Shirts with French cuffs—which are cuffs with two buttonholes instead of one buttonhole plus a button—are designed for cufflinks (or cuff links, as they are sometimes spelled). Some cufflinks feature straps that wrap around the outside edges of a shirt’s cuffs, but most cufflinks feature an embellished surface that is worn facing out, as well as a pivoting post that discreetly secures the decorative side of the cufflink to the cuff.

In the late 19th century, as Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts vied with Edwardian sensibilities for style supremacy, cufflinks were often made of 14-karat gold and set with everything from onyx to agates. Lion heads were popular designs, as were cufflinks made from Roman coins. At the turn of the 20th century, a manufacturer called Fenwick and Sailor made numerous styles of cufflinks that resembled charms on a charm bracelet.

By the 1920s and ’30s, enameling techniques common to other types of jewelry—from rings to bracelets to brooches—had found their way to cufflinks. South of the U.S. border, Mexican silversmiths in Taxco created cufflinks in the shapes of tropical birds and other animals. And at some point, Royal Copenhagen and Wedgwood got into the act, the former creating pillow-like porcelain cufflinks in the firm’s trademark blue, the latter producing cameo cufflinks out of Jasperware...

The functional design of these cufflinks was as varied as their decorations. Instead of a pivoting post, some so-called “dumbbell” or shank-style cufflinks would feature a backing piece that was just small enough to squeeze through the cuff’s buttonholes. Small lengths of slender chain were substituted for posts in some designs, while double-face cufflinks (also referred to as double-side or double-panel cufflinks) had no “good” or “bad” side since both faces were richly detailed.

Cufflinks achieved a cachet of cool after World War II, when the sophisticated man about town kept a collection of cufflinks on hand that rivaled his array of neckties. In the 1960s in particular, a company called Swank was making 12-million pair a year, most of them big and brassy as costume jewelry. Crown shapes were a popular Swank design, as were cufflinks that showed off large chunks of topaz, smoky quartz, and other semi-precious stones. Swank also made cufflinks for Masons and other fraternal orders, while Hugh Hefner sold his devotees square black cufflinks with a white bunny at their centers.

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Tiffany & Co. Elsa Peretti Sterling Silver Black Jade Bean Cufflinks - Estate Vintage Designer Red Ruby Bull Bear 18k Solid Gold Collectible Men's Cufflinks Tiffany & Co. Elsa Peretti Sterling Silver Green Jade Bean Cufflinks - Estate 22kt Solid 1/10 Oz Pair Gold Krugerrand Coin Cufflinks 14k Gold Mts Not ScrapPr. Vintage 1960s Modernist Design Heavy Real 14k Gold&diamond Cufflinks Men~manAsprey Cuff Links & Collar Studs Gold And PearlMontblanc Meisterstuck Gold Plated Cuff Links With Black Onyx InlayBreguet 18k Rose Gold Luxury Cufflinks.Russian Gold Enamel Cufflinks Russia Maker H W 1908-1917 Russia Not Silver Cartier Cufflinks Sterling Silver Aces High Card Suites Cuff Links With Box18 K Solid Yellow Gold Diamond Cufflinks ( 26.8 G )Tiffany & Co. 14k Gold Mens Heavy Cufflinks 18.0 Grams NrPair Hm 9ct Gold Enamel Three Vices CufflinksHuge Lot Of Great 126 Sets & 4 Singles Of Cufflinks Gold, Silver And MopTiffany & Co 14k Gold Oval Cuff Links - Vintage Montblanc Silver 925 Collection Aquamarine Cuff Links Brushed - BlueNew Starwalker Cufflinks #09899 In Gift Box With Service GuideMontblanc Contemporary Collection Cuff Links - Mn: 104509Antique Wordley Allsopp Bliss 14k Yellow Gold Cabochon Sapphire Gents Cufflinks Heavyweight Antique Vintage Solid 14k Gold Engine Turned Double Faced CufflinksAlfred Dunhill Cufflinks Eight .78carats Real DiamondsAuthentic Van Cleef & Arpels Cuff Link BoxVictorian 9ct Gold Faux Tiger Claw Cufflinks With Gurkha /kukri Knife DesignVtg Sterling Silver Big Cat Tiger Lion Claw CufflinksTiffany & Co. Elsa Peretti Sterling Silver Large Bean Cufflinks - EstateMontblanc Meisterstuck Platinum Plated Cuff Links With Black Onyx Inlay Tiffany & Co. 18k Gold & Sterling Silver Double Knot Cuff Links * No Reserve*Vintage German Made Maus Miniature Toy Derringer Pistol Cap Gun CufflinksNew Scott Kay .925 Sterling Silver & Black Onyx Cufflinks HornMontblanc Fine Jewelry Gold Plated Cufflinks - New!Montblanc Contemporary Collection Cufflinks - Mint!!Montblanc Platinum Plated Cuff Links With Black Onyx - Mint!!Gorgeous Antique Victorian 10k Yellow Gold Lions Face Diamond Eyes CufflinksNorwegian Modernist Sterling Cufflinks 1960`s Uni David Andersen Norway Montblanc Contemporary Collection Cuff Links With Rubber - Mint!!106 Lot Vintage Cuff Link Tie Bar Clip Tack Collar Anson Swank Hickok ShieldsMont Blanc Cufflinks Elegance Collection With Cats Eye InlaySterling Silver Skull Cufflinks And Sterling Silver Deer/buck Cufflinks - .925Vintage Pinfire Mini Derringer Cufflinks AustriaReduced!!-authentic Gucci Crystal Ball Mens Cufflinks-rare!Genuine Scott Kay Sterling Silver Small Skull Cufflinks NewWatch Cufflinks ManschettenknAsprey Of London Boxed Solid Silver Blue Enamel & Gold Griffin Design Cufflinks.Japanese Silver 950 Menuki Fu Dog Cufflinks*wow* Montblanc Jewellery Fun Collection Cufflinks Euro Sign Boxed 30443 06026Penhaligon's London Cufflinks Sterling Silver And Enamel Design Vintage & LovelyTiffany Co. Silver Cuff LinksGorgeous Victorian 14k Gold Seed Pearl One Single Cuff Link Engraved 5.2 Grams18kt Yellow Gold & Sterling Bvlgari CufflinksWonderful "tiffany" Cufflinks In Sterling SilverTateossian Cufflinks Rt Gear Cufflinks - RhodiumMont Blanc Cuff Links Rose Gold Plated4 Vintage Chanel Gold Tone Metal Cuff Link Buttons $375 Authentic Montblanc Men's Classic Rubber Collection Cuff Links! Dunhill Capsule Cufflinks - Platinum & Gold Plated1980s Genuine Dunhill 10 Carat Gold Cufflinks In Original BoxSterling And 14k Cufflinks And Studs Southwestern DesignerVintage Art Deco Sun Burst Engraved 9ct Rose Gold Front & Sterling CufflinksSalvatore Ferragamo CufflinksMan's Junk Drawer Lot Military Pins, Knives, Lighters, Cuff Links, More

Recent News: Cufflinks

Source: Google News

Wholesale Fashion Supplies Added New Collection of Cufflinks to Its Product ...
PR Web (press release), May 15th

Wholesale Fashion Supplies, the name synonymous to stylish accessories has added new designs of cufflinks to its product catalogue. Cufflinks supplied by Wholesale Fashion Supplies are crafted by expert designers who have a keen sense of fashion and...Read more

Gatsby's cufflinks for $4800, anyone? Cannes goes bling
The Times (subscription), May 12th

From The Bling Ring to Gatsby, fashion has taken over at Cannes. But where are the misery and subtitles? Here Kate Muir picks the highlights. At the Cannes Film Festival this year, Prada, Hermès, Louboutin, Tiffany and Chanel will not merely be making...Read more

You Can Now Buy Awesome Cufflinks With Bitcoin
Gizmodo Australia, May 8th

Instead of buying some illegal internet weed, why not use those hard-earned Bitcoins to go and buy some geeky cufflinks from a local vendor? The store is called Cufflinked, and they have everything from cufflinks with mechanised gears, right through to...Read more

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Cool Mom Tech, May 4th

Where can I find the best WiFi? How about in your cuff links. Just when I was wondering whether cufflinks were starting to disappear, I found these brilliant ones that are way more than just a style statement. Way. Wifi hotspot cufflinks on Cool Mom...Read more

Cufflinks Don't Have To Be So Stuffy - Chicago magazine
Chicagomag.com, May 1st

When it comes to fashion, I'm not often a fan of things that include the word “novelty” in the description. To me, this conjures images of fake vomit and adult store unmentionables. But I make an exception when it comes to cufflinks. In the past, these...Read more

DispL.A. Case #62: Bugsy Siegel's Cufflinks
LA Magazine, April 29th

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Costa Cufflinks Is Offering a Special 20% Discount on All Orders Placed Before ...
SBWire (press release), April 23rd

Dalkeith, UK -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/23/2013 -- Costa Cufflinks is now offering stylish and designer cufflinks for men at a special discount of 20%, under their current promotional scheme. The sale will last until 30th June 2013, and all men can take...Read more

Cufflinks on Your Underwear? Why Not
Bloomberg, April 19th

Cufflinks on Your Underwear? May as Well. By James Tarmy - 2013-04-19T23:27:11Z. Photograph by Evan Sung/Bloomberg. You'd think it would take an aesthete, or an exhibitionist, to commission custom underwear. Why else would someone spend...Read more