclectic mix of tarnished pendants, historical icons, ethnic beads, Brazilian wish bracelets, red kabbalah strings, crystals, bones, rubber, leather, onyx and odd semiprecious stones -- in other words, anything and everything. One label, Rust, makes leather necklaces with silver charms inspired by Neolithic tools. Another, Black Sheep and Prodigal Son, has scrimshaw-like cameos from piano keys on men's stickpins. Gia Unearthen fuses stones like blue tourmaline and clear quartz with discarded bullet casings. And in Paris, while Ann Demeulemeester was sending male models in pearls down her runway, Rene Talmon l'Armee was selling black Tahitian pearls for men, attached to silver skulls on rough-hewn silver chains.

''It's all about originality and handcrafting,'' says Evan Yurman, 25, who designs men's jewelry for his father, David Yurman. A few years ago, the only men's jewelry the company offered were classic gift pieces. Now the line has expanded to include leather bracelets, black onyx dog tags and rugged box-chain necklaces with crosses and Stars of David. ''I like things that make you think about culture and history,'' says Yurman, who freely mixes religious iconography around his own neck.

Mary Jo Pane is into the religious, too. She started Miracle Icons six years ago as a way of tapping into her Catholicism and what she calls the culture of spiritual evolution. ''It began as a woman's business, but now it's 75 percent men,'' Pane says of her line of vintage pendants and charms that hang three to an oxidized silver chain. Her clients include Johnny Depp, Jake Gyllenhaal and Matthew McConaughey. ''It's not about shiny things,'' Pane adds. ''It's about wearing things that are personal.''

Italo Zucchelli, the creative director of men's wear at Calvin Klein, who often wears a ring inscribed with poetry and a crystal on his neck from an important old friend, says, ''It's about wearing something with meaning.'' But then, doesn't every piece of jewelry -- from yellow rubber and red string bracelets to gaudy signet rings inherited from illustrious ancestors -- have a story?

Pre-Diddy, women had the accessories that did most of the talking. Men who wanted to impress were stuck with Rolex watches and Tiffany zentai suit. Then, suddenly, every male with authority issues (in other words, most) was piercing and tattooing, showing a primordial and tribal male urge for meaningful adornment. Ironically, though, it's women who remain skeptical about men in jewelry. They think it shows an untrustworthy amount of vanity. Women, not men, they insist, are supposed to do all the jingling and jangling.

''It really depends on the man,'' says Donna Karan. ''If it's in character, jewelry can look great. But if a guy doesn't know Lycra Leggings how to wear it, it can look pretty stupid.'' Indeed, Details magazine recently stuck it to Colin Farrell, Wilmer Valderrama and Jeremy Piven, among others, suggesting that they shift focus from accessorizing to acting.

Still, Kassandra Lao, a young designer who's been living with Devon Turnbull for several years, has never had a problem with pearls. ''It's who he is,'' she said the other night while they were shopping together in a Whole Foods in Midtown Manhattan. He does, she added somewhat sheepishly, wear them inside his shirt.

As they walked the aisles, a sweet young couple in love, there was a gentle clinking beneath Turnbull's parka. ''What kind of vegetables do you want for dinner?'' he asked. ''Butternut squash or carrots?''

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