I know, every gift list for men has cufflinks, but what else besides a watch and maybe a wedding ring are guys going to wear? And they can collect multiple pairs, which is a bonus for the stumped gift-giver. Of course, this means that they need to wear a french-cuff shirt, but there are enough relatively casual shirt designs out there that you could convince even the most reluctant guy to wear. Here are some favorite cufflinks:

Classic

For a more traditional guy, you can’t go wrong with simple sterling silver ovals that can be engraved from Blue Nile:

Oval Engravable Silver Cufflinks from Blue Nile, $75 Retail

Vintage:

I love these vintage watch movement cufflinks, available from Cuffart.com. They are a pretty reasonable price, and would appeal to “watch guys”, as well:

Vintage Watch Movement Cufflinks from Cuffart.com, $155 Retail

Geek/Tech

Come on now, who could resist cufflinks with a specific (and meaningful) latitude and longitude, as figured out on Google Maps? Cleverly done with vintage metal stamps, the type is charmingly offset:

Latitude and Longitude Custom Engraved Cufflinks, $115 Retail

General Awesomeness

Every time I time I look at these cufflinks from award-winning blogger and superstar jewelry designer Wendy Brandes, I laugh out loud. EVERY time. I especially admire her creative use of the rubies:

Mud Flap Jill Cufflinks by Wendy Brandes, $350 Retail

Wendy also does some very cool skulls, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Shiny

If you’re looking for an affordable option that still has some sparkle, this pair from Amazon.com is a great choice: nice style, great price, prime shipping:

Sterling Silver and Black Diamond Cufflinks, $50 Retail

I really like the shape of these John Hardy “Naga” cufflinks. They are a little spendy, but the combination of the pave-set black and blue sapphires makes for interesting sparkle. They have nice details, too: the sides and back are finished with engraving. They are available from independent jeweler J.R. Dunn, or visit John Hardy’s website to find a local jeweler near you:

John Hardy Sapphire Cufflinks, $1595 Retail

This is just a starting point–the good news is that there are a lot of cufflink designs out there from $30 to $3000; some of the designers and retailers above have many other great options. Let me know if you need a hook up with a great Local Jeweler, I can try to help you out!

If you are into the idea of black diamonds, here is an amazing pair from Robin Rotenier in white gold (also available in 18k yellow gold with Champagne diamonds):

Robin Rotenier White Gold and Black Diamond Cufflinks, $5900 Retail

Here is an equally gorgeous black diamond pair from David Yurman.  One caveat about these–I appreciate workmanship as much or more than the next person, but I have some issues for charging THAT much for STERLING SILVER and black diamonds.  There is a lot of work pave setting those tiny diamonds, and I’m sure the work is near-perfect, but still!:

David Yurman Black Diamond and Sterling Silver Cufflinks, $2150 Retail

If he is a little rock and roll, you could go for these, also from Rotenier (there are TONS of other designs, all fantastic):

Robin Rotenier Skull Cufflinks, Sterling Silver, $295 Retail

I also like these for something totally different, if he’s a watch collector, even better:

Antique Watch Movement Cufflinks in Sterling Frames by Cuffart.com, $155 Retail

Happy Shopping!

Where to begin…

Luckily, he maintains an Amazon.com wish list, so I had both an idea of what he liked, and a starting place for where to buy.  Perfect!  Even better, since this was a little last minute, I found a pair of cuff links that is part of their Amazon.com Collection.  Since I am an Amazon.com insider (see about me), I know that this is the collection that the Amazon.com retail team personally selects and then ships from an Amazon fulfillment center.  We are Amazon Prime members, so we get anything labeled prime (most of Amazon.com Collection is Prime) 2nd Day for free, or a flat $3.99 overnight shipping charge. 

Relatively easy to search/browse and check out for this item:

He has some cufflinks already, so I was looking for something a little different but not too crazy.  After reviewing the considerable choices, I selected this pair of sterling silver cuff links set with .25 ct tw of black diamonds.  They are simple squares with a matte/brushed finish (not too shiny), with 9 tiny black diamonds pave-set into a grid pattern in the center of the squares.  I reviewed the technical info (under “Product Specifications” just below the basic top-of-page information), clicked on the Zoom image to see the finish, then added them to my cart.  I went through the usual purchase process, selecting overnight shipping.  They do not offer gift-wrapping for this item, which is kind of a bummer if I were shipping as a gift to someone.  The purchase process was very painless, which is the usual for me for Amazon purchases.

Amazon.com Sterling and .25 ct twBlack Diamond Cufflinks

The packaging:

The package arrived exactly on time, and Amazon.com is good at communicating, confirming the order and when/how they shipped it.  It arrived in a regular Amazon.com box, which is a good thing, both for preserving the surprise (could just be a book or CD inside), and also for security if this were a valuable package (did you know that Amazon.com also sells loose diamonds and pre-set engagement rings?).  Inside the cardboard box was a square, blue presentation box, with a dark blue fabric drawstring pouch with divider.  Overall the packaging was good for a $75 purchase.  There was however, a lovely “made in China” sticker on the outside of the pouch (this applies to the pouch, not necessarily the jewelry item inside), and their own inventory tag/barcode on the bottom of the box.  If I were shipping a gift, I think that the packaging is a triple-con: no gift wrapping (only a gift message on the packing slip), not branded (granted, this is not Tiffany, but it’s still jewelry), and stickers not taken off.  If this were from even a modest physical jeweler, I would think that the sales associate would have taken care to remove any stickers and make sure the presentation was perfect. 

And the final product:

The cuff links themselves were quite nice, with a couple of caveats.  The design is great–simple, but with a little edge to it, perfect for a guy that has a definite style but is not too flashy.  The black diamonds have a subtle sparkle that plays off the matte-finish of the silver really well.  The diamonds are set evenly in straight rows with the metal beads of the prongs holding them in place securely.  The cuff links are, however, smaller overall than I envisioned.  This is one of the biggest problems with jewelry (and other products) on the Internet–SCALE.  To be fair, Amazon lists the dimensions under the product specs (11.5mm square), but I did not double check this on a ruler or something to visualize.  Wouldn’t it be great if Amazon and Blue Nile had a relative size widget on their detail page images for nearly every item that showed you size relative to an ear, hand, cuff, etc?  Turns out he thinks they are an OK size, but it’s borderline.  The other issue I had was with the finish.  In the photo, it’s pretty uniform, but in person, the brushing of the silver is a little random and wavy.  Granted, I am a finish freak.  This is my business, and as a jewelry buyer for retail stores, I have sent back a lot of items to the manufacturer that were not perfect.  My husband thought it was ok, and to most people I think it would be acceptable.  But I like for things to be above expectations, I love to be delighted.  Overall, these are handsome and a good value for $75.  Personally, I would have spent more for slightly larger, heavier, and better finishing. 

Bottom line: Amazon.com has a great selection and they make it so easy to order and get it fast, that these made the perfect choice for this occasion.  The cufflinks are nice, but a little on the small side for my expectations.