Aug 27 2008
Cufflinks
Cufflinks are one of the most practical jewelry items.
They join and hold the two doubled halves of a French cuff around the wearer’s wrist without overlapping the cuff ends.
Wearers insert the cufflink through the button-holes of the shirt cuff and fasten it.
Many cufflinks are plain and unadorned, simple ovals or rectangles of silver or gold.
Some are set with gems like diamonds, and some are enameled or engraved with initials.
Whimsical men’s cufflinks are fashioned into symbols for leisure pastimes - such as race cars or footballs.
The mechanisms for fastening cufflinks vary, but all are fairly simple to work.
Popular Cufflink Styles
In the 1990s, cufflinks experienced renewed popularity. The most common cufflink type is the swivel-back, also known as the “toggle.”
These cufflinks feature an ornamented front with a short, rigid bar attached to the back.
This bar is attached to a swivel bar then twists perpendicular to the buttonhole to secure the cuff.
Another style is the chain cufflink, which has a short chain that connects the cufflink’s front with its back.
Then there’s the stationary or “fixed” cufflink, in which the back, sometimes ornamented as well, is joined by a fixed bar to the front.
A popular source for cufflinks now is estate jewelry. Estate jewelry is any jewelry that was previously owned.
Estate jewelry can be of recent vintage or it can be part of a category know as period jewelry, which is jewelry that comes from a recognized time period.
The term antique jewelry is used in the US and many other countries for jewelry that’s at least 100 years old.
But it’s more than mere second hand jewelry. These intriguing remnants of our collective past are an important part of today’s market.
More about Cufflinks:
Carbon Fiber Cufflinks
Blue Topaz Cufflinks
Black Coral Cufflinks
Photo Cufflinks
Period and estate jewelry attracts nostalgia buffs and cutting-edge consumers alike. Today’s cufflink designers and manufacturers respond to this demand by borrowing designs themes from bygone days. They can create beautiful reproduction of specific pieces to satisfy every budget. But these only pay homage to the real thing. After all, jewelry from the past is truly a slice of history and one-of-a-kind treasure.
This article brought to you by the fine people at Coppari Jewelry. Designers of fine men’s jewelry mixing modern and traditional styles. Coppari jewelry - men’s tungsten carbide wedding rings are pieces of contemporary jewelry for individualistic people.
With Coppari two seemingly conflictive concepts melt together: modernity and tradition, High-tech and solid craftsmanship, plainness and a quest for details, emotion and technical coolness. All these influences blend in with each other to form a new style of tungsten carbide rings and men’s jewelry.
Kevin Jardim has been a Product Manager at Coppary Jewelry for over 5 years and has been in the jewelry business for over 15 years. He is currently an Accredited Jewelry Professional earning his certificate form the Gemological Institute of America. He is also affiliated with Jewelers of America, the largest and most respected jewelry retailer association in the U.S.