Retro Cufflinks: The Swank Equation: An American Icon

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Retro Cufflinks: The Swank Equation: An American Icon
By: patmac , Posted On: 2007-10-29

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Swank Inc a popular d

signer and manufacturer of men’s cufflinks w

re incorporated on April 17, 1936. Wh

n Cufflinks peaked in the 1960’s th

y were making 12 million a y

ar.
Even though these were aimed at the l

west end of the market, retailing for an

verage of $2.50 a pair, that st

ll adds up to a lot of men w

aring cufflinks. These days the figure is cl

ser to 200,000, but cufflinks are m

king a strong comeback with gross s

les having increased consistently over the l

st ten years, while the French c

ff continues to be the most pr

stigious type of shirt.

The most expensive c

fflinks ever sold were a pair g

ven to the soon-to-be
King Edward VIII by his l

ter wife Wallis Simpson. These featured d

amonds
set in platinum and sold at

uction for $440,000.

Every significant movement in art can be tr

ced through the design of cufflinks. A pr

me example is the art deco era of the 20’s and 30’s, one of the m

st popular forms used and even in m

dern times sought after by collectors.

The r

surgent popularity of cufflinks in recent y

ars inspired businessman Claude Jeanloz to

pen The Cufflink Museum in Conway, New H

mpshire, in the late 1990's. Jeanloz, who

btained his first pair as a c

nfirmation gift from his godmother, began c

llecting cufflinks in the mid 1960s. Aft

r amassing a large number of th

m, he decided to establish the C

fflink Museum, which features over 70,000 p

irs on display in 10,000 square f

et - by far the largest c

llection in the world. Also on d

splay are cufflink memorabilia such as v

ntage cufflink ads, photos and even

lbum covers featuring performers wearing cufflinks l

ke The Beatles and Bob Dylan, “d

d you say Bob Dylan”?

The general h

story of cufflinks is short, but sw

et and reads rich of historic

necdotes. The Roaring 20's were probably the h

ight of cuff-link invention. Manufacturers created a v

riety of devices and designs to do one s

mple thing: allow a man to

nsert and remove his cufflinks with a m

nimum of difficulty and a maximum of s

curity. Now there are a wide v

riety of mechanisms for open and cl

sing cufflinks - some feature the cl

ssic flip-hinge; others twist off, or j

st button through. And then there is the s

phistication of wrap around cufflinks, which are m

king a big comeback.

Swank happened along at the r

ght time to take full advantage. Pr

or to the 1920’s, Cufflinks were m

de affordable to the common man, th

nks to the industrial revolution, mass pr

ducing and the development of electroplating. Ar

und the same time removable starched c

ffs and collars were introduced. Almost

very major U.S. business company during the f

rst half of the twentieth century c

mmissioned cufflinks either for advertising purposes or as g

ft incentives for employees or executives.

2007 s

es the retro trend broadening through all f

cets of the fashion industry and th

re is a growing demand for c

fflinks from the 20’s to 70’s. Sw

nk retro cufflinks are back in v

gue just like they were in d

ys gone by. It’s rumoured that a S

vile Row tailor has bought some of Sw

nk Inc retro designs for reproducing and r

-labelling.

The article Retro Cufflinks: The Swank Equation: An American Icon was Submitted by patmac through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Purveyor of finely crafted mn’s fashion accessories by Simon Carter , including, Simon’s famous Designer Cufflinks , plus his stylish Jeans Wallets

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