Thanks to the inspiration of rock stars and athletes, think David Beckham, more and more men are looking to accessorize their look with jewelry. But these younger men are not looking to accessorize themselves with the traditional tailored look of their fathers. Men's options today are modern, sleek and designed around alternative metals that have historically been used from the car, manufacturing to the space industry. Thanks to modern technology, alternative white metals such as tungsten carbide, titanium, and stainless steel are being mixed with rubber, diamonds, cable, silver and gold accents to create a different but very sophisticated, fashion forward look for men.

While cuff links have always been the strongest category other then watches, bracelets are now also becoming one of the classification jewelry staples. Men seem to be very acquiescent to touting these contemporary metals on their wrists followed by necklaces and pendants. As well, since more and more women are buying these as gifts for men, these alternative metals make gift giving affordable as well as chic.

Stainless steel is a popular choice for men's jewelry due to its strength, durability and resistance to scratches. Stainless never changes thus it makes for a metal that you can wear playing sports, cheap enough to travel in, sophisticated enough to wear to a formal event and comfortable enough to wear on a daily basis. To create rings, pendants, bracelets and chains using steel, these designs are usually mixed with a malleable iron to give its strength, durability and elasticity so that it won't break when struck.

Tungsten carbide has the density feel of platinum but has a dark undertone that gives it a rich oxidized look. Made from a tungsten and carbon compounds, it has similar characteristics to titanium. It is an extremely hard metal and is scratch resistant material for jewelry but it may be shattered due to the inelasticity of the metal.

Titanium has also undergone new technological changes. The least dense of the 3 alternative metals, it is extremely strong and durable. This metal's Achilles' heel is that the colors can oxide like silver. Titanium has always had a 'cool' factor due to it's space age look and feel but thanks to new patented process called anodizing, titanium now comes in black and various other colors.