Adam's Fine Jewellery & Watches 8th December 2020

33 32 AN ELEGANT PAIR OF RUBY AND DIAMOND CUFFLINKS, BY CHAUMET, CIRCA 1925 Single-sided, each square plaque set with calibré-cut rubies, highlighted by four collet-set brilliant-cut diamonds, to a T-bar terminal embellished with a line of similarly-cut rubies, accompanied with two matching shirt buttons, all mounted in 18K gold, all signed Chaumet Paris, all with maker’s mark ‘JC’ for Joseph Chaumet (mark registered between 1890-1928), French assay marks, with maker’s case, length 2.2cm € 2,500 - 3,500 Since its inception in the 17th century, the cufflink has been an item of opulence, bringing flair to an otherwise humble sleeve. Shirt cuffs were initially held together by a piece of string or ribbon, but the arrival of the stitched buttonhole led the more fashionable to seek a different method.They settled on two buttons held to- gether by a chain.This was threaded through the holes on the cuff, giving birth to what we now know as the cufflink. At the time, they were referred to as ‘boutons de manchettes’ by French tailors or, quite literally, sleeve buttons.They were particularly popular with King Charles II and his continued use helped to establish the cufflink within high society. It is thought that a further push was given to the fashion through the writing of Alexander Dumas. In ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’, written in 1844, a character from the book sports enormous dia- monds on his shirt cuffs, sparking great envy in all those who see him. Not long after the book was published, tailors began to capitalise on this small, but assertive, accessory. Just under twenty years later, the London 1862World Fair put ‘cuff jewellery’ to the foreground. In keeping with Victorian ideals, cufflinks at this time were often quite detailed and could be used to express any number of things, from social status to whether or not the wearer was in mourning. Controversially, some men even had pictures of their mistresses stowed in their cufflinks, hidden underneath a secret mechanism. In 1876, cufflinks were made readily available to the wider public through mass production. George Krementz was a German immi- grant who was inspired by the processes applied to bullet manu- facturing during the industrial revolution. He took these same methods and employed them to create cufflinks. By the early 1900s, more cufflinks were being worn than ever. In 1924, the Boyer fastener system was invented, making cufflinks easier to wear and secure. This remains one of the most popular methods of fastening cufflinks in the world today. Towards the end of the 20th century, the ever-ris- ing trend of cufflinks temporarily ceased as men’s shirt makers began producing shirts with ready-but- toned cuffs. The cufflink had been made superfluous. However, the unnecessary and the luxuriant go hand in hand and it was not long before the fashion of the French cuff and its jewelled companion once again took root.