TIAS.com has over a half a million antiques and collectibles for your online shopping pleasure
Call Us 1-888-OLD-STUFF  | Your Account  | Merchant Login  | Shopping Cart  | Wish List  | Help
View Today's
Newly Listed Items!
Click here to view new listings

Sell Your Antiques & Collectibles Here

Free Trial Offer!
The TIAS Trusted
Merchant Guarantee
Safe Online Shopping Since 1995
Advanced
Search
 Be Our Facebook Fan
 Follow us on Twitter

 Articles
 NEW! Vintage Recipes
Shopping
 Shop!
 Find Gifts
 My Shopping Carts
Resources and Tools
 NEW! Become an Affiliate
 Build Your Own Store
 Advertise Here!
 Try a search
 The list of "Hot" Collectibles
 buySAFE
Free Subscriptions/Archives
 Subscribe via RSS Feed!
 Collector's Newsletter
 Antique Business News
Clubs & Organizations
 NEW! Find a Club
 NEW! List Your Club
Discussion Lists
These are moderated mail-based interest groups sponsored by TIAS which cover the following topics.
 Art Glass
 Jewel collecting
Other Stuff
 About Us
 What do you get?
 Corporate Information
 Contact Us
 Link To Us
 Showcase List
Promoting thru
... Newsgroups
... Writing Descriptions
...Taking Good Pictures: Part I
...Taking Good Pictures: Part II

Table of Contents  •   Subscribe!  •  Send to a Friend



Mikimoto, Art Nouveau and Wraps -- Cufflinker September 2004
The CuffLinker July 2004
TIAS.com presents:

  Do you see a red

Do you see a red

Published September 2004

Cufflinks lend interest to ANY sleeve!
Do you see a red
separator line
separator line

VISIT TIAS.com

·

PRIOR ISSUES · WATCH ENTHUSIAST

·

SUBSCRIBE

·

CONTACT!

separator line
separator line
Do you see a red Having problems viewing this newsletter?  Perhaps you see little red 'x's instead of pictures?   If so, click here to read the newsletter online!

Automatic unsubscribe link at bottom of page. Just click on it to be removed from this mailing list. If you can't get the unsub link to work, type "remove" in the subject line and send this entire newsletter back to us.


 1. Welcome!This is the First Anniversary issue of The Cuff Linker. The Cuff Linker is a free monthly newsletter about cuff link collecting. Our goal is to provide: Original articles about how to enjoy both the collecting and wearing of cuff links, and; to supply up to date information based on reliable sources.

This issue contains short articles on a style of cuff link, an era and a company. Please provide me with suggestions of makers that should be profiled in the future as well as any types of cuff links you would like to see examined.


2. Wraps
For Cufflinkers, a wrap is not an Atkins diet sandwich. A wrap is a cuff link that has a band that completely loops around the side of the cuff. The band may be removable and it may be a solid piece or mesh. Thus, wraps do run the gamut from the classic to the sassy. Pieces from Cartier to pieces from Swank.

The earliest wraps came out in the 1920s, including those by Cartier. This style was popular in France during the 20s. These earliest wraps were done in gold, many with jewels, and are produced to this day.  This style wrap provides a finished look that was different than the finished look provided by double-sided cuff links.

Wraps were updated in the costume style of the “out there” 60s. Wraps from the 60s and early 70s are far from classy, but have certain sass as they are generally quite large (right) and some appear to have more wattage than a lighthouse. These large and garish links would have a metallic mesh band that would loop around the cuff from the main “bejeweled” face to the toggle in the back and would be locked in by the toggle. Because of the use of the toggle, these costume pieces do not have the same completely finished look as that found in the classic wrap.

Whether you want classy or sassy, wraps are fun and deserve consideration for your wearing pleasure.


... more ...


... more ...


3. Art Nouveau  When I realized last night how often I’ve listed items are Art Nouveau and not late Victorian, I thought I should do a quick note on Art Nouveau so there is a chance I’ll remember myself in the future. Art Nouveau, which translates from the French as New Art originated in the 1880s and had full sway for around 30 years. While primarily replaced by the Edwardian or Art Deco styles, certain makers continued to produce Art Nouveau pieces.
Flowing organic floral forms characterize Art Nouveau -- geometric forms need not apply. The Art Nouveau period saw a lot of usage of ladies in floral forms.

Art Nouveau is not simply a jewelry period, but an overall design period that is epitomized by the glasswork of Louis Comfort Tiffany and Rene Lalique.


... more ...

If you are a collector of antique cuff links, you need several Art Nouveau pairs in your collection. I advise that you rely on your own knowledge, or that of a learned dealer in finding real Art Nouveau pieces. Hopefully, I will have recharacterized the late Victorian period cuff links I had previously marked as Art Nouveau before you read this. Many of the late Victorian pieces do have floral designs, but they are neat and contained and do not look like they will flow right off the piece as a good Art Nouveau piece looks.

4. Mikimoto 

n 1893, the first cultured pearl was recovered from an oyster. Kokichi Mikimoto quickly became the Pearl King. While he did say, “I would like to adorn the necks of all woman in the world with pearls” his company did not totally ignore men. Mikimoto cuff links are generally very traditional, and their dress sets fit into the best white tie affairs.


... more ...

Mikimoto has made cuff links in a variety of materials with similar designs in both silver and gold. The cost differential between the silver pairs and the gold pairs are more than normal for two reasons.
  1. they made far fewer gold cuff links than silver, and
  2. the pearls on gold cuff links are generally bigger than the ones on silver – one of the main determinations of a culture pearl’s value is its size.

Mikimoto’s cuff links are classic in style and well made and, if you find yourself often at white tie events, there probably should be a Mikimoto set in you jewelry draw.


5. Musings... 

First, to say officially that I am working toward having The Cuff Linker host a cuff link convention in New York City during August of 05. I’ll try to make it as interesting as the RNC this month, but without all the protests.

Even though my employer has been in the business casual mode for several years, I find the need to be properly dressed for certain meetings (even if they are a conference call) as being dressed shapes my opinion of myself and enables me to be more forceful, if needed. It appears that many individuals are coming back to the idea of being dressed for work as there have been several articles, including Reuters, about the demise of business casual. I suspect there is some truth in this as my cuff link sales this year are considerably more than they have been the last couple of years.

I look forward to hearing from all those interested in cuff links, especially those of you who might wish to provide articles for The Cuff Linker. I’m looking for stories involving favorite cuff links, wonderful cuff link stories and articles about cuff link collecting areas.

The overall purpose of this newsletter is to keep bring to you a few unusual cuff links, sometimes provide good information on makers and issues and to help keep the fun in wearing and collecting cuff links. Please let me know if there are particular makers or designs that you would like to see featured in future issues. A special thanks to Jarrett’s Jade and Tellmeabout UK for linking to the Cuff Linker Archive.


6. Helpful Resources 

It has finally happened, one of the major auction houses now has a great glossary of jewelry terms. Check out the glossary provided by the jewelry department at Christie's.
http://www.christies.com/departments/glossary.asp?DID=33

 If you are interested in the history of the culture pearl industry, then go to the Mikimoto museum “pearl island” online at
http://www.mikimoto-pearl-museum.co.jp/en/


7. Questions and Answers
? Question:

I’ve just come to collecting cuff links and have many jewelry books, what is a good reference for collecting cuff links?

Answer:

I hope that The Cuff Linker and its archive will be a good reference. Additionally, as cuff links are jewelry, and a reflection of their period, jewelry books and fashion history reference materials will be of assistance. As to a strict book on cuff links, the easiest to use is by Howard Bell, http://pages.captainhucksbooty.com/3559/PictPage/1922075711.html

As a follow-up to the last issue, I have not received any information regarding “Original by Victor.” If any reader knows about this maker please let me know so the information can be listed in the next issue of the Cuff Linker.


8. Subscribe / Unsubscribe

Please e-mail comments to huck@tias.com. While I still have not gotten to it yet, I will be updating my website.  I've got hundreds of pairs of cuff links to be added (mostly in the collectible and costume areas) and not enough time to make too many mistakes. Please let me know your thoughts on how my store or our mall can be adjusted to make finding the type of cuff links that you are searching for easier and your overall browsing experience more pleasurable!

Thank you for reading!  Please feel free to forward this to a friend.

Paul G. Huck
email: Valid HTML 4.01!     Huck@Tias.com
website:  http://captainhucksbooty.com


Shops | Advertise | Security | Privacy | Terms of Use | Questions/Problems | Site Map
© Copyright 1995-2004 TIAS.COM. All rights reserved.

Shops | NEW! Become an Affiliate | Advertise | Security | Privacy | Terms of Use | Question/Problem | Site Map
© Software and site design copyright 1995-2013 TIAS.com. All rights reserved.
The Internet Antique Shop is an Upfront Merchant on TheFind. Click for info.