Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette and today's video is a little different than previous
videos in the sense that I present to you my cufflink collection.
We've received a lot of comments and requests from viewers and readers who want to see my
wardrobe. Now, I'm a clothes horse, I'm a suit lover, I'm really into accessories, and
as such, it's impractical to do one video that covers it all. Because of that, we decided
to break it down and today, we start with my cufflink collection. That being said, my
collection is ever-changing and if I find something better, I get rid of something in
the rotation and then sometimes, I even sell them.
The first pair of cufflinks is quite cool and different in the sense that it's made
out of an aquamarine and a ruby, as well as 18 karat gold. Honestly, thee little links
are sometimes a pain to put on but when they're on your cuff, they look stunning. The backstory
on those is that in 2006, I came to the US for the first time and I did an internship
with a lawyer, Edward Hayes. We have an article of this gentleman who's a very flamboyantly
dressing lawyer and when I was at his house, he just gave these cufflinks to me because
he knew I was a poor student and I loved to dress up and I could have never afforded those
cufflinks at the time. Now, I definitely kept those cufflinks, it's kind of funny at the
time, I had this phase where I only thought gold cufflinks would be really the only thing
I should be wearing and so that's what I would invest in. By 2009, when I moved to the US
permanently, I needed money and so I sold my entire cufflink collection except this
pair because of the history and they were very unique and I thought it is just something
I should keep. Another pair of cufflinks which I got from Edward Hayes are the ones you can
see here, they are made out of 835 silver with gold coverings. It's kind of a Victorian
pattern and I like them because the reflections are different depending on the light, it has
yellow gold and rose gold in it, and it makes them quite unique. I guess I could polish
them again, I don't wear them a whole lot but the problem sometimes with silver cufflinks
is that if they're not polished all the time, they rub off on your especially white dress
shirts and it looks just dirty on the cuff.
Third pair of cufflinks that is also Victorian, as you can see, it's double-sided with a chain.
I think it's just brass because over time, I've come to realize it really doesn't matter
what kind of precious metal your cufflinks are made out of, it all depends on what they
look like and how they look on your shirt cuff, and whether you enjoy wearing them or
not. So these are little brass decorations, I bought them in Berlin in 2015, and at the
same time, I bought those green ones which are basically the same style yet they are
very different looking from afar. Personally, I'm a big fan of double sided cufflinks because
I think having a decorative element on both sides is simply much preferable to having
those t bars where you just have everything on one side and nothing on the other. As you
can see, the swirly glass is not perfectly round but it's a hallmark of handmade glass.
The next pair of cufflinks is British. It's a cloisonne enamel chain cufflinks on sterling
silver. Now when it comes to enamel, there are different kinds. There's the regular enamel
that is just very plain looking and then there's the translucent cloisonne enamel which is
fired and it's actually glass in different colors but the metal surface underneath is
etched and because of that, you get that nice three-dimensional effect when you rotate the
cufflinks. So these ones here have kind of a z pattern and I just like the strong green
color with the white band. it's just beautiful. You can see the cufflinks actually look gold
and it's because they're gold plated.
Now these pair cufflinks are from Montblanc, they're plain, and simple, and black ,and
they are no precious metal at all but they're in fact the very first pair of cufflinks I
ever owned because as you might know, I started out collecting fountain pens, I would also
sell them and in one lot, there was also this pair of cufflinks and when I got them, I thought
"wow! now how do I wear them?" and so I did some research and I came across French cuff
shirts and that's what kick-started my passion of classic men's clothing. So without this
pair of clothing, the gentleman's Gazette and Fort Belvedere probably would never exist
today.
Next pair of cufflinks is very unique in the sense that it's intricately detailed and you
can find kind of dark blue lapis blue enamel with some golden elements and the back part,
they're double-sided. The back part has a bar and of course, it has chains. I really
love those cufflinks and I think I bought them in probably 2010 or 2011 at a cufflink
convention in Chicago quite inexpensive and just cost me about $30.00
The next pair of cufflinks is kind of unassuming. It doesn't have a chain but a connection that's
similar to a chain and it has bloodstones that it's set in sterling silver, it's kind
of a round cushion shape and because of that, I like wearing them. It's not something you
usually see a lot and personally, I like unique items. I think about these as part of a vintage
cufflink lot and it didn't cost me a lot of money.
The next cufflinks are sterling silver, they have two different colors on both sides. So
one is yellow, the other is purple, and I got them as part of a lot. Some people may
think of them as the Vikings colors, I'm not a football fan at all and would never wear
them like that. To me, they're just a fun statement piece and sometimes I'll wear them
with the purple side out on one side and the yellow on the other one so it's just a fun
little pair of cufflinks that is not too large because most cufflinks today are rather large
which I don't like quite so much so having something smaller it's quite elegant.
Next up is the first pair of Fort Belvedere cufflinks that I designed. I always wanted
a pair of monkey fist knot cufflinks which is this particular knot which is a sailor's
knot and I wanted cufflinks made out of it. So in this first pair here, the middle part
was supposed to be a twisted rope but as you can see, it didn't quite turn out the way
we wanted to and it just looked overbearing so in the final iteration, we ended up with
a cufflink that was slightly smaller especially on the slimmer end so it would actually fit
through your cuff and the bar was much more elegant by just twisting it without that rope
structure. It's a very timeless pair of cufflinks and if I just had to invest in one pair of
cufflinks, it probably would be this one, may be in gold because I have more gold accessories
but most people would actually be better off with silver because most men today have more
silver accessories.
Next up is a nice pair of cloisonne enamel cufflinks. Again, it's an oval shape and as
you can see, it has this nice deep rich blue cloisonne pattern. As you move them with the
light, because of the etching underneath, you get that beautiful lighting effect and
which is one of the reasons I've always fallen in love with cloisonne enamel cufflinks and
again, they're sterling silver, gold plated with a chain in the back. Traditionally, double-sided
cufflinks always came with chains, while they're beautiful, I actually find a
fixed bar to be superior than the chain but it's very hard to find those. So maybe we'll
just have to make them, stay tuned.
The next pair of cufflinks is quite heavy. it's made out of a solid 18 carat gold in
yellow and white gold and it has a t-bar closure. It's a cufflink that I bought several years
ago and I don't quite like it as much anymore. It's simple in a way but I think it would
work better with maybe 50s or 60s outfits and I'm not that kind of guy. I still have
them, keep them, I may have to sell them or trade them in sometimes because they're quite
heavy and the gold price right now is quite high.
The next pair of cufflinks I bought at a vintage shop in Hamburg for just a few bucks and it's
actually made of sterling silver and it has that kind of chain-like connection with moonstones.
I like them because it's like very milky, they have an effect in a way that mother-of-pearl
has but it's slightly different and it changes with the light so it's just a beautiful pair
and it is small, not oversized, so something I definite like.
I think at the very same shop, I bought these cufflinks here which are a little more unique.
They're actually hand carved lapis and as you can see, there's a face carved into them
so they're just slightly different and I sometimes like to wear them when I'm in the mood for
them if I could contrast on light blue shirts as well as white shirts and it's a good nice
unique pair of cufflinks.
Next up is very classic pair of cufflinks in that color scheme. It's red and gold. I
think it's not a precious or semi-precious stone, it's glass, but it's mounted on 14-karat
gold I think, it's made in Italy, it is slightly oval not as oval as the ones who saw from
England, but also not round and so again, different than other things I have in my collection
and because of that I like.
The next pair here is a lapis pair which is beautiful but it has those t-bar connections
which as I mentioned I'm not a huge fan of. I've got those nevertheless because I like
that domed malachite and so we created the other malachite ones because the effect was
so beautiful in our Eagle Claw cufflinks. You can learn more about those in
our shop and of course, those are double-sided so they look really dapper.
Next up is a 14 karat or 585 pair of cufflinks in malachite from Germany. As you can see,
it has a t-bar and it's kind of interesting the way it is set and the finished edge is
kind of scratched which makes the bit look like the late 60s or 70s kind of mid-century
modern. Not something I'm too fond of today but it was the first pair of malachite cufflinks
so I still have it. I wear it on occasion but I like our Fort Belvedere cufflinks a
lot better now which is why I wear them more often.
These octagonal cufflinks are really cool because you don't find that shape very often.
Also, it has very intricate cloisonne enamel which has waves in yellow and a blue rim so
I like to combine it with outfits where I have those colors so I can pick them up either
in the socks or the tie or the shirt and so they're just fun to wear. Again, they're sterling
silver made in England.
Next up we have some amber cufflinks, German, I think it's like sterling silver and they
actually have a date engraved on it March 25th of 56. So yeah, it was probably a gift
in the 50s to someone. They are amber and it's quite.. it's not quite clear so it's
like a natural material, it has some scratches and I bought them at a flea market in Berlin
and I think in 2015 for like 20 bucks, to be honest, I haven't worn them very often.
I just got them because I didn't have an Amber pair of cufflinks in my collections. Looking
back, I probably shouldn't have bought them because even though they were not so expensive,
I hardly wear them at all.
Next up is a pair of 333, I think that's an 8 karat gold, made in Germany, yellow gold,
it's kind of a knot, it's a classic symbol in menswear but again it had this t-bar and
so those inspired me to create our monkey fist knot cufflinks in gold but I just wanted
a real knot and I wanted the double-sided once. So I used to wear these a lot but again
since the monkey fist cufflinks are there, I don't wear them a lot anymore.
Next up are two pairs of green cufflinks which green in menswear is not that strong and if
you want to learn more about it, please check out our video here. I think it's a great color
but for cufflinks, they're hard to find so whenever I come across them, I buy them. So
this first one with those concentric circles here I bought actually at a flea market in
Budapest probably in 2006. Before I came to the US, I did an internship there and they
were about three or five bucks they have some damage which when it comes to cloisonne enamel
means for collectors they're completely uninteresting but for me, as someone who just enjoys cufflinks
and wants to wear them, it not a big deal.
The other ones are more of a Granny Smith green. They're English, I bought them as part
of a lot, they have a white rim and I haven't worn them as often because the color is quite
bright and it pops so maybe with a darker unassuming outfit in a green tie maybe a knit
tie it would be a good combination.
Next up is a pair of cloisonne enamel striped oval cufflinks. They're actually branded as
Ralph Lauren but they were made in England for Ralph Lauren and they are sterling silver,
they're quite bold, and because of that, I actually wear them quite infrequently or hardly
ever, to be honest, I just like the design, I liked that they were different, but at the
end of the day, when it comes to picking out a pair, I usually go with more muted ones.
Here's a fine pair of 14-karat cufflinks. They have kind of an S shape but it's not
very bold so my last name is Schneider, someone gave them to me, I don't wear them very often
because I like my other cufflinks more.
Next up is a set of cufflinks, shirt studs, and it even has I think waistcoat buttons.
It's an abalone stone, I think in the back it's a 14 karat gold, and on top it's platinum.
I wore those with my black tie ensemble which is quite nice. It's just something that traditionally,
men will wear with black tie. You'd have like dark stones and you have the cufflinks and
then you'd have the shirt studs as well as the waistcoat buttons which were exchangeable.
Now I only have two of those and most waistcoats have like at least three for single breasted
one or four for double breasted ones so I can't wear them for the waistcoat but it was
just a set that I found vintage.
Next up are some blue cloisonne enamel cufflinks and you can see it's always this same shape.
It's a very popular shape in England because it's not too small but it still fits through
the buttonhole on your shirt-cuff. It's light blue and darker blue with little edgings underneath
in sterling silver pretty much like
the next set of cufflinks I keep in the same compartment simply because they're purple
and purple in menswear is not a very strong color. I sometimes wear them when I have a
purple bowtie or a purple tie, you could also wear them with a purple or lavender shirt.
This one here is round, has black enamel cloisonne, and the other one has kind of a unusual shape,
a mix between round and square.
Here's a pair of cufflinks that I like. I think it's glass with black and white. it's
something I would wear with a Stresseman outfit, for example, it's 14-karat gold, they're quite
heavy, it is a t-bar so maybe I'll sell them in the future because I haven't worn them
in quite a while, to be frank.
Now, next up is an evening dress set for white tie. I think it is 14 karat gold in the back
with platinum and then it has a mother-of-pearl insert so here I have the full set of 4 waistcoat
buttons so I can wear double-breasted and single-breasted waistcoats with white tie
and these are the matching cufflinks in the same size. for the shirt, I either wear matching
shirt studs as you can see here or I go with these pearls that are set in gold and I think
I like the pearls more because it's the more traditional way and I don't wear white tie
that often so if I do, I usually stick with the traditional classics. It's actually quite
hard to find full dress sets like these in the original box so when I came across this
one from Berks I think on eBay I was very happy that I got it.
My next pair of cufflinks is a little more unusual and I like it because it's tiger's
eye as a stick, set in silver with some chains. They're not easy to get on the cuff but once
you do they're quite nice and different looking which is why I like them, of course, I have
all the Fort Belvedere cufflinks and since I just designed them I still really like them
I wear them a lot and part of my general rotation today. I'm wearing the green ones, we have
the tiger's eye in gold, it's very nice in the way it rotates with a light and it works
with any kind of brown in your outfit. The carnelian one is a stone it's like a it's
a red but it's not too bright. lapis is beautiful it's just a deep rich blue color and we use
a lapis with very few inclusions. we even have it in yellow gold and in silver. so you
have a choice of what you want and this one here is a black one so if you wear a lot of
charcoal suits they would even work for tuxedo outfits, for example, we'll see maybe we can
make some matching studs and waistcoat buttons so you can wear it as a full dress set I think
that would be quite nice
all right I hope you enjoyed getting a glimpse into my cufflink collection and if you enjoyed
it let me know let me know what you liked or disliked so we can change it in future
videos and I look forward to more constructive feedback because we always listen to what
you have to say and try to make it work and show you what you're interested in
in today's outfit I am wearing a brown suit, I have worn it before it's A Caraceni suit
that is vintage but it fits me quite well it's usually a three-piece suit but today
I'm just wearing it as a two-piece suit has these wide big peak lapels wearing them with
a pocket square from Fort Belvedere in green and orange which picks up the green stripe
of my shirt as well as the orange of my knit tie and thus ties it all together with the
brown tones for my socks I'm wearing the green and brown shadow stripes from Fort Belvedere
they pick up the green of the shirt and the green in my ring thus tying the entire outfit
together but at the same time they provided enough contrast between the brown pants and
the tan monk strap I am wearing.
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