Why You Should Embrace Wearing Cufflinks

In the open-air bazaars of Riga, Latvia’s capital, I browsed the stalls, searching for a must-have souvenir from the country: amber, a million-year-old tree resin turned to stone by tremendous geological pressure. It’s the nation’s most emblematic stone, a gem once considered more precious than gold by the Romans and Egyptians. Finally, I saw my score, a pair of cufflinks set with amber ovals glittering with more shades of yellow, orange, and red than the eyes of a Persian cat. It reminded me of a frozen fire, framed with silver. 

I am obsessed with gems and precious metals, but I’m reluctant to wear earrings, bracelets, or necklaces—they just don’t jive with my aesthetic. That’s where cufflinks come in: a masculine accessory for tastefully flaunting gold, silver, and jewels. Most men only wear cufflinks a few times per year, usually with a tuxedo, but this accouterment adds a dressy flourish to all manner of outfits.

On a later trip to Florida, I sat down with fashion guru Mark Russell, the owner of Mark Russell Custom Clothing, an iconic haberdashery in Palm Beach. Mark dons cufflinks every time he wears a suit or blazer, and even occasionally when he puts on jeans. “Cufflinks add pizzazz to both business and casual attire,” Mark told me over Martinis at an al fresco cafe on Palm Beach’s Worth Avenue. “They’re an easy way to make outfits more elegant. Just make sure to invest in a well-tailored dress shirt with French cuffs, button-less sleeves clasped with cufflinks.” 

An armchair historian of American fashion arcana, Mark explained that cufflinks were more fashionable in past eras like the Roaring Twenties but remain a timeless accessory. He pointed out that almost every sharp-dressed playboy of the silver screen wears cufflinks—Don Draper, Tony Stark, and James Bond, to name a few. Like a bespoke suit, cufflinks broadcast confidence, sophistication, and savoir-faire. 

We ordered another drink, and I noticed a dapper gentleman in his sixties step out of an antique Rolls-Royce Phantom V. Two giggling blonde women exited from the passenger side. He lit a cigar with an easy flourish, and I caught a flash of gold on his raised hand—cufflinks. 

A pair of cufflinks from Cartier or Hermès can cost thousands. On the other hand, you don’t have to spend a fortune on them. You can find cufflinks for the price of a six-pack of beer—like the first pair I ever bought, made from Miller High Life bottle caps. Between price extremes, you’ll find sterling silver cufflinks with intricate etchings, cufflinks featuring semi-precious stones like turquoise and chrysocolla, and even cowboy-chic designs. Below are some of our favorites. 

Western wear has exploded in popularity in recent years, thanks in part to Yellowstone’s runaway success. The team at Montana Silversmiths are cowboy craftsmen par excellence. They make the trophy belt buckles for the National Rodeo Finals, the Superbowl of bull-riding. Their cufflinks feature flora and arabesque patterns flawlessly etched into sterling silver squares.

These are cufflinks John Wayne might have proudly worn at his daughter’s wedding, along with a new Stetson and a pair of polished Lucchese boots. I appreciate the versatility of Montana Silversmiths’ cufflinks—they look sharp with both a tuxedo and casual wear.

I met the founder of Hells Canyon Bolo, Nick Bryant, at the Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. Nick is a fascinating hybrid of mountain man and hipster—the type of dude who would be equally at home in Williamsburg as his native Idaho. Nick’s also a gifted artisan, and he travels the continent on his motorcycle in search of semi-precious stones like fire agate, chrysocolla, and turquoise to set in bolo ties, cufflinks, and money clips. The colorful polished stones never fail to add a touch of sartorial flair, and Hells Canyon Bolo offers a lifetime warranty on all products. Before parting ways with Nick in the Nevada desert, I scooped up some of his fire agate cufflinks—whorls of red and orange reminiscent of a winter sunset over the Sawtooth Mountains.

Connoisseurs instantly recognize the craftsmanship of David Yurman, a fabled New York City jeweler in the same echelon as Tiffany & Co. Most of the designer’s jewelry is well beyond my budget, but the cufflinks are surprisingly affordable. The styles vary—delicate silver coils, polished onyx, acanthus leaves—but all add understated flourish to a tuxedo. I wear my David Yurman cufflinks for special occasions like a wedding or black-tie dinner.

Add a dash of Southern charm to your wardrobe with cufflinks from Brackish, a company based out of Charleston, South Carolina. Brackish makes whimsical neckwear, hat pins, and cufflinks featuring ornately patterned bird feathers. While most of my cufflinks are metallic, my quirky pheasant feather cufflinks from Brackish are my go-to pair for less formal occasions or outdoor events. Pair them with a seersucker jacket or linen blazer for a full dose of Southern cavalier swagger. 

My grandfather gave me a pair of Brooks Brothers love knot cufflinks as a college graduation gift. Brooks Brothers reigns supreme in the realm of luxury preppy attire, and the love knots, thin cables of silver or gold intricately woven together, are an all-American classic. These are too fancy to wear with jeans or khakis, but they are the piece-de-resistance of any black tie get-up.

Gem is an online luxury consignment store selling shoes, jewelry, and vintage clothing. You can find luxury cufflinks—some lightly used, others brand new—on Gem.app for a fraction of their retail price. Gem.app’s selection of cufflinks is huge, too. Buying second-hand cufflinks makes a lot of sense, too: Unlike clothing, cufflinks can keep their luster for decades, even generations, with proper care.