Cufflinks for men have enjoyed a renewed creativity over the last 5 years from designers and jewelry manufacturers alike. Many of the mens cufflink creations are predominantly in newer metals like stainless steel, tungsten carbide and titanium. Companies like Fibo, Triton and Edward Mirell have ventured into the alternative metals while designer cufflinks for men from David Yurman and John Hardy stick to tried and true sterling silver introducing different textures like Yurman with his stippled silver that showcases a somewhat dimpled gunmetal finish to sterling silver. Mens silver cufflinks have thus taken center stage in both these designers’ while mens gold cuflinks have been on the back burner because of price.

Some classic Victorian styling for men who like that sort of look is available in Konstantino’s line of Engraved sterling silver and 18k gold cufflinks for men. In men’s cufflinks he effectively uses silver and gold combinations with designs that have a vintage look but at the same time are very masculine and retro. Alex Sepkus offers some pure yellow gold designs that are both free flowing and ornate but quite expensive.

Mens cufflinks have a range of styling and materials that was not available just ten years ago. With the recent escalation in the price of gold, titanium and silver have become popular metals for many designers like David Yurman and Edward Mirell  and manufacturers like Colibri and Frederick Goodman. Mens diamond cufflinks have also been brought down to earthly prices by combining black diamonds with sterling silver as is evident in in Yurman’s sterling silver diamond cufflinks for men with pave black diamonds totalling almost 2 carats.

Mens designer cufflinks are one of the few mens jewelry products that cater to a wide variety of mens styling from vintage all the way through modern. Cufflinks are not overt pieces of jewelry like dog tags and rings. They remain hidden until the well dressed man takes his coat off and turns his arm a certain way thereby exposing his sense of style. Designers can therefore be more daring in design as is the case with Gurhan’s new men’s collection the Gurhan for Men Edge Collection which features Sterling silver cuff links with plain holes and some distinctive notched detail on the edges for a subdued but very contemporary look.

Cufflinks with out of the way themes by designer Robin Rotenier include animals, aviation, dogs, cars, military, political and others. His extensive collection makes available a huge variety of styles for men who are passionate about many different things including motorcycles, music, nature and sports. King baby studio is well knows for themes relating to the tatoo and rock and roll culture like skulls, crosses, crowns, Fleur de lis and x men cufflinks.

Men’s wedding bands can be compared somewhat to men’s suits. There are many elements for the male suit buyer to consider including details like a higher thread count or having a full canvas layer in between the lining and fabric, a certain amount of hand stitching and pant legs that are lined. However the most important factor is still a certain level of professional tailoring. Similarly men’s wedding bands go through the same sort of evaluation where the finish, durability, looks, fit and comfort of the rings are all areas that men consider before investing in a wedding band.

The men’s wedding band comes in all kinds of metals, finishes and fits. Generally couples shop together and approx two thirds of brides are involved in the selection and purchase of both her’s and his wedding bands. So women have quite a say in a man’s wedding band but men ultimately pick from a selection that their fiance has come up with or they do it on their own.  Some of the more traditional manufacturers like Artcarved are popular with the Ladies. Check out the ring to the left.  Its a typical two tone mens wedding ring that most women like.

Couples generally stay away from matching wedding bands and spend on average $2000 for both of their bands even though the bride’s band will cost around twice that of her fiance’s. Women’s wedding bands for the most part are purchased with diamonds while only 15% of grooms will get bands with diamonds although they do prefer rings with “comfort” fit. Presumably the groom would rather spend the extra part of the wedding band budget on getting her a diamond band while he does with only a few points of diamonds or does without the diamonds entirely.

This has made alternative metals very popular because men’s titanium wedding bands run a good deal less in price than something like Artcarved men’s wedding bands in gold or platinum. Some quite unique men’s wedding bands are available in alternative metals like titanium and tungsten

Men's tungsten and silver diamond band

with diamonds while still costing less than gold only bands. Check out the tungsten and silver ring with diamonds on the right. Most men will think this is a pretty cool looking ring.  Stainless steel has also been a good option as a cheap men’s wedding bands alternative. Styling and finish on stainless steel are generally of high quality although the material itself is inexpensive to manufacture and make into mens wedding bands.

Men’s stainless steel wedding bands from manufacturers in Germany like Stahl Design are highly regarded for their finish, durability and diamond setting. Steel is a difficult material for jewelers to work with and most jewelers do not usually take it upon themselves to set diamonds into materials like steel, titanium and tungsten. Some of the reasons include extreme hardness, high melting temperature and a low level of malleability and ductility for manipulation with a jewelers’ tools. Also, because of hardness they tend to wear out a jewelers’ tools fairly quickly.

Stainless steel jewelry has come of age especially when you see what designers are doing with steel nowadays. Steel’s most jewelry intensive application is in the category of body jewelry. Many body jewelry wearers like surgical grade steel because it is strong and won’t provoke skin reactions in people who are allergic to some of the alloys used in silver and gold. Steel is harder than gold or sterling silver so it is a very durable material and does not tarnish or oxidise.

Most steel jewelry that people have been accustomed to seeing is men’s stainless steel jewelry like cufflinks, rings and mens dog tags. Nevertheless there are some designers that are pushing the envelope in terms of the designs that can be wrought in steel. Stuart Rae is one such designer whose “pea and pod” stainless steel jewelry collection has a feminine look with pea pod shaped styling with pearls. Most people think that his jewelry is made from sterling silver when they first see it and most jewelers are surprised to find out that his shapes have been created using lost wax techniques commonly is used in gold and silver fabrication. Stainless steel jewelry for men is now being offered side by side with steel jewelry for women thanks to this new development in design.

Stainless steel offers a look that is completely different from silver and titanium. We have already seen the potential that steel has for jewelry when we see all the fine link work done for high end mens watches and mens stainless steel jewelry from top tier brands like Cartier and Jeager Le Coultre. The silvery look and finely brushed textures that you get from steel you cannot get from other metals. These finely textured finishes also hold up better on steel than they do on silver or gold. Stahl design out of Germany is a stainless steel jewelry manufacturer that makes some great stainless steel jewelry chain, stainless steel ring jewelry and steel cufflinks inlaid with sterling silver and the subtle contrasts created with the look are at once masculine and very classy.

Black stainless steel jewelry has made a strong showing recently demonstrating the depth of jewelry design possible with this material. Sarah Graham Metalsmithing’s “paper” chain necklace  in 18k gold and black steel is one such example where designers have taken the material to new levels of design and workmanship. The selling price on her piece is over $5000. Cede is another German manufacturer to wholesale stainless steel jewelry in the US but has gone the extra distance and created multiple colors in steel in their “Creation Milanaise” collection of bracelets comprised of 18k gold, diamonds, and steel in black, rose and regular white stainless steel.