Of Cuffs and Links
It can no longer be contested that men’s jewellery is a category worthy of attention in its own right. Men have adorned themselves with jewels and many a coloured gemstone since time immemorial, which may sound like a bit of an exaggeration but, in fact, isn’t. We know this from the fact that even in ancient communities, positions of power that were largely occupied by men were often denoted with raiment decorated with precious objects, such as coloured stones, and with rare animal and bird features, such as feathers, or the skin of a leopard or tiger. Precious metals and stones had already started being used to shape crowns and complete the royal attire of kings in the medieval era, even as early as the 5th century, while during the Renaissance and after, aided by the technological innovations of the time and unprecedented royal patronage, the craft behind them soared to greater heights.
The association of men’s jewellery with femininity is a rather modern invention that gained currency up until recently, when men from different walks of life began to take it upon themselves to break the unfounded stereotype, making jewellery a part of their wardrobe and fashion sensibilities. Historically, men are known to widely adorn themselves with earrings, chains, bangles, neck pieces, bracelets and so on. Almost all of these items were categorised as effeminate for men to wear as the notion that men who wear jewellery are effeminate gained traction. Cufflinks, however, are one such widely used jewellery by men that seems to have largely escaped scrutiny.
Cufflinks are often referred to as the rich man’s buttons. They are items of jewellery used to secure the cuffs of clothing, especially shirts. Although many consider cufflinks to serve an old-world function, they are still widely in use among men, especially for a formal attire. Before we take a deeper look at cufflinks and the conventions surrounding them in the present day, let us take a step back and briefly look at the different kinds of shirt cuffs for some background.
The most common shirt cuffs we all are familiar with are button cuffs, or barrel cuffs, that have buttonholes on one side and buttons on the other. Link cuffs, on the other hand, have buttonholes on both sides. These cuffs are meant to be fastened with cufflinks. Link cuffs come in variations, such as single cuffs and double cuffs, or more commonly, French cuffs. It is with this style of cuffs that cufflinks are largely paired in the present day to complete one’s formal look.
There are various closing mechanisms to these cuffs that have evolved over centuries. The bullet back and toggle-back cufflinks are the most common due to ease and security. Then, there are whale-back and stud or button cufflinks that are smaller and lighter in weight. Although the latter is the most secure type of cufflink, it is unpopular because of its immovable parts and the added effort required to fasten it. Other types of cufflinks include chain link, ball return, locking, convertible, silk knot and fabric cufflinks; each has its pros and cons and look and feel, depending on the make.
One of the great things about cufflinks is that they can be practically fashioned out of anything. Over time, cufflinks have been made with various materials, such as glass, silk, leather, precious metals, or a combination of all of them. While gold, silver and platinum with design motifs remain a constant favourite for cufflinks, in recent times, brands have experimented with other materials, such as titanium, carbon fibre, crystals, gun metal, onyx, stainless steel, sterling silver and so on. This sprawling diversity can be found in the cufflink collections of brands, such as Simon Carter, whose collection of animal-themed cufflinks titled Darwin has been a roaring success; Dupont, where James Bond himself gets his cufflinks; Montblanc, Burberry, Paul Smith and so on.
Cufflinks have been around roughly 400 years, with the development of the modern-day men’s shirt. In closing, one can say that if the variation of cufflinks available in the market and the renewed interest in men’s jewellery are anything to go by, these tiny yet remarkable pieces of jewellery that ooze style are likely to stay another 400 years as fashion objects and statement pieces for men, the old-world function notwithstanding.