Bespoke Cufflink Commissions

History of Cufflinks 

From around the 13th Century, shirt cuffs were held together by ties, ribbons, and strings. As men’s shirts and fashions changed, so did their cuffs and in the 17th Century early forms of the cufflinks we know today, emerged.

The stitched buttonhole was developed and tailors fastened these cuffs with two ornamental buttons attached by a chain. Named by French tailors as boutons de manchettes, or ‘sleeve buttons’ became popular with the upper classes. Jewellers began to create these sleeve buttons in silver and gold, adding semi-precious gemstones or stamped designs and thus the cufflink was born.

Cufflinks were properly introduced in the 17th Century and King Charles II recognised for his style, King Charles II popularised cufflinks by regularly wearing them in public, helping to influence the people’s opinion on these statement accessories.

The 18th Century saw an increase in the usage of cufflinks, which were worn by royalty and aristocracy, which helped to increase the popularity of them. They were also used to commemorate royal occasions and special events, much like they do today. Gentlemen of these times would be gifted cufflinks, thereby creating collections of cufflinks.

Sadly, nowadays cufflinks are not so popular as men increasingly dress more casually and have no need for them. The formal shirt and dress tie are worn less, so cufflinks are no longer being worn every day. However, there are some men who still love them and continue to wear them, even if only for special events, or to mark a special occasion. 

Here are the first cufflinks I made in 1993 when I first graduated from The Royal College of Art. Face Cufflinks 

Catherine's first ever Cufflink commission 

I was going through some old files in my workshop this week and I came across a record of all the pieces that I made in my early career. I was reminded that I used to do a job sheet, with detailed costings and design drawings, for every piece that was commissioned.

I discovered the first commission I had in my professional career, after I graduating from my masters degree, was a pair of hand made silver cufflinks. It was January 1994 six months into setting up my design studio and they were kidney shaped with tiny, 'cheniers' in the style of work I had made at the Royal College of Art.

Below is the letter I sent to Peter, the gentleman concerned, to show him my cufflink design. I wish I had continued with this kind of record keeping, as it was so interesting seeing how long each piece had taken me and it was quite a shock to see how little the metal cost thirty years ago!!

Here is the photo I took of the finished cufflinks before I gave them to him. It is a bad photo but just a record for my paper work but I want to share it with you. Once I saw the photo, I remembered making them , it was so exciting to have someone want my work. I had a laugh when I saw what I charged; they had taken 24 hours to make, as I had to make a special pressing tool to make them. I was paid £96, £20 was material cost and £76 was labour charge, so I earned just over £3 an hour !!! 

10 Downing Street Cufflinks 

Many years ago, when I had my workshop in London's, Clerkenwell area, I was fortunate to be asked to design and make the official Downing Street cufflinks, during the time Tony Blair was Prime Minister. They were gifts for important international visitors. I was invited to Downing Street, in order to get some design ideas and to do some initial drawings. I settled on an interpretation of the iconic black No 10 front door.

They are chain cufflinks with a T-bar back and a round button front engraved with a pattern representing the door detail. I made many pairs over the years for them and it was such a special commission.

Bespoke Vintner Swan Cufflinks 

I was asked to make cufflinks that were based around The Vintners’ Company emblem of two swans, flanking the heraldic crest. They were further personalised with the person’s initials. As the brief was to create a pair of bespoke rectangular cufflinks, I had a very tight space to include a lot of detail. I studied the crest to make sure I could bring the story of The Vintners’ Company to life. I did some sketching and decided it would be much nicer, as there are two swans, to include them both; so one faced one way and the other the other, looking at one another.

Bespoke Aquamarine Oval Egg Cufflinks 

My customer wanted a special pair of gem set cufflinks for her husbands 50th birthday gift. They both liked Aquamarine so we decided on my oval egg design so they could be a feature set in the domed recess in the centre. They are matte silver and the oval stones are set in 'rub over' settings. They are large and striking and he wears them for special occasions.

Bespoke Chain Button Commemoration Cufflinks 

Personalised Initial Engraved 'Spot the Half Cufflinks' 

These cufflinks were a 50th birthday gift and are available on my website. These Spot the Half Cufflinks were hand engraved with his three initials. My 'Spot the Half Oval Cufflinks' with T Bar are inspired by nature and more specifically by acorns. It is a great way of keeping the cost down by personalising an existing design in my range, with engraving .

Bespoke Enamel Star Cufflinks

These bespoke cufflinks were inspired by the flag of Maastricht. It is a red field with a white five pointed star, based on its coat of arms, re-adopted in 1994 after a temporary switch to a white-red horizontal bicolour (like Poland's) caused confusion. The star, present since at least the 16th century, symbolises the city and is a common sight, representing its historical identity and European connection, notably after the 1992 Maastricht Treaty.

It was very tricky, as I needed to use other craftsmen to do this job.So it was a matter of finding the right people that could help me get my design realised. I decided to use a machine engraver, to make the silver part. The engraving needed to be a certain depth for the the silver to be enamelled, in order to get the red background.

My talented friend Jane Moore did the enamelling and it turns out that colour red is very tricky to do. But the result was very well received by the lady and her son in law who they were created for.

Bespoke Grey Pearl Anniversary Cufflinks 

Bespoke Gold and White Pearl Cufflinks 

Another pearl cufflink commission, this time in 9ct yellow gold with white pearls. The pearls are set simply in a cupped dish of gold. The inside of the dome is matte and the edge is polished as a nice contrast.

Bespoke Lion and Bull Cufflinks

A customer commissioned me to make a pair of cufflinks in each in the style of a Lydian Stater coin, this being one of the coins of King ("rich as') Croesus himself. The lion and bull motif is so striking. The customer wanted gold ones but in the end, the price constraint made oxidised silver, the best choice. The great thing about silver is it can be oxidised dark and polished off again so you get to see the relief detail clearly.

Barry Lagotto Romano Dog  Cufflinks 

My last cufflink commission was to celebrate the dog that belongs to a fellow walker the much loved Barry. The owner is a big fan of the cufflink and has collected many pairs over the years.

Catherine's Favourite Cufflink Design in her Collection

I decided to make some new cufflinks inspired by the snake rings I made for the Harry Potter Films. I am so pleased with how they turned out . Serpent Cufflinks with T bar.

One of the successes of the design is it allows me to make different design options using the same oval base. Here are the Serpent Skin Cufflinks inspired by the beautiful patterns of the scales. Serpent Skin Cufflinks with T bar