Category Archives: Jenny Knott News

J is for Jensen

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The eponymous brand Georg Jensen epitomises the best of what we think of as Scandinavian design. Timeless yet innovative; made to the highest standards, yet often deliciously spare and simple. Their current web site opens with the phrase ‘Experience classic Scandinavian design at its most elegant and refined’. There is little to disagree with here, nearly 120 years after Jensen first started to make pieces for the Scandinavian market.

Today there are Georg Jensen shops and franchises worldwide. Producing and selling, jewellery, watches, tableware and giftware. Georg Jensen is perhaps best known for silver and the brand is still much associated with the style and principles of its founder.

It was tragic circumstances that lead Jensen to start producing silver in such a commercial way. He was born in 1866, the son of a knife grinder in a town to the north of Copenhagen. At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to a goldsmith where he studied for the next four years. Having been a jobbing silver and goldsmith for a further four years, he enrolled at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1887, where
he studied sculpture.

After graduation he not only started to exhibit as a sculptor, but also started to study ceramics. For some years he tried to make a living as a ceramicist, but when his wife died, he was obliged to find a better way to make an income to support his young family and he turned to the production of silver and jewellery. However, his training in the wider range of fine Arts, a spell studying in Paris, and his interest in the naturalist styles of the Art Nouveau movement, combining flora and fauna into his work, remained a persistent theme and singled his designs out as materially different from those of others.

He was, like the members of the British Arts and Crafts movement, passionate about how pieces were made. He eschewed machinery and what he regarded as ugly mass produced pieces. It is a testament to his design principles and the quality of his manufacturing that many variants of the early designs are still in production today. He was committed to making beautiful pieces that were accessible to all budgets. This was handy, as the materials were less costly and therefore a smaller investment to an impoverished artisan. He used moonstones, amber, enamel, all in silver. After a highly successful early exhibition his pieces were in such demand that it is said he would put a sign in the workshop window saying ‘closed for repairs’, to buy himself some time to make more!

For many years he combined his work as a ceramicist with his silversmithing. The silversmithing was, however, far more lucrative and he had a young family to raise. He bought his first workshop in Copenhagen in 1904 and such was the appeal and quality of his design that by 1924 he had opened retail outlets in Berlin, London and New York. The New York store is of particular interest as it was run independently by Frederick Lunning, who had been a salesman for Jensen in Odense and Copenhagen and also opened the London shop. The first store New York Store, ‘Georg Jensen Handmade Silver’, was followed by a larger store on 5th Avenue selling a variety of homewares. This is still the case today.

One of Jensen’s skills was to recognise talent in others and employ their skills under the Jensen banner. They, in turn subscribed to both the design values and his insistence on high quality hand production. Over the century, Georg Jensen has employed numerous designers including Gundolph Albertus, Johan Rohde, Harald Nielsen and Henning Koppel.

If you own any Jensen pieces you will see, that as well as the classic Jensen stamp, many are signed with the name of their designer and also have a design number. If you acquire a piece of vintage Jensen, you will often be able to use these to trace the piece back to its origins.

He married four times, outliving three wives, he travelled widely, and experienced highs and lows artistically, emotionally and financially. Towards the end of his life, he was interviewed and asked about the purpose of Art. He replied “people worry too much about purpose. The object must…absorb the most beautiful abstracts from the nature that surrounds us.”

Designs showing beautiful abstracts from the nature that surrounds us.

Female Silversmiths

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Does this title sound a little niche? One would hope not in the 21st century, but what about the preceding generations? If you have the slightest interest in silver, it is likely that you will have heard of the prolific maker and great matriarch Hester Bateman. She certainly deserves the recognition. She led the Bateman firm during the second half of the 18th century, during which time the company flourished, innovated, and was eventually taken on by her sons, daughter in law and ultimately her grandson, when, in 1800 the mark of Peter, William and Ann Bateman was registered.

It is often assumed that female silversmiths, goldsmiths and other prominent female woman in trade and industry acceded to prominence by association with their husbands, or families. In the case of Hester Bateman this is true, she married a gold chain maker called John Bateman and it was his death which catapulted her into the running of the firm. However, there were many women working in trades during the 18th century and earlier and not all of them were there by matrimonial or familial association. Although men dominated in commerce, and both the law and custom gave men precedence in most areas, there were successful woman who pursued business in their own right.

Women were occasionally apprenticed to learn a trade and although the majority of female silversmiths and goldsmiths would have learnt their trades through a family connection and without formal indentures, 14 woman silversmiths have been identified in the registry of London makers whose names appear to bear no connection to any male counterparts.

In her work ‘Woman Silversmiths 1685-1845’ Philippa Glanville writes of Welthian Goodyear, a Bristol spoon maker, Ellen Dare of Taunton and Elizabeth Haslewood of Norwich acting as ‘autonomous agents’ with their own workshops and selling their pieces locally. She goes on to say that this is known about as there are records of them being fined for sub-standard work by the Goldsmiths Company, taking apprentices and buying insurance for their shops, workshops, and stock.

The work of silver smithing is physical. Silver is beaten out with heavy hammers; female silversmiths would have needed to be fit and strong to undertake the process. They would undoubtedly have had to do this themselves, especially if they hoped to enter their touch mark at the Goldsmiths’ Hall.

Although women had far more obstacles to overcome to succeed, this sometimes gave them an edge. Hester Bateman’s work is elegant and has been thought of as delicate, even feminine. This is not wholly justified, as those attributions might easily be ascribed to many of the neo-classical pieces produced at the end of the 18th century, including furniture and ceramics. Hester Bateman was, however, instrumental in producing the first machine for flattening or as it was then called ‘flatting’ silver. In contrast to the ‘feminine’ style of Hester Bateman, her near contemporary Elizabeth Godfrey championed a heavy Rococo style, influenced by her first husband, a French Huguenot. Elizabeth outlived two husbands and ran a successful and business in Norris Street, where her prestigious clientele were served by beautifully mannered staff, who were courteous and bilingual, able to converse in both French and English. Her elaborate card shows that she was no shrinking violet, rather, an astute businesswoman.

Rebecca Emes was the most commercially successful female silversmith of the 19th century. She, with partner Edward Barnard formed the formidable firm Emes and Barnard, which in turn became the Barnard Brothers whose pieces turn up in almost every silver auction in the country on a regular basis. Their skill was in producing high quality domestic silverware, a prerequisite in every household of substance in the 19th century.

Happily, today women silversmiths are not a rarity or an anomaly. A quick Google search on the topic reveals the following as the top two results.

  • Women in Silver smithing at the V&A (an exhibition in 2018).
  • Meet the 10 emerging jewellers and silversmiths who are set to shine at New Designers One Year In – (sponsored by The Goldsmiths Hall). This is particularly interesting as the category is not gender specific, it just happens that of the ten artists featured 9 are women.

In selecting examples of contemporary female silversmiths, I am spoilt for choice. This is as it should be. Jocelyn Burton who died in 2020, was originally rejected from the Sir John Cass College in London when she applied for their silversmithing course in 1966, on the basis she was a woman. Instead, she enrolled on a jewellery course and studied silversmithing a night school. Such was her eventual success that she was commissioned to produce pieces for the Fishmonger’s Hall, The Butcher’s Company and Lichfield Cathedral.

Rauni Higson is a particular favourite of mine. Her candelabra for the Weavers’ Company and The Goldsmith’s company rosewater dish show an affinity between nature and silver that is intrinsic to much of her work.

Today we should not need to differentiate male and female silversmiths, we should instead concentrate on the craft of the silversmith. It should be remembered however, that this owes much to the female forebears who forged their trade against the significant obstacles of the day.

The one that got away

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I don’t recall the life-changing opportunity that was missed; perhaps that’s just as well. It would be galling to know that one had passed up an opportunity to buy something that went on to make multiple times the purchase price.

I do remember seeing two wonderful pairs of enamel cufflinks being sold very inexpensively at an antiques fair. The seller was insistent that he would only accept cash, and as I didn’t have that sum of money on me I asked him to hold them whilst I went to a cash point. When I returned, having extracted the maximum possible from three bank accounts, he nonchalantly informed me he’d sold them to someone else. Hard money on the spot clearly talks.

I also remember the insurance valuation I did for a couple who had recently downsized. Referring to a previous valuation schedule I queried the whereabouts of an impressive Victorian inkstand by a well-regarded maker. They informed me that they had had to dispose of a great deal in the move and they had sent the inkstand to a local charity shop, believing it to be silver plate and of little consequence. They were stoic about the discovery. No point in crying over spilt ink!

What has got away from me is trends. I wish I could have called the rise and fall of gold prices better. If only I’d known that as cigarette smoking fell from grace, there would be an unexpected rise in the popularity of cigars and cigar related memorabilia. Thirty odd years ago American Marvin R. Shanken launched Cigar Aficionado, and this venture set off perhaps the most unforeseen social craze of the 1990s — the renaissance of cigars and an explosion in the popularity of all cigar-related paraphernalia. This too has now largely fallen away.

One of my career-long passions has been cufflinks. I have supplied literally thousands of pairs of antique and vintage cufflinks to organisations both here and in America. I’ve constantly been told that they would be going out of fashion and that no one would want the bother of double cuffed shirts anymore. However, even as the tie has fallen from grace, the tailored shirt has remained a wardrobe staple and notwithstanding the hiatus of the pandemic cufflink sales are on rise again as workers return to offices. I have just sourced an Art Deco dress set for a well-known film franchise that wanted the genuine article and not a modern copy. I’m really glad that one didn’t get away.

The great thing about our world is that there is always tomorrow. There is endless speculation about where trends are going and what individual pieces might make. It’s one of the things that makes the art world so interesting. We all bring our expertise to bear on determining accurate prices, but the marketplace can be capricious and that’s what makes it exciting. Fashions come and go, and unexpected left-field shifts like the rise of NFTs can cause a significant change in thinking. Being able to foresee these repositioning of market forces would be a really useful superpower.

Eventually, most people are pragmatic about missed opportunities, which sometimes presents a chance to rethink and learn. I have a huge collection of single cufflinks that are partnerless. I shall let you decide if this collection should be viewed as the ones that got away or the ones that were saved. I prefer to think of them in the latter category, however, I’d be overjoyed to find their partners and restore the marriages.

Bugs and minibeasts in jewellery

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Jenny Knott, Silver & Jewellery Specialist

History is crawling with jewellery depicting bugs and minibeasts. Our preoccupation with insects and mini-reptiles is thousands of years old. Mankind has always made jewellery to be beautiful, but also often talismanic. In the case of bugs and minibeasts it was believed the jewellery would bring to the wearer the attributes associated with creatures themselves.
Ancient Egyptian scarab images are familiar to most of us. The Egyptians saw the beetle as a symbol of renewal and rebirth. It was believed to be a manifestation of Ra, God of the sun, and the connection was thought to be so powerful that the sun god was considered to be reborn each morning in the form of a winged scarab beetle. This connection with renewal, rebirth, hope and good luck makes it easy to understand why the scarab has such a prominent place in jewellery from ancient times and remains a potent and popular motif to this day.
The interest in all things Egyptian reached a crescendo with the Egyptian Revival, a movement centred around archaeological discoveries in the 19th century, the translation of the Rosetta stone; the construction of the Suez Canal and later, importantly, the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun; in which there was, of course, much jewellery, including gold and carved lapis lazuli scarab jewellery which was put into the tomb to help with the transition to the next life.

These events provoked a huge wave of popularity in all things Egyptian; including an interest in snakes which became hugely commercial in the Victorian period. This trend was undoubtedly encouraged by the engagement ring presented to Queen Victoria by Prince Albert in the earlier part of the century. The ring, in the form of a coiled snake, symbolised eternal love with its endless coil. Victoria’s ring was set with an emerald to the head, this being Victora’s birthstone. Known as an ouroboros, the emblematic snake or serpent with its tail in its mouth represents eternity and rebirth. It is a motif which occurs frequently in jewellery, not only in rings but also necklaces and often suspending a heart locket.

The bee was also an important symbol in some early civilisations. It was considered to be sacred and was believed to be a bridge between the natural world and the underworld. The Mayans thought that the bee was a symbol of goodness and would bring life and abundance. Ancient Greeks saw bees as characterising wealth and well-being. The hierarchy of the hive with its Queen and workers as well associations with hard work and individuals working together for communal good added to the imagery. It is easy to see why humankind has been drawn to the bee as a powerful symbol.


The fascination with insects and minibeasts arguably reached its zenith in 19th century. The rise of industrialisation and with it rapid urbanisation meant a large migration to town and city dwelling. This gave rise to a nostalgia for the countryside and nature. People felt that they were falling out of step with nature, and they sought to reconnect through jewellery depicting birds and insects.
It’s easy to see why butterflies, lady birds, and dragon flies lend themselves to beautiful and inspirational jewellery. However, the Victorians embraced all insects, including flies which symbolised secrets and secret keeping; as well as the fly on the wall which hears all but does not divulge. Spiders, similarly, were related to intrigue and secrets and remain a perennially popular motif. You may remember Baroness Hale wore a substantial spider brooch when delivering the verdict on the legitimacy of Boris Johnson’s prorogation of parliament. There was much speculation about what she might have intended to convey. Retrospectively, she said that had she known that people would be looking to interpret the brooch she might have chosen innocuous bunch of flowers. However, the episode serves to show the power of the symbolism. Politicians started to wear spider brooch tee-shirts and the late Ruth Bader-Ginsburg described the stylish arachnid as ‘a symbol of swashbuckling womanhood’. Not bad for a costume piece that had cost £12 from Cards Galore.

We are drawn to wear insect jewellery for its symbolism and meaning, but that is not the whole story. The other side of the equation is how well the subject matter lends itself to interpretation in so many of the media associated with jewellery making; from fine pavé set pieces with emeralds, diamonds, rubies and sapphires, to enamel work, glass, carved stones and pearls. The interpretations are almost limitless, as is the appetite for this jewellery. Although not every interpretation is easy to stomach. Now considered in questionable taste we have also used the body parts of insects themselves as part of the jewels, including butterfly wings and scarab shells. Even this, however, is not as distasteful as the practice of late 19th century Britain, and still current in some parts of South America, of wearing live insects, sometimes caged and occasionally even with jewel encrusted shells.

Notwithstanding the huge influence of the 19th century, insect jewellery continued to be popular in the early 20th century. René Lalique produced some exquisite plique-a-jour butterfly and dragonfly pieces. Child and Child produced realistically designed butterfly pieces in shaded enamels; Boucheron is known for its bee pins and many other important ateliers produced fine gem-set pieces in this genre. These are always in high demand when they come up at auction.

Hello magazine recently announced, ‘Butterfly jewellery is making a comeback’. Good to know, but it’s never really gone away. The Duchess of Sussex often wears a pair of butterfly earrings which used to belong to Princess Diana and other celebrities are pictured with butterfly jewellery; but the truth is that this jewellery has never gone out of fashion. Prices at auction are strong with huge demand for good pieces; but more modest offerings do well too. Whether antique or modern where demand is great, price matches demand. As I have been writing this two of the pieces illustrated, the snake necklace and the costume butterfly brooch went under the hammer. Both realised twice their higher end estimates. Proof, if proof were needed that the world of insects is indeed buzzing – sorry, I couldn’t help myself!

If I had £5,000 to invest what would I buy?

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Jenny Knott, Silver & Jewellery Specialist

There is a perennial discussion around the valuation of silver in the current market; the feeling being that the many demands on silver in industry and technology will drive the price up as demand out strips supply. Many believe that it is only a matter of time before the base metal prices soars. Some say that it is already artificially suppressed by governments. There is much speculation.

Therefore, if I have £5,000 to spend on silver maybe I should buy uncommercial silver at scrap prices, hang onto it and hedge my bets. However, apart from the possible future pay out, and that is a big ‘however; where’s the enjoyment in that?

I have always felt that first and foremost I should like to enjoy my silver, and if it appreciates then happy days, but if not, I have had the pleasure of owning beautiful and possibly also useful items.

Fashions in silver, as with everything else change. There have been shifts in the market and mid-century silver, like mid-century furniture, is seeing something of a renaissance and might be a good place to invest a few thousand pounds. Makers like Gerald Benny and Stuart Devlin were influential pioneers in post war Britain, taking some of their inspiration from the clean lines of Scandinavian silversmiths, led of course by
Georg Jensen. £5,000 would enable you to purchase something from this genre of silver. It is likely to hold its value and may continue to rise and the objects themselves are stylish and pay tribute to the metal they are worked in.

However, if I forget about future proofing my investment and simply consider having £5,000 in my hand with no caveats, I would take myself along to The Goldsmiths Hall and buy something I fell in love with. I would have an individual piece which would give me great pleasure and I would have the additional thrill of supporting both emerging and established silversmiths. It is vitally important that we nurture silversmiths and encourage and support their craft. It is because others did this in the past, that we have such a rich variety of choice available to us today.

I particularly like the sinuous feel of Adrian Hope’s work and I could well be tempted to purchase silver bowls by Annabel Hood or Juliette Bigley. The Goldsmith’s Fair is a melting pot of top contemporary talent, and it would
be an utter joy to wander around pondering my self- indulgent spend.

The Goldsmiths Hall hosts an annual event in late September and early October each year. However, individual silversmiths exhibit all year round and can be found through their web sites. After a year of being unable to exhibit in 3D the appetite for seeing potential clients and having their wares on show have a renewed piquancy.

Silver – What’s Hot and What’s Not?

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Jenny Knott, Silver and Jewellery Specialist

Silver is a commodity which is in an interesting place. Last year the price rose hugely, in line with gold, and as a result of global economic concerns. Typically, when there is economic uncertainty the price of precious metals rises because they are a safe haven. The silver price has now declined again, also in line with gold, but many people believe that the price of silver is being suppressed (conspiracy theorists have a field day with the control banks and governments may have over this) and that it may rise dramatically in the medium to long term. To this end there are people collecting/hoarding silver against this possibility. Sometimes these people will buy from dealers who have picked up uncommercial items and are happy to sell them on at slightly above scrap price.

Image of Georgian silver tea service

A Georgian silver tea service – not much called for in entertaining today

Silver is also interesting because whilst gold is, by and large, used for decorative purposes silver is used a lot in industry, particularly in medical equipment, electronics, the nuclear industry and many other areas so the price is indexed against these uses too. For example, the price of platinum is greatly reduced now because it is no longer in demand for catalytic converters in diesel cars.

Image of a silver claret jug

A silver claret jug – still a beautiful addition to the sideboard

So, this brings us on to what is and isn’t saleable in the silver market.

Image of a novelty silver mustard pot in the form of an owl

A novelty silver mustard pot in the form of an owl – very much a collector’s item today

The most apposite question to ask would be “Is it useful, is it rare or is it beautiful?” If it ticks one or more of these boxes the market is extremely strong. If not, then silver may be worth little over scrap. To give some examples, in the 20th century wedding presents were often silver gifts, cruets sets, tea sets, fish eaters and servers. As we no longer used ground white pepper, or tend to make tea in a silver tea pot or even eat our fish with fish eaters, the prolific examples of these relatively ordinary things are not in great demand. However, there is a huge appetite for unusual items, novelty items, maybe a mustard pot in the shape of an owl or a mouse? Tableware is always popular; candlesticks, claret jugs, wine coasters and some flatware are greatly in demand.

image of a silver cup made by Omar Ramsden

A silver cup made by Omar Ramsden – still much sought after today

Finally, the rare. Dealers and collectors will battle over rare silver, pieces by sought after makers across the ages, for example Paul Storr, Paul de Lamerie, Hester Bateman and the Bateman family, Liberty, Omar Ramsden, to name but a few. These are a handful of the makers across the years whose work is highly sought after. Bateman pieces can be acquired relatively inexpensively, whereas pieces by de Lamerie would command seriously high prices. All would be in demand. As is silver with unusual hallmarks, for example provincial silver and also early silver.

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Hallmarks

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Jenny Knott, Silver and Jewellery Specialist

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Hallmarking is one of the oldest forms of consumer protection. It dates back to 1300 when Edward 1st instituted a statute for the assaying or testing of precious metals. The purpose of this was to make sure that silver in production for domestic use would have the same fineness as that of coin silver. The standard of silver was therefore set as the same as that of coinage. This is ‘sterling’ silver and denotes silver in which pure silver makes up at least 92.5% of the content, the rest being alloy. This alloy is necessary to make pure silver, which is soft and malleable, into silver that is more user friendly, but still attractive and workable.

The hallmark for Paul Storr. London 1810

The hallmark for Paul Storr. London 1810

There is a theory that the term ’sterling’ comes from the word Easterlings – who were people experienced in coin making, from the Eastern German states brought to England in the reign of Henry II to improve the quality of the coinage.
The original statute allowed wardens from the Company of Goldsmiths in London to circulate around the workshops in the city and test the silver and gold. At that time, silver was assayed and marked with the lion’s head, which is still the symbol of the London assay office today. The term for a lion at the time was ‘leopart’ and so it became known as a leopard’s head, though as you can see from the images it is a lion.
Gradually gold too came to be assayed and bore the same leopard’s head mark. In 1363, the maker’s mark started to be added. Originally this was a pictorial mark, as literacy was negligible in much of the population. Over time this changed, and the maker’s or sponsor’s initials became more common. Silver plate, however, bore pictorial marks for many centuries and sometimes still does.
A century later the date letter was added. This came about when the Goldsmiths acquired their own hall and employed an assayer to test and mark pieces that were submitted for testing. The date letter enabled people to know who the assayer at the time had been, and therefore who could be held to account for standards.

Below Victorian hallmark for London 1860

Below Victorian hallmark for London 1860. Maker’s Edward and John Barnard

This gives us three of four marks which we are accustomed to seeing on silver and gold. The final mark is the town of the city. In theory, the Goldsmith’s Hall in London had jurisdiction over the whole of the country, but in practice, it was difficult for provincial makers to bring items to London to be assayed. It is also likely that the London makers took little interest in their provincial colleagues dismissing them as inferior. However, there is plenty of evidence that gold and silver work of high quality was being produced all over the country and there was a demand to have this recognised. In 1423 Henry VI appointed York, Newcastle, Lincoln, Norwich, Bristol, Salisbury and Coventry as having their own borough mark or ‘touch’; albeit that the London Goldsmiths still claimed the right of control over all silver and gold. These days early provincial marks are highly sought after as these assay offices have long since closed. It’s worth noting that although certain cities have a reputation for particular items, for example Sheffield cutlery, Birmingham small wares, London marks are still associated with the largest and most prestigious commissions.
These days only four assay offices remain in Great Britain – London, Birmingham, Sheffield and Edinburgh.

Hallmark above for Birmingham 1927

Hallmark above for Birmingham 1927. The maker’s mark is Elkington and Co.

Birmingham’s town mark is an anchor, which seems odd given Birmingham’s lack of proximity to the sea. Silversmith, plate maker (and, incidentally, partner of James Watt the engineer) Matthew Bolton set up camp in London to campaign for an assay office in Birmingham so that his burgeoning business could assay their goods locally. The silversmiths of Sheffield adopted a similar campaign. Whilst this lobbying continued, they stayed at the Crown and Anchor Inn and according to tradition, when they were successful in their submissions, they decided to use the symbols of the inn in which they had lodged as their city marks. They tossed a coin and Birmingham and got the anchor and Sheffield the Crown.

The £50 note with Matthew Boulton and James Watt.

The £50 note with Matthew Boulton and James Watt

In 1975 Sheffield changed its mark to a rose and in the same year, the assay offices brought their date letters, which had been individually attributed to each office, into alignment. Now all assay offices have the same year letter. Originally the date letters were changed on the day that the Goldsmith’s guild wardens were elected, which was St Dunstan’s day – May 19th. The Hallmarking Act of 1973 bought the remaining four British offices London, Birmingham, Sheffield, and Edinburgh into line with each other the date letter now changing on January 1st each year.
So next time you glance at the back of your fork and see those four little marks winking at you, you will know the centuries of history that caused them to look as they do.

Cufflinks and Gentlemen’s Accessories

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A pair of Lalique green glass cufflinks with three accompanying dress studs sold in 2017 for £2,900

When considering insurance valuations in general, and jewellery valuations specifically, cufflinks, dress sets, perhaps even hip flasks and pockets watches can easily be over-looked. This is not helped by the fact they so often dwell in a down-at-heel stud box or the dark recesses of the sock drawer! They are not usually at the forefront when considering jewellery valuation; but they should be. In the current more casual world of workplace attire, where ties are often discarded it may be counter-intuitive to learn that the popularity of cufflinks remains as solid as ever.

American Art Deco rock crystal enamel and seed pearl – circa 1930 – £1500 (Current retail value)

Gold prices are at a year high and up over 30% on this time last year. Whilst the increased price of gold may not directly affect much lady’s gem-set jewellery, this is not the case with gentlemen’s accessories where the gold content is significant. Clients are often surprised to learn that although the price of the pocket watch they have inherited may have remained relatively stable, the accompanying watch chain has increased in value significantly over the last year or two. In large part due to the increased gold price. The watch chain is often the more valuable item.

Carved rock crystal and diamond cufflinks

Early 20th century carved rock crystal and diamond – circa 1920 – £2000 (Current retail value)

This strong demand for cufflinks is especially fierce with vintage, high end brands such as Cartier, Boucheron, Van Clef and Arples and Tiffany. A search of auction results will show that branded cufflinks and dress sets often significantly exceed pre-sale estimates, even where the materials involved are not of intrinsically high value. A pair of Lalique green glass cufflinks with three accompanying dress studs sold in 2017 for £2,900 against a pre-sale estimate of £200-£300, even given that all three of the dress studs were cracked. These sort of auction results suggest that many people may be significantly under-insured if they own vintage or antique pieces or indeed gold cufflinks bought when the gold price was lower and the market less volatile than it is currently.
It is also important to consider the value of unbranded cufflinks where gold is not the principle material. Although gem-set cufflinks and dress sets more readily suggest that insurance is needed, rock crystal, enamels in both gold and silver, crystal intaglios, onyx, jade, even semi-precious stones such as agates and amethyst all need to be considered as appropriate for insurance. It is possible that one might not replace certain items of jewellery on a like for like basis, but most men would want to replace cufflinks in the event of loss, so an accurate and up to date insurance valuation is crucial.