Hand-Made Cufflinks from a Parisian Artisan

Paris-based designer Samuel Gassmann became a cufflink maker by accident.

He began his career as an art curator, overseeing exhibitions at Art Basel Miami Beach and Saatchi & Saatchi. In 2007, he set out to make a documentary investigating the original purposes of men’s clothing, with a specific focus on the history of the button. After six months researching and studying it, buttons became an object of fascination and lef Gassmann to reinterpret this simple part of a man's wardrobe into simple and tasteful accessories made of noble materials : he started his line of cufflinks soon after.

Gassmann assembles the cufflinks himself in his Paris studio and draws on the specific skills of artisans throughout France for the various materials he uses - for example the mother-of-pearl cabochons are handmade in Méru, in the North of France, global capital of nacre (mother-of-pearl) and the site of much button-making history.

Samuel Gassmann cufflinks are made of enamelled porcelain, mother-of-pearl or genuine horn, with links made of sterling silver or bronze. Many of the shapes draw on traditional men's clothing elements such as the shirt button or fabric textures.