STYLE : Fashion : Princely Charms

Not so long ago, men’s jewelry implied masses of gold chains nestled in tufts of chest hair. Most men adhered to the unspoken rule that, especially in the business world, a wedding band and a watch were the only acceptable options.

But that’s changed. Now men are wearing all kinds of jewelry. The cashier at the supermarket has a wristful of bangles, plus snazzy eyeglasses and an earring. Your doctor sports a silver-and-turquoise American Indian bracelet. A friend shows up for dinner wearing a natty-looking lapel pin.

At Butler & Wilson on Sunset Plaza, assistant manager Larry Gust holds a silver-and-enamel pin, what your grandmother might have called a brooch. “If you told me when I came to work here that I’d ever sell something like this to a man, I wouldn’t have believed you,” he says. “Now I do at least once a month.”

Meanwhile, French cuffs are coming back--which means cuff links are, too. And at Talisman Jewelers on Melrose Avenue, owner Bunnie Davies points out that many men are wearing jewelry you don’t see. From the thin gold chain that you glimpse around a man’s neck, she points out, might be dangling an exotic stone.

As a gift, jewelry averts a couple of problems. First, one size generally fits all. And second, whether the recipient is a teen-ager, who’d like to be Axl Rose, or his grandfather, who’d like to be Cary Grant, there is something to suit both his taste and your budget.