Catalog: Estate Jewelry: Cufflinks and Accessories (503)

A very attractive pair of Art Nouveau 14K yellow gold bean-back cufflinks, the oval faces decorated with a swirling motif centering pairs of beautifully-colored opals. The opals have very good play-of-color with a preponderance of green and blue with a hint of orange-red. The backs of the faces are stamped with an unidentified maker's mark.

Origin: America, ca. 1900. Condition: very good, no dings to gold; one opal has a small chip that is only visible under very close inspection in raking light. Dimeions: faces, 3/4 x 7/16 in. Weight: 6.7 grams.

A very fine pair of double-sided cufflinks by Seaman Schepps. Each of the faces is made from a single emerald that has been tumbled rather than faceted, and then set in a framework of curling gold wirework. The setting is substantial, yet its delicacy allows the rich green color and internal characteristics of the emeralds to take center stage. Schepps was among the earliest of American jewelry designers to use cabochon and tumbled stones as primary gemstones. Even after 50 years, his colorful designs still seem completely contemporary. Each cufflinks is marked for 18K gold and is signed with Schepps’ hallmark. The cufflinks are accompanied by their original Schepps packaging. These links originally retailed for $5,500.

Origin: America, ca. 2005. Condition: excellent, all original. Size: faces approximately, 9/16” x 7/16”. Weight: 10.8 grams. Approximate Total Gemstone Weight: 37.48 carats.

A pair of vintage Tiffany & Co. 14K yellow gold double-faced cufflinks, the faces set with very fine reverse-carved Essex crystals depicting foxes. The designs are deeply carved and expertly painted in bright colors. The foxes’ mouths, particular, are very well done. The crystals are backed with mother-of-pearl. The connectors are marked “14K/Tiffany & Co.”

Origin: America, ca. 1920. Condition: excellent, no damage to crystals. Dimensions: 14x14mm. Weight: 13.2 gr.

A beautiful pair of late Victorian 14K yellow gold cufflinks set with cat’s-eye chrysoberyls by M. Nosey Dragon & Co. of Tientsin (now Tianjin), China. Each chrysoberyl is surrounded by a finely detailed gold dragon, complete with scales, claws and whiskers. The chrysoberyls are unusually dark, tending toward a grayish-green instead of the more common golden brown. The cat’s-eye effect is very strong. The faces are connected with chains to torpedo backs signed “Nosey” and marked “K14”. The cufflinks are presented in their original fitted velvet and silk box imprinted with the maker’s name. The port city of Tientsin was opened by treaty with France and England in 1860 and became one of the most important trading and tourism cities in Eastern Asia. Fine jewelry, Chinese antiquities and other goods were readily available to wealthy visitors.

Origin: China, ca. 1895. Condition: excellent, all original. Size: 3/4” X 1/2". Weight: 8.4 grams.

A very nice extended set of cufflinks and shirt studs, worked in 14K yellow gold and mother of pearl by Larter. The double-sided cufflinks have concave oval mother of pearl faces centered by a simple gold disc. Both the large and small studs are made in the same manner, but are in the traditional round shape. Originally, the larger studs would have been used for the waistcoat and the smaller studs for the shirt. When wearing true “white tie”, the set can be used exactly in this way, but for use with a tuxedo, the owner can choose to wear either the large or small set in the shirt’s buttonholes. The mother of pearl has very nice iridescence and a glossy surface. Each piece is marked “14K” and with Larter’s hallmark.

Origin: America, ca. 1910. Condition: excellent, all original. Size: cufflink faces, 11/16” x 7/16”; large studs, 17/32” diameter; small studs, 5/16” diameter.

A handsome pair of 14K yellow gold cufflinks, the rectangular faces facet engraved in a diamond pattern. The intersections of the engraved lines are set with round blue sapphires. The sapphires have medium-light violetish-blue color that contrasts nicely with the gold. The backs are marked “14K”.

Origin: America, ca. 1960. Condition: excellent. Size: 15x19mm. Weight: 13.5 gr. Approximate Total Gemstone Weight: .34 ct.

A heavy and attractive pair of 14K yellow gold Art Deco cufflinks in the flip-up style. The round faces are decorated with engraved lines in a herringbone pattern. After being inserted in the button hole, the ends are flipped up to secure the cuff. This style is rather uncommon in cufflinks from North America, being much more prevalent in French cufflinks from the period. The connectors are signed by Birks and are marked “14Kt”.

Origin: Canada, ca. 1925. Condition: excellent. Size: faces, 19/32” diameter. Weight: 14.3 grams.

A fine pair of vintage 18K yellow gold cufflinks by Van Cleef & Arpels. Each of the faces is designed as seed cluster similar to a thistle or the middle of a black-eyed Susan. During the 1960s, VCA excelled in naturalistic motifs interpreted in finely worked gold. These were a reaction to the glamorous diamond and gemstone-encrusted creations of the 1950s. Understated designs worked in yellow gold, which had not been widely used since the 1940s, were embraced by the leading French joailliers and were considered the height of fashion. The craftsmanship and overall design of these cufflinks is understated, but quite elegant. Even the chain connectors are worked with beveled links instead of the more common and easily-made rounded links. The cufflinks are marked "Van Cleef & Arpels/750/B3231". They also have a copyright mark for 1965 and all the appropriate French hallmarks for 18K.

Origin: France, ca. 1965. Condition: excellent, sharp detail. Size: 7/16 diameter. Weight: 9.6 grams.

A classic pair of Art Deco sterling silver cufflinks by Gaetan de Percin, the jeweler responsible for most of the Hermes jewelry designs in the 1930s and 40s. This style, in the form of equestrian stirrups or "etrier" is a classic design created around 1940. Aside from Hermes, De Percin made variations of this design for prestigious houses such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany, Chanel, Dior and Boucheron. The cufflinks are marked with French silver hallmarks and with the master's mark of De Percin.

Origin: France, ca. 1950. Condition: excellent. Dimensions: faces, 11/16" x 5/8". Weight: 15.7 grams.

A very rare pair of Art Nouveau silver cufflinks, the round faces decorated with fine renderings of a bicycle racer in the medallion style. Some of the leading French sculptors of the day created such medallions for various sporting events and government functions. The faces are signed, but illegibly so. The backs are fully hallmarked for silver.

Origin: France, ca. 1900. Condition: excellent. Dimensions: 21/32" diameter. Weight: 9.4 grams.

An attractive pair of late Victorian sterling silver cufflinks decorated with Classical medallion in the Shiebler style. The medallions depict a Greco-Roman youth and maiden. The edges are irregularly beveled to suggest antiquity. The faces are connected to baton-style backs decorated a simple foliate pattern. The connectors are marked “Sterling.”

Origin: America, ca. 1880. Condition: excellent, sharp detail. Dimensions: faces, 5/8” x 5/8”. Weight: 8.0 gr.

A nice pair of sterling silver stirrup cufflinks, the ends set with black onyx sugarloaf cabochons. This style of cufflink was popularized by Cartier. The cufflinks bear Swiss import marks used until 1934 and are stamped "935", indicating that they have a slightly higher pure silver content than sterling silver.

Origin: Continental Europe, probably France, ca. 1925. Condition: excellent. Dimensions: faces, 9/16" diameter. Weight: 8.7 gr.

A handsome pair of sterling silver cufflinks by Georg Jensen. The rectangular faces are severely designed in the Art Deco style, with only a series of parallel raised bands as decoration. The solid connectors are attached to hinged oval backs. The cufflinks are marked with the pattern number 80 and bear post-1945 Jensen hallmarks.

Origin: Denmark, ca. 1950. Condition: excellent. Size: 15/16" x 3/8". Weight: 15.6 grams.

A classic, heavy pair of sterling silver cufflinks by Hermes. Each sphere is enhanced with multiple engraved letters, randomly arranged. The letters—“H”, “E”, “R”, “M”, “E”, and “S”—are those found in “Hermes”. The connectors are slightly arched so the sphere lay tightly against the cuff. Each cufflink is signed “Hermes”, is marked “925” and bears the French “tete d’Athene” mark for sterling silver and the silversmith’s hallmark. This vintage design is no longer available at Hermes.

Origin: France, ca. 1970. Condition: excellent, all original. Size: spheres, 3/8” diameter. Weight: 25.1 grams.

A terrific pair of French silver cufflinks, one face of each cufflink designed in a classic knot style, and the other end set with a green chalcedony carved to resemble a golf ball. The cufflinks are very versatile and can be worn with either the silver or the green faces showing. They’re very similar in style to the golf ball cufflinks designed by Hermès. The connectors are marked with French silver hallmarks and with the mark of an unidentified maker.

Origin: France, ca. 1950. Condition: excellent. Dimensions: faces, 10mm diameter. Weight: 13.7 gr.

An elegant pair of silver double-sided cufflinks by David-Andersen featuring Prussian blue guilloche enamel in a sunburst design encircled with opaque white champlevé enamel. Exposed areas of silver are gilt. The backs are stamped with the David-Anderson mark used 1888-1925.

Origin: Norway, ca. 1920. Condition: excellent; no enamel damage. Dimensions: 9/16” diameter. Weight: 6.6 grams.

A very attractive and early pair of Art Deco silver cufflink from Taxco, Mexico. The square faces are decorated with an applied and incised design faintly suggestive of a stylized butterfly. The faces are connected with simple oval connectors. Each face is marked with pre-World War II marks “Taxco Silver”. Earlier Mexican silver cufflinks with pre-war marks are becoming increasingly difficult to find.

Origin: Mexico, ca. 1930. Condition: excellent, sharp details, all original. Dimensions: 9/16” x 9/16”. Weight: 15.1 grams.

A handsome pair of modernist cufflinks worked as concave silver discs centering collet-set amber cabochons with applied beads to the setting. The amber has a beautiful honey color and an abundance of the highly-prized natural discoid inclusions called “sun spangles”. These are often created by enhancements, but the spangles in this amber are naturally occurring. The toggles are marked “830”.

Origin: Denmark, ca. 1950s. Condition: excellent, nice patina. Size: 13/16” diameter. Weight: 11.5 grams.