Mapuche Culture and the Modern Man’s links..........SOLD

One man’s mission to share with the world the fine art of cufflinks.

 Each blog a different pair and each blog a different story.  Read on in this series.....

Today’s cufflinks were bought at a street market in Santiago from a sage and wise old toothless Mapuche woman. She said that the oval was symbolic as it depicts the beginning and/or the end. The circle is perfect but the oval is reflective of the imperfections of life. The oval also symbolises an egg or fertility and birth. The sale of the links included her priceless sharing of this lovely anecdote.

Secret lovers of Mapuche are often artistically depicted within the oval shape as the symbol of their intertwined life and the fact that their dalliance is not reflective of a “perfect” situation but one that they know is real and cherished.

Today we begin and end in the pair of links acquired in Chile. Hand made solid silver link with enamel ceramic orange fill and oval motif.

Worn with cotton Jermyn Street shirt and silk orange Thomas Pink tie.

Your scribe is ready to close the deal….in an oval manner.

Til Later

ONWARD

La Maison de Cartier Cufflinks..........$235

One man’s mission to share with the world the fine art of cufflinks.

Each blog a different pair and each blog a different story.  Read on in this series.....

Jeweller to Kings….The King of Jewellers….The House of Cartier brings us today’s link of choice.

Wandering the Rue de la Paix in Paris a few years ago, your scribe was enthralled at the sheer opulence of the Cartier store and he fell in love with all things Cartier from that day on. Beware though, it is not the place to visit with lady friends or on a day that you might need to buy a new car….it is not for the faint hearted in financial terms. Wait and treasure the moment of the facial expression that a Cartier gift box can bring, it is priceless.

As a young man, your scribe also fell in love with Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell, the young women from Little Rock, in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes…..When they sang….”Tiffany….Cartier….!!!!!”  In Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend….it is guaranteed to bring any grown man to his knees

Jane….lover of aviators and lover of all things Cartier…..

Today we have Cartier silver and black enamel cuff links that were a gift from a rock star friend (brunette). They are worn with a tailored shirt from my favourite tailor in Saigon, Mr Tham Minh….today’s neck tie comes from the house of Gucci…. A silk number with small Gucci logo motifs.

Your scribe by the way prefers brunettes and red heads!!!!!!  Who wouldn't.

Til later


ONWARD

The Highlander Cuff Links..........$105

One man’s mission to share with the world the fine art of cufflinks.

Each blog a different pair and each blog a different story.  Read on in this series.....

The Highlander Cuff Links

The death of Ken Russell today and reading through a travelogue of a dear friend on the trails in Scotland, got me thinking of all things Highlander…..today’s links are a treasure found on the streets of Portobello Road London.

Highland Scottish Red Deer antler shaped and carved as cuff links on a solid silver cuff link back. They were found in their original box and sold to me by a dear old Scottish gentleman that I had great difficulty understanding…..but he was so glad that they had found a grateful owner that was taking them back to Australia…..

Today’s antler cuffs are worn with a pure cotton Brooks Brother’s shirt and what better than an Alexander McQueen gold tie to set the whole thing off.

RIP Ken and RIP Alexander……and Scottish Red Deer

Til later


ONWARD

Gold Swank 50’s interlink Deco..........$105

One man’s mission to share with the world the fine art of cufflinks.

 Each blog a different pair and each blog a different story.  Read on in this series.....

 50’s flash will always impress and today we have a retro set to die for.

 The Ever Dapper Cary Grant was always on the ball…..a Link man in just about every publicity shot and was possibly the greatest “ladies man” of all screen history.

North by North West was possibly his greatest effort and when teamed up with another great Link man, Alfred Hitchcock, he had the benefit of some classic script lines:

  “My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between, I occupy myself as best I can.”

 “I'm an advertising man, not a red herring. I've got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex-wives and several bartenders dependent upon me, and I don't intend to disappoint them all by getting myself slightly killed”

North by North West was possibly Hollywood’s first and still the most blatant product endorsement flick!!!!

Today’s little beauties are a pair of gold Swank 50’s interlink deco style cuff links. Worn with Savile Row Egyptian cotton shirt and brown silk Paul Smith neck tie with bold pink stripes.

 These cufflinks were found in the bottom drawer of a smart antique store Trésor in the Strand Arcade Sydney.

Till later

ONWARD

The Young Pharaoh Tutankhamen’s “Cartouche” Cuff Links..........$140

One man’s mission to share with the world the fine art of cufflinks.

Each blog a different pair and each blog a different story.  Read on in this series.....

The Young Pharaoh Tutankhamen’s “Cartouche” Cuff Links

They say all that cast their eyes on the burial crypt of Young King Tutankhamen will be cursed….A young George Herbert, 5th Lord of Carnarvon financed the search for, and eventual discovery of, the Young Pharaoh’s tomb.

A snappy dresser in top hat, tails and cuff links, even in the inhospitable environment of the Valley of the Kings in Upper Egypt, he died under mysterious circumstances in what many describe as the Curse of the Mummies.

In the excavation, the left seal of the Young Pharaohs tomb was broken and they say it unleashed a chain of mishaps through generations….

Today is presented some solid silver cuff links sourced from the ancient souks of Cairo.

They depict the cartouche of King Tutankhamen, son of Nefertiti.

Worn with silk mustard Bvlgari tie with blue hippopotami and ancient Egyptian reed patterns.

Your Scribe has had nothing but good luck and good fortune with these wonderful cuff links.

Til later


ONWARD

Dragon Fly motif on a Paul Smith cufflink..........$65

.......One man’s mission to share with the world the fine art of cufflinks.

Each blog a different pair and each blog a different story.  Read on in this series.....

Today we shift from Flora to Fauna and a truly great exponent of the cufflink, Oscar Wilde Esq.

“I like hearing myself talk. It is one of my greatest pleasures. I often have long conversations all by myself and I am so clever that I sometimes don’t understand a single word I am saying”

“Then you should certainly lecture on Philosophy” said the Dragon Fly and he spread a pair of lovely gauze wings and soared away in to the sky.

From the “Remarkable Rocket” Oscar Wilde

Oscar you do look fabulous today….

If you’re a fan of all things British, then who better to pair with Oscar Wilde than Sir Paul Smith. A big hello to all you Roosters world wide also….

He left school at 15 and worked his way to the top in the hallowed streets of Saville Row and established the Paul Smith label…..Legend and designer to the stars….George Best RIP.

Today I wear a Dragon Fly motif on a Paul Smith cufflink with the ever present Paul Smith candy pin strip bar on the back. And sport a pink tulip on sky blue neck tie by Frank Theak and Roskilly of London.

Til Later

ONWARD

Victorian Gold Tiki Pineapple Cufflinks..........$85

Some say that she is the Queen of Fruits….others just say she’s rough on the outside and sour in the middle….. a bit like my mother in law……

When you have the opportunity to travel around the Hawaiian islands always look in those junk and antique stores on the highways….they are a treasure trove for the man with cufflinks on his mind.

No one in Hawaii knows what cufflinks are and you will scoop them up at a more than reasonable price for what is considerd a useless object in Hawaii!!!!!…..I haven't seen one long sleeve shirt in the many trips I’ve have been there.

Today I go to Captain James Cook’s side kick Sir Joseph Banks, who “discovered” the Bromelia on the Endevour expedition of 1768.

The dapper Sir Joseph Banks….links obscured!!!!

Antique “Steampunk” Gothic Victorian Gold Tiki Pineapple Cufflinks today matched with a treasured old Hermès neck tie adorned with Pineapples…..

Til next time


ONWARD

Antique Blue Cufflinks..........$45

The anniversary of the JFK’s assassination is probably as good a day as you’ll get for the beginning of a cufflink journey….one man’s mission to share with the world the fine art of cufflinks.

Each blog a different pair and each blog a different story.

The past decade has seen the gradual decline of the neck tie as a fashion accessory for the Young Turks in financial centres around the world….poor old Hermès.

But there has been a corresponding rise in bling. The humble cuff link now has equal chat status around the water cooler up there with money, sex and where you ate last night. Lucky Hermès too I guess. Your BVLGARI links will cost as much as five of their ties now!!!!

JFK was prone to the link……there are numerous shots of a sartorial JFK resplendent in cufflinks…and if you happen to be puffing on a Cuban while contemplating the Bay of Pigs in Air Force One…..good on you….Oh the irony!

Today’s cufflinks….simple yet elegant antique blue glass set in brass…found in a junk store in Newcastle Australia…….tie to match was a sky blue Burberry ….

Up close, exquisite....

Later

ONWARD!!