#7313 Imperial Russian Royal pin

My daughter is absolutely crazy about her Dad. She loves her Mum (me), but affection for 'the Big R' is in a league of 
it's own. To see her and her big sister vie for Daddy's affection is hilarious. Two supposedly grown up young ladies, 
one on either side of the most adored father in town. I guess Daddies are the best and with that in mind, we should show 
our thanks and appreciation in some way other than a promise to take care of him some day.

In days gone by and lands far off, men, like peacocks, wore jewels that outshone any mere woman. Jewelry was a sign of 
wealth, and that's what men had before women were entitled to it in their own right. Sadly, most of those magnificent 
gems have been lost through the sands of time and our heroes are a more understated crowd. However, a few vestiges of fun 
and glory remain.

#7086 Tiffany cable Cufflinks.

While full gentleman's sets are less common today, even the most unpretentious of Pa's has to wear cufflinks on occasion. 
Some do so every day, and some on special occasions. What joy to see him take pride in his outfit and put on that final 
finishing touch.  Cufflinks are often a sober affair - just little blobs of metal doing their job of keeping  cuffs in 
controle. But they can be fine and they can be finer still. Look at a pair of Victorian cufflinks with the fine and 
delicate workmanship adding interest to the tiny jewel. The finest manufacturers, from Cartier to Yard, to Tiffany and 
Van Cleef all made cufflinks in shapes and sizes and materials to suit most pockets. You can buy a lovely vintage or antique links for a most reasonable price. 

Then, you can get into the really fun stuff, figural depictions of manly topics. Hunting was a favoured theme, but today, 
we know better. Animals domestic and wild are still popular as are coloured gemstones of every hue. Dogs, horses, 
bulls and bears for the stockmarket fundis. One of my favorite sets of cufflinks is a Deco-Retro pair, literally little 
gold pots of diamonds. It is an entire gentleman's set with buttons as well as cufflinks. Retro Cufflinks Buttons Man's 
  Set Pot of Diamonds, Gold (4787) 

Many men wear signet or pinkie rings. Woman might envy the strong design and clear statement of a man's jewels, whether 
they be diamonds, colored stones or the real thing - intaglio cameos, once used as a seal or stamp of authenticity for a 
gentleman. #5916. Vintage Man's Ring

The well-dressed individual might still sport a pocket watch. Even when men don't personally wear these watches, they very 
often collect them and along with them, they collect the wonderful fob chains that joined the watches to the pockets. Of 
course, a lot of the ladies have 'stolen' these in order to wear them as necklaces - I've done it myself since they were 
so often beautifully made chains with fine decoration.
  #7363 Fob with intaglio carved coat of arms 

Men stand out when they dress well and what finishes a suit off better than a great tie-pin? I am personally fond of items 
that are unusual and amusing or depict little animals.   You can choose a tie pin to suit every personality and occasion.
For some reason, artists really went wild in creating these wonderful wearable sculptures. 

                                             #7203 Cartier tie pin of friendship 

All of the above are 'traditional' men's jewelry. Today, the lines differentiating men and women are a little fuzzier and there is a return to the peacock gender. Men wear a plethora of jewels from necklaces and bracelets to brooches, brooches, brooches.
Today, no male seen strutting his stuff on a red carpet does not have a brooch, and often a beautiful antique brooch on his lapel. 

                                       #7234 Wiese signed gryphon gold brooch 

We will look at antique necklaces, bracelets, chains and more brooches for Father's Day gifts or any other Daddy Day. 

Questions and comments: Please email antiques@brendaginsberg.com
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