Elegant Oriental vintage cufflinks mother of retailer pearl Swank Oriental Dynasty Collection offered by Vintage Men's Swag lot ut-1

Of impeccable design and manufacture, this set of Swank Oriental Dynasty cufflinks will be an elegant wardrobe accessory for any guy.

Comprised of squares of mother of pearl engraved with what to me looks like a Japanese building (and others see a face), mounted in a complementary-styled frame. I've seen these in original boxes (don't I wish I had the box for these!) and those boxes indicated that these were made of "imported hand-carved pearl". Very cool! Even without the box, you will love to wear and own this set!

With the typical Swank trademark, this set is in very good to near mint condition.

Collection, if any: Oriental Dynasty

Date, estimate or known: c. 1959

Condition: very good to near mint

Metal color: gold tone

Metal composition: alloy

Stone or decorative addition composition: mother of pearl

Brand information: SWANK Inc

The “King” of brands in the vintage men's costume jewelry game, Swank has a long history as well as high name recognition. The company began as Attleboro Manufacturing Company in Attleboro, MA in 1897, by Samuel Stone and Maurice Baer, making women's jewelry. Men's jewelry was added in 1908, and during World War I the company produced dog tags in support of the war effort. Swank's first line of men's cufflinks were a unique design called “Kum-a-Part” (sometimes marked as Baer and Wilde Company), and are a strong collectable today. More cufflink styles were added in the 1920s as the wearing of cufflinks returned to popularity, and in that decade, the name “Swank” was first used in advertising. The company itself became “Swank Products Inc” in 1938 and in 1941 the name was simplified again to “Swank Inc.” In the 1950s the men's accessory market exploded and would grow continually into the 1960s, with Swank riding the wave of popularity. Leather goods and other men's accessories were added in that decade as well. In the 1960s, during the height of popularity of cufflinks and tie accessories, the company produced over 12 million pairs a year, at an average cost of around $2.50 a pair. In 1967 Swank introduced the chain-back tacks, probably based on a recent patent they obtained. They called them “Action Chain”.

The popularity of the brand was driven by the high number of unique styles produced, from very traditional to very artistic and modern. Swank men's pendants and chains, as well as other items, are also moderately common on the market. That variety continues to drive the demand for vintage Swank pieces in the collectables market today.

The company name changed several times. It became Swank Products, Inc in 1938, then just Swank, Inc. in 1941.

Type of item (see shop home page: www.etsy.com/sg-en/shop/vintagemenswag for definitions): cufflinks

Frame type (for Cufflinks): (see shop home page www.etsy.com/shop/vintagemenswag for definitions): toggle, thick shaft

CONDITION GUIDE FOR MY DESCRIPTIONS: Perfect/New/Mint in Box: The item and or piece of jewelry has no visible flaws and no signs of wear or use. Excellent: The item and or piece of jewelry has evidence of wear. Very Good: The item and or piece of jewelry has small flaws that are not usually noticeable during wear. These flaws could include light scratches on the surfaces of imitation pearls, light scuffs on rhinestones, or light marks on the metal's finish. Good: The item and or piece of jewelry is completely wearable with working hardware. However, the rhinestones may be yellowing or beginning to turn gray (dark spots are visible when you are looking into the stone). Wear may be more visible, and there may be light chipping. Fair/Poor: The item and or piece of jewelry has visible damage that may include dark stones, missing stones, or broken parts. This item should be considered for repair or restoration purposes only.

REMEMBER: You are buying a vintage item. Even for items I indicate are in ‘perfect/mint/new/Mint in box, there still may be some minor scratches or other issues when the item is examined very closely. Most items in my shop are 40 to 60 years old, with many even older. They will have some ‘acquired character'. Also, even if I indicate the original box is present, the condition of that box may not be very good, particularly the exterior.

PHOTOS: I try to get sufficient pictures, of good quality, that allow you to see the details, construction, condition, and color of the items I list. However, with gold tone and silver tone items, by their very nature, it is difficult to capture the ‘exact shade' of their color. Compounding that issue is the difficulty of photographing certain rhinestones and crystals. Many will flash a variety of colors or have a luminesce that is hard to capture.  In those cases, I try to indicate retailer that in my description.