A Story of Cuff Links

As the name implies, cuff link is used on the cuff of shirts. Usually they will be used in some formal occasions. An European gentleman once said that in a formal occasion, a gentleman should only wear a wedding ring, a watch and cuff links. From this you can see how much people cares about the cuff links in formal wears.

There is another joke that if you always wear cuff links, you must have a gentle and caring wife. This is because unlike pendant necklace or other accessories, most cuff links are hard to wear by oneself. In ancient times, the nobles will have servant help them. In modern society, the most possible person who help you wear cuff links every day can only be your wife. In this way, if you are single but you wear cuff links every day, that will be strange.

There are many types of cuff links. Bullet back & toggle closure cufflinks are the most common ones. This cuff link is easy to wear because you only have to thread the “bullet” part through the buttonhole and then rotate it to fix it on the cuff. Thus you can absolutely wear it by yourself even if you are single. Similar ones like whale back closure cufflinks can also be seen frequently. But the difference is that the design of the latter one will usually be a little more complicated.

The most traditional cuff links are chain link cufflinks. They are believed to be the ancestor of all other cuff links and is widely acknowledged as the most elegant ones. Usually the design of these cuff links are more special and complicated. The two parts are linked together with jewelry chain so either wearing or loosing it by oneself is hard. Now as the joke said, you will need a gentle and caring wife. And although it is a joke, cuff link is still a symbol of men’s good etiquette and upbringing, especially in financial industry and royal families.