In partnership with Paspaley
For a brand so synonymous with pearls, Paspaley has largely told its story through the lens of femininity. But with the launch of DIVER – the House’s first dedicated men’s collection – the Australian jeweller turns its attention not away from pearls, but to the men who have spent generations searching for them.
DIVER finds its footing in utility, drawing directly from the physical language of pearling vessels and life at sea – anchor chains, mooring ropes, compass bearings and bollards translated into sculptural necklaces, rings and pendants. These pieces do not attempt to reinvent men’s jewellery, but rather to ground it in something lived-in and distinctly Australian.
At the centre of the collection is the mythology of the pearl diver himself. Paspaley’s divers still hand-collect Pinctada maxima oysters from the seabed in Australia’s remote north-west waters, continuing a practice that has shaped the company since the 1930s. DIVER translates that labour into the language of design: the tension of rope knots becomes sculptural metalwork; anchor chains are echoed in engineered links; tawny nurse sharks and compass motifs appear as references to navigation and instinct.
It's a story similarly told through the materials themselves. Keshi and baroque South Sea pearls – chosen specifically for their irregular forms and natural lustre – sit against blackened 18-karat gold, platinum, black spinel and ruthenium-coated finishes. The contrast gives the collection a darker, more industrial sensibility than traditional pearl jewellery, while still retaining the organic softness that makes pearls compelling in the first place.
Across ten pieces, DIVER is akin to a study of maritime objects, reimagined as heirlooms. The Diver Strand Necklace and Bracelet share that raw asymmetry of pearls shaped by nature, while the Mirror Trace Chain and Diver Necklace reinterpret anchor chains with a more architectural precision. There's also signet rings and pendants which serve as contemporary talismans – designed to feel weathered by the story of their discovery.
Beyond the tangible pieces themselves, DIVER expands Paspaley's brand mythology outward, acknowledging the generations of divers, crews and seafarers whose labour has always existed behind the polished image of the pearl itself. In that sense, the collection feels less like a pivot and more like an exploration of something that was there all along.
