FAmily CHUNKY CUFFLINKS

The brief:

A request to recreate a treasured pair of cufflinks that had been misplaced. My client gave me a sketch and asked for highly polished, chunky cufflinks with a rigid arm and back.

Along with the pair for himself to replace the ones that he had misplaced, I also made a pair for another family member.

This commission commenced during COVID-19 lockdown and so we initally meet via Zoom meetings.

THE MAKING

As my client wanted the cufflinks chunky I suggested they should be cast.

I created moulds of the initials that he wanted (luckily they both worked well in the oval shape!) and then hand cast them using Delft Clay. This technique can give some great textures but is also a little experimental.

Each cufflink was made from three hand cut pieces which were then soldered together. I put tiny silver pins in to locate the pieces.

I used binding wire to secure the cufflink in place while I soldered the cuff arm in place.

The cufflinks in the barrel polisher

You can see the cufflink backs with their Hallmarks. We went for display marks which are larger than normal and make a decorative feature of the hallmark.