This is the ranking, and only the ranking. For where cufflinks came from, the sleeve buttons of the seventeenth century, the king who made them fashionable and the shirt that made them universal, read A Short History of the Cufflink, which is the companion to this page.
Ordered on craft first: what is made by hand, where, and to what standard. Price bands are for a typical pair from each house and move a great deal with materials.
| Maker | Known for | Materials | Typical pair | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Deakin & FrancisBirmingham · est. 1786 | England’s oldest family jeweller, seven generations in the same Jewellery Quarter workshop. Hand engraving and enamel done properly, and a streak of wit no other heritage house allows itself.Buy if: You buy one great pair for life | Sterling, gold, hand-fired enamel | $300–$1,500 |
| 02 | Codis MayaBritain · est. 1987 | The master of true vitreous enamel, real melted glass rather than resin. A single pair can take three months, spread across specialist craftspeople all over Britain.Buy if: Colour is what you care about | Vitreous enamel, silver, gold | $250–$900 |
| 03 | CartierParis · est. 1847 | The house that made cufflinks a statement rather than a fastening. Santos screws, Trinity bands, Panthère, made to jewellery standards rather than accessory standards.Buy if: It must also hold its value | 18k gold, platinum, stones | $1,500–$10,000+ |
| 04 | Tiffany & Co.New York · est. 1837 | Responsible for more first pairs than anyone. The sterling knot is a genuine classic, and the Schlumberger and Peretti designs are where it gets serious.Buy if: It is a gift, or a first pair | Sterling, 18k gold | $250–$3,000 |
| 05 | Jan LeslieNew York | The most inventive house working today. Hand-finished, an enormous material range, and witty without ever tipping into novelty.Buy if: You want character, not a logo | Semi-precious stone, enamel, mother of pearl | $150–$600 |
| 06 | Begüm KhanIstanbul | The most original work in the category. Ottoman and Anatolian motifs, lions and scarabs and evil eyes, at a fraction of what Paris charges for far less imagination.Buy if: Nobody else should have them | 24k gold plate over bronze, hand-set stones | $400–$1,200 |
| 07 | DunhillLondon · est. 1893 | The best-judged English option after Deakin. Architectural and clean, gunmetal and silver, with a strong line in pieces referencing the house’s motoring history.Buy if: Obviously good, quietly so | Sterling, gunmetal, palladium | $250–$900 |
| 08 | HalloweenPine Street, PhiladelphiaNo website · 1329 Pine St · (215) 732-7711 | The vintage answer, and the best room in the category. Henri David’s shop keeps its own hours, is best visited by appointment, and is stacked with estate pieces you will find nowhere else.Buy if: You want more for less, done older | Antique onyx, enamel, carved stone | $100–$800 |
| 09 | Stefano RicciFlorence | The most opulent cufflinks made anywhere, and unapologetic about it. Deeply sculptural, frequently the house eagle. Sold through the boutiques rather than a published price list, and the spread between a silver pair and a gold-and-diamond one is enormous.Buy if: The rest of the outfit is Ricci | Sterling, 18k gold, sapphire | On request |
| 10 | KonstantinoAthens | Hand-forged in Greece, Byzantine in feeling and heavy in the hand. Reads as jewellery rather than accessory, with a texture no machine finish achieves.Buy if: Obvious craft, zero branding | Hand-forged sterling, 18k gold | $400–$1,500 |
Price bands are indicative for a standard pair and exclude high jewellery, limited editions and stone-set commissions. Stefano Ricci does not publish cufflink prices, so it is listed on request rather than given a band I could not stand behind. Vintage and estate pieces from any of these houses typically trade well below the figures above.
The backs, in brief
The fitting matters more than the face, and it is the one thing photographs of cufflinks never show you. Here they are, drawn through a cuff.
| Fitting | How it works | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bullet back | A small cylinder pivots crosswise through the cuff, then turns flat. | The sensible default. Easy one-handed. | |
| Whale back | A flat, broader flip-toggle. | Easiest of all to fasten, least elegant from behind. | |
| Chain link | Two decorative faces joined by a short chain, so both sides show a finished face. | Evening and black tie. The most correct form. | |
| Fixed backing | A solid, non-moving post with a decorative back. | The most beautiful object, the hardest to put on. | |
| Silk knots | Two woven silk balls on a cord, costing a few dollars. | Summer, and men who already own the serious pairs. |
Also worth knowing
Three houses did not fit the ranking above and are worth your attention anyway.
King Baby in Los Angeles is the rock and roll answer, and it is a serious workshop rather than a costume shop. Mitchell Binder apprenticed as a jeweller at fifteen and launched the house in 2000, and everything is handmade in America in its own .925 sterling. Skulls with garnet eyes, the MB cross, wings, lions, sheriff stars, from about a hundred dollars up to a slash cross in silver, 18k gold and diamonds at close to eighteen hundred. If the ten above feel too well behaved, start here.
Spivey for one-of-a-kind pieces built around antique fragments, and Lagos for a Philadelphia take on the caviar-beaded silver and gold pairing that has become its own signature.
Three rules
Match the metal to your watch, not to your belt. Silver or white metal with steel, gold with gold. This is the one rule that makes a pair look chosen rather than merely owned.
Chain link for evening. With a dinner suit it should be a chain link or fixed back in a dark stone. Bullet backs are fine and nobody will comment, but chain links let the cuff sit rounder and show a finished face on both sides.
Start with vintage. A modest sum at an estate jeweller buys a better-made object than the same money spent new, and three old pairs will teach you more about what you actually like than one new one.
Also worth knowing: the auction houses, where the truly exceptional pieces, Fabergé, Van Cleef and Cartier from the 1920s and 1930s, actually change hands.
Whatever Suits You · Style. Sound. Substance.