Remember the male bracelet trend of 2014? The Shamballa jewellery surge among hedge fund managers spending £2k ($2.6k) on wrist trinkets? It’s still a thing at UBS.
Orcel’s plain silver bracelet, along with his highly manicured nails, is clearly visible around 10 minutes into UBS’s new branded video. It’s less beaded than the traditional shamballas, but it still contains two balls which wobble when he gesticulates. You can see it below.
Should you go and get yourself a bracelet too? Probably not if you’re interviewing at a Goldman Sachs or a Morgan Stanley, where bracelets are less of a thing. Maybe not too if you’re being interviewed by any executive other than Andrea at UBS, given that bracelets aren’t exactly ubiquitous in the new video. In its 2010 corporate dress code (since retracted), UBS said male jewellery should be limited to no more than one or two “colour-matched” accessories and that bracelets and earrings for men were forbidden.
If you do come across a banker wearing a bracelet, however, particularly anything beaded and shamballa-styled, slipping on something similar might be interpreted as a sign of spiritual solidarity. According to their makers, Shamballa bracelets help wearers connect to, “inner compassion and wisdom.” If nothing else, this should prove a talking point when you’re being quizzed about what you can bring to the new role.
SButcher@eFinancialCareers.com
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