The London Lounge

Hi! I have always liked cufflinks and over the years put together a small, but really nice collection of cufflinks (mostly enameled). However, as a gift my fiance was wanting to get me a pair of jeweled cufflinks and perhaps a pair of vintage cufflinks, preferably art deco period. So I searched and found that these cufflinks are really expensive. I am wondering if any members have vintage cufflinks and whether they are worth the price and even then if people wear jeweled cufflinks (obviously for special occasions).

Thanks

To help frame the discussion I am going to try to upload some pictures. The sapphires and the rubies are vintage Van Cleef and Arpels and the Diamond ones are vintage Boucheron.

http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l57 ... flinks.png

http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l57 ... titled.jpg

Asking whether vintage cufflinks are worth the price is a little like asking whether antique chairs are worth the price. It depends.

Several of my links are vintage: two pairs of '30s discs, in abalone and in mother-of-pearl, as worn by CG on the cover of Flusser's book:



along with a pair of plain 14kt gold ovals, probably from around the same period. The shell discs cost $40 per pair around five years ago, and the gold ovals $200, all in New York. I'd say all were well worth the price; understated and quite versatile. A good dress set will probably be best found vintage as well, and those sometimes have discreet jewels.

I'm not a collector, and the wildest links I have are some inexpensive guilloche-enameled St.-George's Cross ovals that I wear when I'm in London during World Cup play. I'm not a fan of the Van Cleef links you link to; the Boucherons are busy but would probably fit my style better. This is a matter of personal taste: the bar-style or blocky geometric designs are assertive to start with, and adding jewels only makes them more so. So it would take a more exuberant personal style than mine to "naturalize" them so that they didn't draw too much attention from the wearer and from the rest of the ensemble. You may have just such a style and the clothes to wear with them.

I have also seen vintage (midcentury and earlier) links in more traditional shapes with discreet jewels; but since they're not for me I haven't pursued them. Our member cufflink will not doubt have better suggestions for you.

couch wrote:Our member cufflink will not doubt have better suggestions for you.

I don't know if I have better suggestions for you Jlazarow, but I would like to thank Couch for thinking of me.

As for the "worth" of a pair of cuff links new or old, It really does depend on the condition, maker, material used, and of course a name plate doesn't hurt either (Cartier, Longmire, Tiffany, etc.)

The world of cuff links are like any other type of art, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I've seen some very nice enamel double sided cuff links for vary fair prices, and I've also seen some outrageous toggle back cuff links that I thought were overpriced.

I myself enjoy enamel cuff links very much, and as stated have found some at good prices ($50 to $125 range). Now when you get into antique jewels that's a whole different story, and don't get me started on auction of cuff links belonging to famous people.

My best advice to you and your wife is to really look at what you want out of the cuff links, and how much use you'll get out of them. That's what I do before I make a purchase of anything. Because of being careful, I've built up a small but nice collection of cuff links to wear and treasure.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

I find that diamonds are a bit showy for everyday business wear unless you are a tycoon, antiques dealer, theater producer, etc. They are not for a bank branch manager.

The diamond cufflinks would be excellent for a dressy evening, such as a charity benefit, the opera, the symphony, etc. But how many times do go you out?

I think that you can wear the less precious stones with business clothes. I have a set of saphires and gold which I wear regularly.

Go with signed pieces unless you find a unique piece which is not signed.

Jewllery auctions are a good place to buy exotic cufflinks at reasonable prices as this example.
http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.s ... ectionNo=1

The Van Cleef Saphire pair is awesome. The other two pairs are a little flashy for my taste. Even with a dinner jacket the diamond pair would be too much, in my humble opinion.
Congrats, anyway.
Best,

lgcintra wrote:The Van Cleef Saphire pair is awesome. The other two pairs are a little flashy for my taste. Even with a dinner jacket the diamond pair would be too much, in my humble opinion.
Congrats, anyway.
Best,

I disagree.

I think that the diamond set are just right for dinner jacket or a dark suit for evening at charity dinner, opera, etc. They are too much for daytime.

Of the remaining cufflinks, the sapphire are more conservative for everyday wear in that there are fewer stones than the ruby one.

Good luck.

culverwood wrote:Jewllery auctions are a good place to buy exotic cufflinks at reasonable prices as this example.
http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.s ... ectionNo=1

Curiously, the lot illustrated in this link did not sell at yesterday's auction.

Thanks everybody! I really appreciate the thoughts of the members on this forum. Most of my cufflinks are enameled, whether gold or silver, depends on the design and when in my life stage I bought them. Most of them, I would say are English-- some Longmire, some custom from Benney Jewelers (in London), some not signed at all. This purchase is really something that came out of wanting something very different than what we see today. I gravitated towards jewels because they for special occasions, but I also worry that they are too showy for real life. My wife decided to treat me to something from a major maker because she knows of my love of apparel and accessories and figured she could help pick this out rather than chose a suit fabric that I might not love.

I really like the Sapphire Van Cleef cufflinks and I think I could pull them off. I like their geometric angles as well as the deco styling. As for the Boucheron (rock crystal and diamonds) they are beautiful to look at but I am not sure they are good for anything other than formal fundraisers or dinners. At least with the Sapphire cufflinks I can wear those to various dressy events and I do not think they are too showy.

The only modern set I am considering is a pair VC&A midnight in Paris cufflinks set in rose gold-- they create the midnight sky of Paris. I am worried, though, that they are too "showy"-- and yes I know I am seriously considering Sapphire cufflinks. While I saw these in the NYC store, I am wondering if anybody has seen or worn these cufflinks...

I just have never really found a pair of gem set links I liked before I saw these three. Usually they were too bling, but these had the restraint that made them wearable and also inimitable.

Of those you showed, I only like the diamond ones.

I have looked at vintage cf, and I always find them very expensive compared to non vintage. Sometimes, there is no modern alternative, but sometimes there is, e.g.,
- Mikimoto pearl cf (just 2 pearls linked by a chain)
- Nice English silver links
- Nigel Mine precious links
- Villa precious links
- Arnys precious links
- Modern jewelers often make high quality links. I have a pair from Reinstein Ross.

Hi! I just wanted to thank everybody for your advice and help. My wife and I decided on the sapphire and gold van cleef cuff links. While we liked the rubies we did not think they were versatile. As a special item, my wife wanted to get me something that would represent the Van Cleef house well and so we went with the stones. While they are not everyday cufflinks , I do not think they shout either.

I am asking Van Cleef for additional info but we do know they are from 1938 and made in their Paris workshops but sold in NYC. They have some historical significance so I am waiting for the information from the heritage collection curator at Van Cleef and Arpels. They were pricey but I would love to hand them to one of my kids (we do not have kid yet).

jlazarow wrote:Hi! I just wanted to thank everybody for your advice and help. My wife and I decided on the sapphire and gold van cleef cuff links. While we liked the rubies we did not think they were versatile. As a special item, my wife wanted to get me something that would represent the Van Cleef house well and so we went with the stones. While they are not everyday cufflinks , I do not think they shout either.

I am asking Van Cleef for additional info but we do know they are from 1938 and made in their Paris workshops but sold in NYC. They have some historical significance so I am waiting for the information from the heritage collection curator at Van Cleef and Arpels. They were pricey but I would love to hand them to one of my kids (we do not have kid yet).

You could adopt me.

I'm glad you got the gold & sapphire cuff links. They'll go well with a navy suit, white shirt, plain black cap toe shoes, white linen pocket square, and a dark tie when you take the misses out to a nice dinner and show.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

Just to add to the thread, the following French dealer has some lovely pieces at prices that seem reasonable:

http://www.ultiman.fr/ult1/php/RH.php?t ... =3&lang=en

I have picked up a number of pairs of precious metal cufflinks on eBay at prices below those I'd expect to pay at Bonhams.

simonc wrote:Just to add to the thread, the following French dealer has some lovely pieces at prices that seem reasonable:

http://www.ultiman.fr/ult1/php/RH.php?t ... =3&lang=en

I have picked up a number of pairs of precious metal cufflinks on eBay at prices below those I'd expect to pay at Bonhams.

Great website. They have a really nice selection with good and fair prices.