Our cufflinks are manufactured from precision prototype cufflinks crafted by a skilled goldsmith according to Xavier Piot’s designs.  The following steps follow the journey from design to finished prototype cufflink ready for production.

Xavier Piot designs all of his own cufflinks. The ideas behind the various collections inspire the designs. The cufflinks conform to minimum and maximum sizes for practicality of wearing and aesthetic value. Semi-precious stones are added in some collections, for example to evoke the spirit of places in Africa. The designs are then given to a goldsmith to make precision prototypes which are inspected and, if necessary, adjusted.

Once the designs have been finalised, they are matched to the available raw materials.  All cufflinks come in Sterling Silver as standard. But Xavier Piot also sources gold and white gold, if customers prefer these metals. The goldsmith begins the production of the prototype cufflink metal is weighed to give exactly the right amount for the design. Stones are selected according to clarity, cut and colour.

The metal is then melted by hand and, when molten, poured into a bar or plate ingot.  The ingot must be cooled in the correct way to ensure the integrity of the metal. From there, the metal is rolled into the correct thickness using a hand or automatic rolling mill. During the rolling process, constant annealing (heating and cooling) is required so that the metal does not crack.

Once the correct width of metal has been achieved, the shape of the cufflink is cut out of the sheet on the workbench.  The craftsman has to use extreme care to ensure accuracy and not to break the saw blade.

All the edges need to be perfectly smooth. To achieve this, the cufflink form is filed, first with a rough file and then an increasingly fine file until a smooth straight edge is obtained. Various measuring tools are used to check the accuracy. The top and bottom of the cufflink head are also filed to make sure that they are flat. Finally, emery paper wrapped around a wooden stick is used to ensure that all edges and surfaces are free of any marks or scratches.

To make the connecting bar (the part which goes through the sleeve) and the T-bar (the rectangular piece which prevents the cufflink from coming back through the holes in the cuff) plate metal is rolled thinner than for the cufflink head. The correct shape is then cut out and filed following the same process as before to make it perfectly smooth and clean.

The three parts of the cufflink are then soldered together. The exact position of the join is marked on the top and bottom. The top of the cufflink is then heated and the bar connected to it using solder, flux and controlled heat. It is very important that the metal is heated correctly so that it does not burn or melt or even mark unnecessarily as this is difficult to remove during the polishing process. The same method is required to join the small bottom part of the cufflink to the connecting bar.

Once the cufflink has cooled and been cleaned in sulphuric acid and has been checked for accuracy, excess solder is cleaned from the cufflink. Files and emery papers of varying roughness are then used to finish the cufflink. When the finest emery paper has been used and there are no visible marks, the hallmark and Xavier Piot stamps are added. The whole cufflink is then finely polished.

It is wearing your cufflinks that really brings them alive and shows off their character. They can be worn by both men and women, to complement a favourite shirt, match with a tie or handbag, or simply make a statement of their own. Like any piece of jewellery, they need to be properly maintained. A quick polish with a soft cloth now and them will keep cufflinks looking good for a long time. But occasionally silver polish may be needed to remove any tarnishing and to restore the brilliant shine.