Am I crazy for liking these cufflinks?

[Metlin]

Fantastic looking ones! I'd love to get something like them.

Simply breathtaking.

 

[whacked]

FWIW, from our in-house cufflink connoisseur:

Originally Posted by Kent Wang

Someone emailed me this from Etsy so I assume you two are both reading the same Digg-like site.

Frankly, I think they're terrible. They're not steampunk in anyway as the seller claims. Plus they're gigantic (2/3 inch, 20 mm) and one-sided. Perhaps the most important reason why double-sided links are superiour is that it places a limitation on how large each side can be. Any jackass can find a huge cog wheel, coin, subway token, etc. and solder on a toggle and call it a cuff link.
http://www.styleforum.net/showpost.p...&postcount=422

 

[Collector23]

Not to my taste, but if you like it I say go for it.

 

[Lel]

The more I look at them, the less I like them and I was initially almost ecstatic. I like the concept, but the execution could be better. I'll be waiting, bespoke cuff links anyone?

EDIT: Oops I thought the ones on page 3 were the same ones in the OP. I really dislike the page 3 ones, mostly because they look like they're glued onto dirty bottle caps. But still, I think they'd be better if they were a.) double decided b.) smaller c.) maybe a little bit more simple and d.) included a small amount of simple movement, but that's just me.

 

[JoeWoah]

There are lots of artists on Etsy making "steampunk" cuff links, but mine are smaller than a dime and almost as thin, so I have no idea how anyone could say they are too big!

No offense, but the cuff expert doesn't know what he's talking about on these cuffs. Maybe he was looking at someone else's pair or they're not his taste, but his post is factually incorrect.

 

[Kent Wang]

My post was about the ones linked in that thread, about much larger links by the same seller.

I still stand by the one-sided issue.

 

[CharlesAlexander]

I love those, and I am a huge cufflink nerd.

 

[dl20]

I dont like them personally. From a distance I doubt people will know what they are looking at.

I also dont know what the hell a "steampunk" is or why you keep saying it lol

dl

 

[JoeWoah]

Originally Posted by Kent Wang

My post was about the ones linked in that thread, about much larger links by the same seller.

I still stand by the one-sided issue.

That's what I thought. I wouldn't like them if they were much bigger either.

I don't own any double-sided cuff links like the one on your avatar, just silk cuffs and a pair of Tiffany silver knots my g/f bought me, but I'll look into them. To be honest you don't really see them too often in stores.

Originally Posted by dl20

From a distance I doubt people will know what they are looking at.

Yeah, that's one of the reason why I got them. I wanted something different with a novelty appeal, but I didn't want anything big and tacky. I gesture a lot when I speak, so in closer quarters they might get attention... but if they don't, I still like them.

On the upside, they'll go with just about anything I wear and almost everywhere I go.

I also dont know what the hell a "steampunk" is or why you keep saying it lol

No, these cuff links aren't Steampunk. If they were, every watch would be Steampunk... but I can see how and why someone would try to use it to market them. I won't fault them for that. If they weren't from a watch and were actually put together by the artist and was bigger with more grandiosely styled gearing then maybe I could see it.

From Wikipedia:

Steampunk is a subgenre of fantasy and speculative fiction which came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used"”usually the 19th century, and often set in Victorian era England"”but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date. Other examples of steampunk contain alternate history-style presentations of "the path not taken" of such technology as dirigibles or analog computers; these frequently are presented in an idealized light, or a presumption of functionality.

Steampunk is often associated with cyberpunk and shares a similar fanbase and theme of rebellion, but developed as a separate movement (though both have considerable influence on each other). Apart from time period and level of technological development, the main difference between cyberpunk and steampunk is that steampunk settings usually tend to be less obviously dystopian than cyberpunk, or lack dystopian elements entirely.

Maybe the small watch movements on there own, missing the rest of watch denotes a dystopian end of life? Maybe if the movement was grungier looking... but it's too clean and pretty for that. Besides, I just like the links (and some stuff from the steampunk movement is pretty cool too) but I'm not going to wax philosophically on any of it.

 

[Film Noir Buff]

Those cufflinks are an example of what "city lads" would wear in London with a jacket and tie.

 

[thetieguy]

I happen to like them. I would get them if I were you. Wear them proudly and don't worry about what others think.

 

[Geoff Gander]

I have to admit I quite like those links! Gimmicky, yes, but fun as well. I wouldn't mind getting a set myself for more casual occasions.

Geoff