Vintage and Antique Cufflinks: Beyond Sartorial

As a child I was sometimes allowed to borrow jewelry from my mother or grandmother. Most pieces came with a story. On rainy or hot days in the Texas Hill Country when gardening is not an option there is nothing better than a trip to a vintage shop and moments spent searching every inch of the glass display cases for something of interest. For several years this interest centered on cufflinks.

A friend of mine once said, “You have the most unique and beautiful jewelry.” Another who was with me at the jeweler picking up these cufflinks made into earrings said, “I am going to go home and look and see what I have that I might make into something.” These comments made me think others might be interested in cufflinks and/or thinking about how they might re-invent something of their own.

Before they were earrings these cufflinks belonged to my great grandfather and were over 100 hundred years old when they came into my hands. It means a great deal to me to wear something once belonging to him.

Prior to cufflinks, men tied their ruffled shirt cuffs with string or ribbon as you see here in this illustration from Alexander Dumas’ The Man in the Iron Mask.

Looking closer for more detail. Paul Anthony, Director at Bespoke Unit writes, “Legend says that the modern cufflink was born in the pages of Alexander Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo.” A character in the novel wore diamonds on his cuffs and everyone who saw them coveted the same. 

Early cufflinks might be made of gold, silver, or precious stones linked by a bit of chain. These are vintage rhinestones on a short link. The second photo is what one of the cufflinks looks like with posts fastened to the back so they can be worn as earrings.

This tiny mother-of-pearl cufflink is one of my first purchases; found when looking for mother-of-pearl buttons at a vintage shop.

Not having any shirts with French cuffs, they are now inserted in the latch of a pair of gold colored straw basket boxes.  

Following the chain connection, cufflinks were made with a stationary post between two sides. Sometimes both sides were decorative as with these honed black stones of two different sizes. Could they be worn with either size stone on the most visible side of the cuff?

These gold-colored knot cufflinks have an engraved design on the knot and a plain, functional backing at the other end of the stationary post.

These cufflinks belonged to my mother; they are engraved with her initials before she married.

The elegant simplicity of their design looks good in a cuff or on a chain!

These are my two most elaborate pairs of cufflinks; purchased in a vintage shop in Galveston, Texas. Given that much of what you find there is from the Victorian era, these may be from the same period. The black pair has an intaglio of a helmeted man on the face of each cufflink.

The other pair is also exquisite with gold filigree and gold beading at the edges; the other half of the face is mother-of-pearl.

Both pair of cufflinks are lovely to behold with no reinvention planned!

The glory of the cufflinks continues to fascinate and led to my creating a miniature book of copper mezzotint prints. Here is a print pictured beside the actual cufflink which inspired it.

A series of mezzotints are bound with stiff archival cardboard covered in a vintage kid glove cut to fit. The book can be opened in accordion fashion as a small, standing exhibition.

Further views of the images within.

Perhaps you will find something in your jewelry box or at a nearby vintage store you can reinvent or simply cherish for its intrinsic charm.