Editorial received by Jewellery World.
Lord Coconut, a retail store specialising in handcrafted contemporary jewellery, cufflinks and art for men, has recently opened in Melbourne.
According to owner Mark Boldiston, the store features cufflinks, rings, necklaces, tie pins, lapel pins, mooches (brooches for men), earrings, bracelets/cuffs and selected artwork/objects by over 20 Melbourne jewellers, designers and artisans.
Whilst most jewellery is sterling silver, many of the pieces also include titanium, gold, iron, copper, shakudo and shibuichi.
Boldiston decided to open the store for men as it was “a unique market opportunity”.
“I decided to open the store as although there are quite of few contemporary jewellery stores in Melbourne which I see as complimentary, no one was specialising in men's jewellery which I thought was gaining in popularity.”
He said it took a year of preparation to open for trading as he had to meet and source local designers and “even convince well known local jewellers with no products targeting men to create new lines for Lord Coconut”.
Lord Coconut is named after a member of the British aristocracy who came to Melbourne via Easter Island. It was there in 1884 that he was infamously dubbed 'Lord Coconut', after pretending to know the native language of the Islanders, but upon demonstration he was pelted with coconuts to the delight of fellow travellers.
The Lord Coconut store design is inspired by 19th century natural history museums and is filled with objects of wonder such as West African masks, stalactites, Indian carvings and taxidermy.
