Cufflinks go way back in time to the early 16th century when they appeared in France. The earliest types consisted of string which was used to tie men’s shirt cuffs together. Then in the reign of Louis XIV they were developed into small glass baubles that were connected to each other with a small chain and were called boutons de manchette which translates as “sleeve buttons”.
In those days the cufflinks were only for the wealthy and often made of gold or silver with gemstones included on each end. But then came the industrial revolution and it became simple to manufacture cufflinks from less expensive metals and stones, and cufflinks began to become adopted by the common man. A lot of cufflinks did away with the chains connecting them and instead featured a solid post with a toggle at the inside end which turned through 90° in order to lock the cufflink into position.
Thousands Of Designs
With more and more people wearing cufflinks, the range of different designs on the outside of the cuff, called the face, expanded exponentially, and today there are thousands upon thousands of designs from which to choose. Just take a look on Google and you will find endless designs and patterns, and some of them are extremely cheap. Some are also very expensive. You can find a pair of silver cufflinks with diamonds or rubies or emeralds as the face which cost literally thousands of pounds.
Your cufflinks can say a lot about you as an individual. This is why you should really avoid the so-called “joke” cufflinks if you want to be taken seriously. There are lots and lots of those about with things like a beer barrel for the face, or darts, a boiled egg in an eggcup, golf buggies, white vans, a JCB, QR codes, and many, many more.
They may be all right for a stag party with the lads, but they are not the sort of thing that you would wear to the office. Rather, something like a tasteful pair of silver cufflinks, or even gold, would be far more appropriate, although you want to make certain that you don’t outshine the boss! A pair of gold cufflinks with diamonds it might impress the ladies, but not the boss.
At Wimbledon Cufflink Company we make cufflinks in tasteful designs which are appropriate for looking your best, whether at the office or a formal dinner, without breaking the bank.