Cufflinks are jewellery items used for securing shirt cuffs. It comes under the category of costume jewellery associated with Men’s shirts. Materials like glass, stone, leather, metal, precious metal or a combination of all these used for manufacturing cufflinks. French and Buttoned Cuff are two of the most popular types among cufflink model.
A French cuff or a double cuff is essentially a two-layered folded fabric. It is worn either with both edges pointing outwards or in barrel style. Barrel style cufflinks are usually preferred as they go well with office wear.
A buttoned cuff is comfortable to wear and is seen in different finishes; square, round or notched.
When we take a look at the design, we can observe a range of variations and the most traditional one is in the form of a chain connecting two disc-shaped parts, both decorated.
Whaleback and toggle back cufflinks, on the other hand, have one side flat refurbished and the other side shows just the swivel bar and its post.
In the 1990s, bright-coloured silk knot cufflinks with elastic sections were the most popular type.
Patterns
Cufflinks vary from traditional to contemporary styles. When its visible part is decorated with a birthstone, it expresses a hobby or an association.
Cufflinks can be worn with any kind of attire from casual or informal outfits to formal suits. Colourful and fancy cufflinks are best paired shirts for everyday events. Formal Shirts with Pearl cufflinks used to be the right choice for white tie events.
There are fabric as well as interchangeable cufflinks. Fabric cufflinks generally consist of a silk knot joined by monkey fist or Turk’s head knots. Interchangeable cufflinks are like a bar with loops at either end to make sure that the motif to be inserted at either end is perpendicular to the bar.
History
Cufflinks began to be a part of a men’s fashion from around the 1600s. The journey of cufflinks since then has been fascinating, and they have been seen appearing in numerous styles and forms along with the development of men’s shirts. High-class people initially wore coloured cufflinks made of gemstones, but it gradually changed to Fabergé cufflinks popularized by the Prince of Wales’ later; Edward VII. During this era, in Britain and in the US, cufflinks were like fashion accessories and were one of the few accepted jewellery items for men. This trend continued till 1900 when it became available in many forms blended with gemstones or other less precious metals. Some of the most popular ones were enamelled cufflinks that suited any geometrical pattern.
Cuffs then became widely accepted when Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel turned costume jewellery to one of the most desired accessories, especially when worn to grand events, as she did. A white enamelled cuff with a jewelled Maltese cross was her personal favourite; it became an icon of the Verdura–Chanel collaboration.
Cufflinks became a revolution in Europe around the same time. Idar Oberstein and Pforzheim were the main centres of cufflinks manufacture. In Idar Oberstein, cufflinks were made of simple materials for the lower budget class, but in Pforzheim, the jewellery manufacturers used pure gold and silver for medium and upper-class people. Premium cufflinks are still produced in Pforzheim in contemporary and modern patterns using conventional craftsmanship.
In the 1970s, cufflinks became less critical in middle-class fashion. Beautiful heirlooms were remade to earrings.
Traditional cufflinks made a comeback in the 1980s, and this trend continues even today.
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