Thursday, December 11, 2008

Expensive Cufflinks

I've been trying desperately to figure out what I'll give my sweetie for Christmas. Among other ideas, I thought a nice pair of cufflinks would be a good idea, and probably relatively inexpensive. I happened to pass by Paul Smith yesterday, and thought, ooh, I'll bet they have some snazzy cufflinks. Now, I knew Paul Smith is not cheap. But I thought in this economy pretty much everyone is trying to appeal to the price conscious consumer, right? Well... not so much.
The Paul Smith cufflinks started at about $125 a pair, much like the ones listed on their website here. But most of their selection was actually $200 and up... and they even had some that were about $600!
For some reason the idea of spending $600 on cufflinks just blew my mind. I suppose many people wouldn't consider $600 an outrageous amount for an item of jewelry like a ring or a necklace, but cufflinks seem so much lower-profile! And it wasn't like the $600 ones were encrusted with emeralds or anything...
I personally have never spent more than $200 on a piece of jewelry, for myself or as a gift. And that level of spending is rare-- in my whole life I've probably only spent under $500 on jewelry for myself, not counting watches. But that's me-- I wear jewelry, but I'm just not that into it, and my favorite things are simple pieces. I'm sure many other women would have a totally different perspective on this topic!
Meanwhile, anyone have any ideas for where to buy nice cufflinks?

23 comments:

frugal zeitgeist said...

I have seen some nice ones in the window at Pink. Don't know how much they cost, though. I bought a nice pair at Saks for my ex-husband as a wedding gift, but that was in 1999.

Anonymous said...

Try themissinglinknyc.com

Nothing fancy to think of .. said...

amazon.com and overstock.com if you are set on cuff links.

As a guy .. I don't wear shirts that require cuff links. I don't know what your sweetie does for a living, if he wears suits all day, wearing shirts that have the holes for cuff links, are more expensive than traditional ones with the buttons on them.

To each their own. My mother purchased a pair of cuff links for my father as a wedding present. They were gold, with diamonds in the center of each. Just match what kind of jewelry they wear. I wear both gold and silver. My medical necklace is silver, my class ring is yellow gold, and my other ring is white gold with yellow gold around the edges. So I wear it all :)

Anonymous said...

Links of London or Brooks Brothers.

Anonymous said...

Etsy.com - search for cuff links

uncommongoods.com - search for cuff links

Also, look at museum stores, beautiful stuff and at least if you end up spending a mint on the cuff links it will help support the institution.

Anonymous said...

Walmart........... :)

Okay, okay, I'm kidding.

I wouldn't spend $600 on cufflinks if I was a billionaire.

Anonymous said...

Banana Republic had some a couple of weeks ago.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I can't deal with expensive jewelry. I'd just be afraid of losing or damaging it, and thus, would basically never wear it. I pick up lovely rings, earrings, etc. from street fairs, Target and places like Claire's.

To each their own, of course -- I'm just so prone to losing things that I categorically avoid expensive versions of everyday things (not just jewelry, but things like pens and cellphones are definitely in this category too).

Anonymous said...

Years ago I bought my then-boyfriend, now-husband a pair of silver and onyx cufflinks at Tiffany's. I can't remember what I paid, but I can't imagine it was over $250, probably somewhere around $175. I just didn't have much money back then. It was an expensive gift on my budget. He really liked them, and he still wears them.

I think cufflinks are pretty sexy; about the only item of adornment on men that I consider so. Other jewelry on men is a big turnoff for me.

Anonymous said...

I was into cuff-links for a while. I bought a few pair from Ebay.

I was more interested in getting unusual and antique rather than new name brand cuff-links.

I love the ones I purchase and I would recommend Ebay. Be careful of the name-brands though. They are probably forgeries.

Anonymous said...

check out brooks brothers, they have lots in the $95-$125 range.

there are a bunch of websites, one even named cufflinks.com

i personally have a set of basic sterling silver knots. the rest are silk knots.

FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com said...

I could never buy or wear expensive jewelry either *gasps at price*

Especially for CUFFLINKS!

Anonymous said...

The MOMA gift store, Metropolitan Gift Store, and Red Envelope ha gorgeous Murano glass ones for $30.

Anonymous said...

Takashimaya, the department store on 5th Ave has a nice selection on their men's floor for around $100.

Gord said...

How about an estate jewelry store or maybe a pawn shop? Why does it have to be new? recycle!

Anonymous said...

Definitely check out www.cuffart.com

I hope my son will grow up to enjoy the occasional wearing of cuff links. I agree with the above poster who finds all other forms of male jewelry to be a real turnoff. Jewelry and body art; ugh. But a crisp cotton shirt, french cuffs, and cuff links -- now that's sexy.

Someday my son will inherit his dad's leather valet tray. The perfect place for his cuff links ;-) Or he could store them in the leather jewelry box that used to be my grandfather's.

Hope you find just the right pair of cuff links for your sweetie.

frugal zeitgeist said...

I am a HUGE fan of cufflinks for women, by the way. I had a wonderful work shirt with French cuffs (very uncommon for women as far as I know), and I just loved it to death. I was very sad when it turned out not to be such a good shirt and the material just flat out ripped.

Unknown said...

There is cuff-daddy.com and they are having a 60% off sale.
or cufflinks.com or linkyourshirt.

hope this helps

Anonymous said...

uncommongoods.com

or a pawn shop!

MLE said...

Blue Nile!! www.bluenile.com And be sure to Google for some discount codes -- they usually have some promotion going.

I have purchased monogrammed cufflinks and several other pieces from Blue Nile, and all of it has been really awesome and totally affordable.

Anonymous said...

I like jewelry, but most are cheap with the exception of some nice silver jewelry. But cheap jewelry doesn't last and silver tarnishes easily as well. Depending on the shape, it's not easy to clean them. So in the future, I would like more white gold or platinum. Which does not come cheap, but it'd be worth it to me if they lasted for decades.

S said...

I could never wear a pair of cufflinks that are more expensive than the shoes on my feet and my shoes are not usually that cheap either!

Unknown said...

i m agree with u doctor s

thanks,

Silver Cufflinks