Tom Hardy’s one of the toughest guys in film and television. He’s played Bane, the gargantuan supervillain who literally breaks Batman. He’s been a wasteland survivor in George Miller’s Mad Max series and a former Marine in Warrior. Right now, he’s back on our screens as gangster Harry Da Souza in the second season MobLand – and alongside his signature wax jacket, he’s brought a little bracelet along for the ride.
Yup, that’s right: Da Souza is a jewellery guy.
No, it’s not the kind of friendship bracelet Taylor Swift put on the map (and that Barry Keoghan is firm fan of). Nor is he repping pearls, as Harry Styles once did. No, this is a bracelet built for tough guys like him. You’ll spot it six minutes into episode two. Give it a watch and report back.
Revere Sterling Silver Solid Curb Bracelet
Defined by its chain links and gold or silver hardware, the Revere curb bracelet became associated with proper blokes and geezers in the late Nineties and Noughties. “Growing up, I always knew that these were associated with a tough-guy image, and everyone in the UK knew you’d see a guy down the pub wearing one,” explains Holly White, a stylist whose clients include Joe Locke and Luke Newton. “As a stylist, I’m aware that they project a hardened image. It was almost a signifier that you were not to be messed with, a code for being super-masculine, whatever that actually meant.”
The bracelet and its necklace counterpart fell by the wayside as Argos catalogues became less commonplace in homes and their bad-boy reputation grew. White also thinks tastes shifted. “I think people gravitated towards something more understated and elegant,” she says. “Subtle jewellery feels chicer, more expensive and more luxurious.”
Now, though, with a little help from Hardy, it’s getting more attention. Once the accessory of geezers, it has been adopted by grime and drill artists like Skepta, Stormzy and Central Cee. It is now part of music’s hard-guy drip and, rather than being looked down on, has become something to aspire to, with brands like Corteiz making their own versions.
It kind of figures, though, that TV’s hard man is out there wearing some of the hardest jewellery going.