May
Graduation gift guide: cufflinks
It’s graduation season and I’m listing gift ideas each day for those on your list. Stay tuned and click here to see other items in the graduation gift guide.
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Cufflinks — Given the dominance of button-cuff shirts in ready-to-wear clothing these days, it’s becoming more rare to see men sporting French-cuff shirts and building a collection of cufflinks. Still, those moments do seem to happen when a guy suddenly finds he needs to perhaps don a tuxedo or receives a shirt as a gift and cufflinks suddenly become the accessory he never thought to buy, but now finds he needs to own.
For this reason, cufflinks make a great gift. They’re simple, functional and elegant. They’re one of the few pieces of men’s jewelry that doesn’t look terribly dandified or overly flashy — provided you go with a more classic style instead of a gaudy one.
In terms of style, I think there are four basic ones that never look bad or outdated: the knot, the mother-of-pearl or black onyx inlay, the engine-turned and the plain.
In terms of construction, I would avoid cufflinks that feature a “swivel” mount (example) on their back for two reasons. First, it’s a point of failure that can swivel from the “secure” position to the “insecure” one quite easily, causing you to lose a cufflink. Second, I believe a quality cufflink has its design on both ends, linked by either a solid metal bar (example) or a set of linked pieces of metal (example). A cufflink with a “swivel” end is a cufflink that cheats you out of an elegant design on both sides of your cuff.
What type of metal? Well, sterling silver is always a good bet, as is gold-plated sterling silver. Purists would tell you that you should always match your metals, but I don’t feel it’s a hard and fast rule. It seems nowadays that silver tones are more popular than gold tones, so perhaps go for that — given that your graduate is likely younger and looking for more modern accessories. For what it’s worth, I feel that silver accessories look best with more formal occasions, especially black tie, as the silver seems to have a higher contrast against black.
Where to buy: Kent Wang, Brooks Brothers, Ralph Lauren, Paul Stuart, Ben Silver, Tiffany & Co.
Sep
Thank you, I will be making those alterations to my outfit. Sorry for the spam but I have a few more questions. What would you recommend for pocket squares? Also, does tie bar & cufflinks matter?
White linen pocket square/handkerchief on a “TV” fold. Keep it simple.
Tie bar: Optional. I don’t wear them because I know I’ll just end up losing them. If you plan on dancing (and you should!), then odds are fairly good your rug-cutting moves will result in it being a victim of gravity.
Cufflinks: Again, keep it simple. Black onyx or mother-of-pearl always look classy. Silk knots are cheaper. Silver circles or ovals are also pretty low-key. Don’t go crazy and spend a lot (again, even the most responsible person can become a victim of simple circumstantial loss). I’d hop on Etsy and spend a few minutes poking around to find a vintage pair on the cheap. I got my mother-of-pearl links for $5, shipped.
This should go without saying, but while it’s good that you intend to dress up for the occasion, the most important thing is to have fun and celebrate the new life for your friends.
Truth be told, the one wedding where I was wearing the most non-#menswear approved outfit was one of the most fun I’ve ever been to because I cut loose and was genuinely happy to see two friends having the time of their life.
Dec
I’ve been trying to find a pair of cufflinks for quite some time. I’d prefer something moderately meaningful rather than some generic piece-of-crap from an over-branded designer trying to do something modern. And I definitely am not in favor of getting “jokey” cufflinks (ie: steampunk, LEGO, sports teams, etc.), because that kind of defeats the classiness of wearing cufflinks and seems kind of tasteless.
Ideally, I wanted something Japanese — maybe even vintage — that looked simple and yet had some cultural meaning. I’m kind of a fan of cufflinks that feature the Hannya mask, but I feel that it’s perhaps a bit too out there and lacks simplicity.
Then I thought about Japanese mon, crests that symbolized samurai clans and the like. You’d be surprised how hard it is to find these! In fact, it’s downright impossible. I did find one site that will custom make you jewelery of your family crest, but it’s obviously prohibitively expensive.
All I’m saying is that money is being left on the table by cufflink makers by not using these awesome crests. I find it moderately mindblowing that you can’t even find one of the Japanese imperial chrysanthemum blossom crest.
Yes, I am still looking for cufflinks. Welcome to my first-world problems.
Nov
Good point. Still, I think a basic sterling silver circle cufflink set would cover me for 99% of cufflink-wearing situations, which for me would be when I’d wear a tuxedo shirt and more formal affairs, where I imagine bucking tradition might be a bit out of line.
Or, whatever, maybe I should be that guy with the demon-face cufflinks…
Nov
Hannya cufflinks — I really want these, but can’t justify spending $120 on my first pair of cufflinks, nor making my first pair something so non-traditional.
I also saw a vintage pair that was carved out of ivory. Yeah, they cost about as much as a new pair of Aldens, which is to say they might of well been made of Unobtainium.
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