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Are real men ready to shine? Retailers — from the mass-market Kay Jewelers to the venerable Tiffany & Co. — are hoping so, as a new generation of ordinary guys under 40 warms to such trinkets as titanium pendants, three-diamond rings, silver dog tags and ID bracelets.

Once considered a fringe market for rockers, rappers, gay men and gangsters, men's jewelry is inching toward the mainstream.

The same guys who read Cargo magazine and enjoy shopping for jeans and facial cleansers are looking to personalize their look in new ways, says Allan Steinmetz, chief executive of Inward Strategic Consulting, a marketing firm based in Newton, Mass. "Accessorizing with jewelry is part of that," he says.

Retailers are responding, albeit gingerly. Last year, Tiffany quietly expanded its usual watch and cufflink collections to include a broad range of sporty men's jewelry, including silver pendants, rings and bracelets mostly priced between $150 and $350. Tiffany has enlisted in-house designers such as Paloma Picasso and Elsa Peretti to craft a number of understated, masculine jewelry styles in silver and titanium steel — some studded with tiny diamonds.

The company got a boost when it outfitted Brad Pitt with a silver pendant and cufflinks for the movie "Ocean's Twelve." After photos of the actor wearing the jewelry appeared in the tabloid Life and Style, men started showing up at Tiffany's asking for the "Brad Pitt" pieces.

Other celebrities have also been potent pitchmen. Singer Lenny Kravitz and actor Orlando Bloom have been shot wearing jewelry on magazine covers — helping to introduce men to jewelry designer Philip Crangi. Crangi is one of 10 men's jewelry designers now featured at Barneys New York.

In the late 1990s, even mall mainstay Kay Jewelers began marketing single diamond-stud and small gold hoop earrings for men. Now, flashier diamond rings have emerged as a favorite for a growing number of grooms. Another Kay best seller: three-stone diamond rings that some men choose to complement their brides' rings.

Kay says its typical male jewelry customer is between 18 and 45. "This is definitely a generational thing," says David Bouffard, marketing director at Kay Jewelers, which is featuring more bling for men in its 768-store chain.

That may help explain why retailers are taking a subtle marketing approach.

At its flagship store in Manhattan, Barneys put its hip lines of silver amulets and stones on leather cords in the fifth-floor Co-op department — alongside the denim and sportswear. On the main floor, where Barneys' bread-and-butter pinstripe clientele roam, only classic watches and cufflinks are on display.

To be sure, men's jewelry still represents a small part of overall jewelry sales. At Tiffany, it is 2 percent of overall sales, according to Jon King, senior vice president of merchandising.

Jewelry has always been more popular among Latino and black males. Hip-hop stars like Sean "Diddy" Combs and Kanye West even managed to make pave diamonds macho.

While most men aren't going for the same bold MTV look, retailers acknowledge that the bling factor has helped sell men on diamond-faced watches, as well as larger diamond stud earrings, according to Kay's Bouffard.