The cufflink has always been associated with the upper echelon of most societies. According to the National Cufflink Society, this sign of high fashion and power has decorated the pharaohs of Egypt, Noblemen of Greece and the modern high powered executives of Wall Street. According to national records, in the late 1700's is approximately when buttons became less fashionable and manufacturers started cutting slits into the cuffs of dress shirts. The modern day names for these shirts are French cuff.

What You Didn't Know About Cufflinks:

1. Patricia and Gene Klompus founded The National Cufflink Society which is now based in Vernon Hills, IL.
2. The Tour a' Guilloche machine was the first machine with the ability to mass produce cufflink in the 18th century.
3. In the 1840's the middle class adopted the use of cufflinks but couldn't afford "precious metal" cufflinks and used fake gold plates and diamonds
4. In the 1920's enamel cufflinks were the most popular and are a highly valued and collectible item today.
5. In the 1880's George Krementz patented a war shell cartridge machine that was converted to mass produce cufflinks and the American cufflink industry was born.
6. In the 1960's Swank Inc. was the largest producer of cufflinks and the industry produced 2 million per year, now only about 200,000 are produced annually.
7. The world's largest cufflink museum is in Conway, New Hampshire displaying over 70,000 pairs of cufflinks.
8. The most expensive pair of cufflinks ever sold was at a high profile antique auction. The cufflinks sold for $440,000 and were once King Edward VIII's.

As you can see, cufflinks have been around for quite a while but it seems that their impact throughout history never diminishes. Whether a compliment to your profession, a date or fashionable gala, choosing the right type of cufflink is of the utmost importance to the kind of signals you want to send to others. Men make the suits and shirts but cufflinks make the impression.