In 1876, David Andersen established a silver smithy and retail store in Christiana (now Oslo). His early items were well made, well designed (mainly Nordic themes and generally made in 830 silver). The business passed to his son Arthur on David’s death in 1901. Arthur, who was the major designer for the firm, was responsible for the introduction of the use of enamel and upgrading most pieces to sterling silver. The Andersens controlled the firm for generations with a love of designing silver pieces made for adding enamel.

Some of the finest Scandinavian enamel work comes from this company. The company made many various cuff links, both in just a silver design and in enamel. The most noted enamel design is the four seasons, where the underlying cuff link is the same, but the enamel work denotes the four seasons; mainly blue for spring; green for summer; browns for fall and white and black for winter.

For the last hundred years, the marks for David-Andersen were either the complete hyphenated name or just the hyphenated initials D-A with later pieces also included a scales mark. Earlier pieces were marked in a variety of manners: with the name fully spelled out David Andersen, with the first initial and complete last name, D. Andersen and with just the initials D.A. Sometimes neither name nor initials appeared and only an early makers mark that depicted the forging tongs and hammer (not being a smith, it looks like a skinny Victorian lampshade with fringe). Highly sought after by collectors are the firm’s enamel pieces and the very early pieces. This is one maker that had a focus on export to the United States, so it is probably easier to collect vintage and antique David-Andersen pieces here than in Norway.

David Anderson Cufflinks

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Adwin Ang

http://www.adwinang.com
Cufflinks buying, exclusive interview from experts & information resource site!

Let’s look at some of the exclusive cufflinks that once made popular by cufflinkers!

Leonore Doskow Cuff Links

Leonore Doskow opened her jewelry studio in Philadelphia in the early 1930s where she developed an affluent and celebrity-laden clientele. The studio was relocated to New York City in 1936 and then to Montrose, New York in the 1960s, where it is still located. Leonore did all the designing for the firm while the business operations were first handled by her husband David and now by David, Jr.

The firm still makes cuff links, with a focus on initialed pieces, well designed silver and gold pieces as well as sports related pieces. http://pages.captainhucksbooty.com/3559/PictPage/1920704070.html or if you are into American football, try to find their current silver and gold football which is well made and one of the best looking pieces of football jewelry I’ve ever seen.

In addition to the sporting and basic designs, Leonore produced many unusual and whimsical pieces. She did pieces resembling the Arts and Crafts school http://pages.captainhucksbooty.com/3559/PictPage/1920704071.html as well being an early user of overlays on silver for the animal lover. http://pages.captainhucksbooty.com/3559/PictPage/1920704063.html

Leonore Doskow is a quality American jewelry maker that has had a broad distribution. Which means that you have a good chance of finding good wearing pieces at yard sales and flea markets. Collect her rarer pieces and enjoy wearing the others, especially if you are into sports.

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Hans Hansen Cuff Links

 

This pair of vintage Danish Hans Hansen sterling cufflinks typifies
what is expected from the best of Scandanavian design: bold, simple
beautifully conceived and executed. Marked “925SHaH DENMARK.”

Hans Hansen open a goldsmith shop and smithy in 1906 in Kolding, Denmark, where he had been trained as a silversmith at C.M. Cohr which was well know for its flatware. Hans Hansen slowly became one of the premier silverware and jewelry firms in Denmark. Almost all of the initial designs were by Hans Hansen. His son, Karl Gustav Hansen was the next major designer for the Hansen firm. Karl Gustav, similar to many of the major Danish jewelry designers was, in addition to being trained as a silversmith, was trained as a sculptor. I believe that the training of so many Danish silversmiths had in the fine arts certainly raised the overall design quality of the Danish pieces through at least World War II. Unfortunately, there, as well as most places, the cross over of fine arts to either applied arts or sciences seems to have been relegated to the “who cares” let’s do business mentality.

The sculptural Hansen cuff links are considerably different from the pieces originated by the Georg Jensen smithy. Generally, the Hansen pieces are more geometric as opposed to being derived from nature. Balls in a cup http://pages.captainhucksbooty.com/3559/PictPage/1920869450.html is particularly interesting when compared with the Jensen florals. I feel that the quality of Hansen pieces from the 1960s-80s were the best being produced (in bulk) in Denmark. The pieces were cleanly done, well designed and solid, http://pages.captainhucksbooty.com/3559/PictPage/1920703974.html.

Hans Hansen pieces generally have as a makers mark a superimposed double “H.” Some later pieces may have the name fully spelled out and certain pieces from the “Future” line, designed by Karl Gustav, were marked HaH.

Hans Hansen was taken over by the Royal Copenhagen group in the early 1990s. While the Hans Hansen name has disappeared, many of its designs are still being produced under Royal Copenhagen’s premier silver name Georg Jensen. Certainly, the addition of the Hansen geometric sculptural pieces was a great complementary addition to the softer Jensen natural lines. While I hate to see great design companies disappear, it is nice when their best designs have a chance to live on outside of the history book or museum.

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Figural Cuff Links

Sammy Davis Jr. Cuff Links
Sammy Davis Jr. Rat Pack cufflinks

Greek and Roman Venus De Milo Aphrodite Cuff Links

Soul Musician Ray Charles Cuff Links Ray Charles Pianist Cufflinks

Clark Gable Cuff Links Clark Gable Gone with the Wind cufflinks

I enjoy figural cuff links as they range from Greco-Roman classics done as cameos, from hardstone http://pages.captainhucksbooty.com/3559/PictPage/903295.htmlto Wedgwood http://pages.captainhucksbooty.com/3559/PictPage/1920709692.html or italios through the Art Nouveau period devils and ladies http://pages.captainhucksbooty.com/3559/PictPage/1921020567.html continuing through Marilyn Monroe and the Vargas girls as well as many 1960’s cuff links that are currently frowned upon due to their now politically incorrect postures.

Beyond the basic figural are the more whimsical pieces that are my favorites. Whether they are based on mythology http://pages.captainhucksbooty.com/3559/PictPage/903263.htmlor the aggravations of sports. http://pages.captainhucksbooty.com/3559/PictPage/903367.html (yes, this is my favorite pair I have for sale — they resemble how I feel on the golf course — and, if not sold this year, will be my Christmas present to myself). Figurals are always fun to wear and they almost always invite comments, and depending on the piece itself, may lead to quite a discussion.

Special thanks to TIAS.com - http://captainhucksbooty.com
for allowing me to re-publish the articles here.

Adwin Ang

http://www.adwinang.com
Cufflinks buying, exclusive interview from experts & information resource site!

This is the first article in a series about American silver/goldsmiths.

At the end of World War II, Ed Weiner was part of a group of influential silver/goldsmiths based in Greenwich Village. These jewelry makers, together with a few others in upstate New York and Northern California reestablished American studio jewelry artistry dormant since the end of the Arts and Crafts period of the early 1900s.

Weiner did not limit himself to those individuals that would venture to Greenwich Village he also entered the mainstream with a store on 53rd Street. While the more adventuresome pieces remained downtown, the midtown location did introduce modern jewelry to many people that felt Greenwich Village was just too Bohemian to explore.

Probably because of the midtown store, Weiner produced more cuff links than his contemporaries. He produced them, as he produced his full range of jewelry, in various styles ranging from what some critics have described as cubism http://pages.captainhucksbooty.com/3559/PictPage/1921788809.html (I prefer to think of these pieces as a cross between Arts & Crafts and Art Deco) to pieces that are just plain fun http://pages.captainhucksbooty.com/3559/PictPage/1921788808.html.

Contrary to his own proclamations, I do not believe wearing his cuff links proclaims an affinity with modern art. However, when I wear his cuff links, I am saying that I enjoy unique, well designed and well made pieces that have an artist’s flair. Which may be an affinity to art, just not necessarily to modern art?

Georg Jensen Cuff Links

This is the first in a series of articles regarding foreign producers of quality cuff links. Georg Jensen is probably the most widely known silversmith, (there are also some wonderful gold pieces to be found). However, I start with this company, not solely because of its visibility, but rather, because it made cuff links from the very beginning and still produces some cuff links that were actually designed by Georg Jensen http://pages.captainhucksbooty.com/3559/PictPage/1921699544.html (a Jensen designed manufactured in the early 1950s).

Georg Jensen grew up in a small Danish town where his father worked in a flatware factory. Georg’s first job was at that flatware factory where he produced models. Probably in order to further their son’s career, the family moved to Copenhagen where Georg was apprenticed to a goldsmith. As was common at the time, Georg also attended a technical school to broaden his artistic training. He started sculpting at that school and three years after he had received his journeyman’s certificate as a goldsmith he was accepted as a sculpture student at the Royal Academy of Art. He gained notice as a sculptor and later as a ceramic designer, but found that he could not support himself or his family in those artistic endeavors and returned to making jewelry.

Georg Jensen jewelry clearly shows that it was made by a sculpture silversmith. He also stressed individual artistry and contrary to most workrooms of the time, other designers for the firm were able to sign their designs. Many of Jensen designers had the same broad artistic training as Georg Jensen with some already being recognized as fine artists prior to joining the Jensen firm.

When purchasing Georg Jensen cuff links, one needs to look at the marks on the pieces to determine when they were made and if one of the major designers created the piece. Another way to determine age is in the workmanship and how the cuff link is put together. Jensen’s earliest cuff links had a chain connector. You will find pieces from the 30s where there is a solid connector with the back piece attached to swivel http://pages.captainhucksbooty.com/3559/PictPage/1921149467.html. In the 40s Jensen started using what I consider the Danish swivel which is much easier to use than the type from the 30s and is still used by Jensen and most Scandinavian firms. Cuff links from the late 40s and 50s are generally fully finished while the more modern pieces just having a plain back. http://pages.captainhucksbooty.com/3559/PictPage/903310.html

Georg Jensen is now part of the Royal Copenhagen group that still emphasizes design and quality in all its areas. Please note that some of the designs being produced did not originate with the Jensen Company as Royal Copenhagen has acquired other fine Danish silversmiths and have merged those acquisitions into the Georg Jensen Company.

Also note that the Danish pewter cuff links made by Jorgen Jensen have no relationship to the Georg Jensen Company. Yes, Georg did have a son Jorgen, however, Georg’s son always worked as a silversmith, both on his own and in the Georg Jensen Workroom.
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Helpful Resources

The best book on Jensen is “Georg Jensen a Tradition of Splendid Silver” by Janet Drucker, published by Schiffer. The Druckers are the premier Jensen dealer here in the U.S. When you speak with any of them, you know that they love what they sell. The book lists the major Jensen artists, the specific artists marks as well as the variety of maker’s marks used by the Georg Jensen Company. This book is a must for any Jensen collector, but may be too much for a cuff link collector with just a couple pair of Jensen cuff links.

There are other more general books that provide some of the maker’s mark information on Georg Jensen. “Warmans Jewelry: A Fully Illustrated Price Guide to 19th and 20th Century Jewelry, Including Victorian, Art Nouveau and Costume (2nd Ed.)” by Christine Romero provides a broad view of many jewelry areas and should be part of any fine vintage/antique jewelry collector’s library. “Collectible Silver Jewelry Identification and Value Guide” by Fred Rezazadeh, published by Collectors Books is extremely well done and easy to use and a must for anyone owning a broad range of silver cuff links.

There are many books on Studio gold/silver smiths. One of the best for a historical prospective on American jewelers is Susan Grant Lewin’s “One of a Kind American Art Jewelry Today” published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Others such as “Contemporary American Jewelry Design” by Ettagale Blauer, published by Chapman and Hall and “The New Jewelry Trends + Tradition” by Peter Dormer and Ralph Turner, published by Thames and Hudson focus on the craft and individual artists. All these books should be of interest to Cuff Linkers interested in studio pieces; however, I would not recommend adding these books to your library unless your collection (or that of your significant other) focuses on contemporary studio jewelry artists.

Special thanks to TIAS.com

Adwin Ang

http://www.adwinang.com
Cufflinks buying, exclusive interview from experts & information resource site!