Enamel cufflinks? Sterling silver or metal

[chorse123]

For those of you who wear enamel cufflinks, do you care if they are sterling silver?

I'm thinking about getting a bunch of English enamel cufflinks for Howard Yount, but am faced with a choice of sterling silver or metal. The metal links are very nice, and would be considerably less expensive than the silver, although still retailing somewhere from $100-$150 range. The sterling silver are rather luxurious, but would be much pricier. Something makes me think sinking a lot of money into stocking a real luxury item might not be so wise given the economy.

 

[dopey]

I love enamel on sterling and wouldn't buy a base metal pair, but don't spend money based on my opinion.

 

[whnay.]

Whatever material you use just make sure they are double-sided.

 

[Metlin]

Why only sterling silver?

There are enamel links that use other metals (e.g. titanium, brass, gold & platinum) that look a whole lot better than sterling silver.

 

[zarathustra]

i voted silver and enamel but i do have to echo your sentiments Chorse. If i were actually paying for it, i would probably buy the metal and enamel if they were unique.

 

[Holdfast]

If the enamelling is nice, and they're double-sided, those factors would override precious metals issues.

 

[Lear]

I'm up to four pairs of sterling silver & enamel links. They're all from the 1920's -1940's era. Two of the pairs were £15, the others £20. All bought at a London market within the last year, and vastly superior to your £100 links available today.

When polished, sterling silver against enamel or mother-of-pearl looks beautiful. I also think that double sided are much classier.

Go vintage and get high quality links at a fraction of the price.

 

[kaxixi]

Voted silver, but don't expect them to sell fast. Do it only if you are sufficiently liquid that you can afford to let the investment sit in your closet without substantially affecting your ability to purchase other items.

 

[Manton]

Metal, definitely. Sterling tarnishes badly. My favorite links are sterling, but they are plain. Polishing enamel is a pain.

That said, I love enamel links, so get some nice ones!

 

[erdavis]

Originally Posted by whnay.

Whatever material you use just make sure they are double-sided.

+1

 

[ManofKent]

Originally Posted by erdavis

+1

+1

 

[rdawson808]

I would prefer sterling--it simply looks nicer.

BUT, my budget cannot afford sterling and enamel usually, so I say base metal is fine.

Aren't you in NYC or nearby? Go check out Missing Link. He has amazing stuff.

edit: Sorry, I didn't read your entire post. I would never spend $100 on a pair of base metal enamel links. No way, no how. You can find them much cheaper--and if you're lucky, you can stumble upon sterling for that price (or less).


b

 

[erdavis]

Originally Posted by rdawson808

I would prefer sterling--it simply looks nicer.

Go check out Missing Link. He has amazing stuff.

b

+1

http://www.missinglinknyc.com/

Good place, but only open Fri/Sat/Sun. It is an tiny store in the bottom of an antique mall, however he has cufflinks of cheap to expensive stacked everywhere neatly.

 

[chorse123]

Originally Posted by rdawson808

I would never spend $100 on a pair of base metal enamel links. No way, no how. You can find them much cheaper--and if you're lucky, you can stumble upon sterling for that price (or less).
There's the rub. Quality links are expensive. Good deals can be found on the secondary market, but not everyone is as talented at finding them as you. I know you've been buying them for a while. The ones I'm considering are hand made in England. That is an expensive proposition, especially if they are double sided--twice the work. Add precious metals to the mix and the retail price climbs closer to $300 a pair, or more. EDIT: I think it's interesting to see how divergent the opinions are here.

 

[voxsartoria]

I do not wear base metal links, so I would have to go with at least sterling.


- B