The Dior Tiger's Eye Cufflinks: A Flower in Gold Plate and Quartz

Cufflinks are among the few pieces of jewellery that belong as much to tailoring as to ornament. They close a shirt cuff and, in doing so, show a small piece of metal and stone at the wrist. This set from Christian Dior, made in the 1980s, combines flower-shaped cufflinks in gold plate with tiger's eye stones and a matching chained tie pin that can also be worn as a brooch.

Dior in the 1980s

Through the 1980s, Christian Dior was led by Marc Bohan, creative director of the house from 1961 to 1989. In those years the Dior name appeared on a wide range of accessories, from scarves to costume jewellery.

Flowers recur throughout Dior's history, in prints, embroidery and the names of its perfumes. On a pair of cufflinks the motif takes a small and stylised form.

Tiger's eye

Tiger's eye is a variety of quartz, usually golden to brown, known for its silky, shifting lustre. The Gemological Institute of America describes how the stone forms from fibrous material encapsulated in quartz, and how light reflecting from the fibres produces the band of light, known as chatoyancy, that moves across its surface. Warm in tone and relatively hard, it has long been used for cufflinks, rings and other jewellery that is handled often.

Set in gold plate, the stone's brown and gold tones give the pieces a warm, unified colour.

The set

The cufflinks are flower-shaped and measure 2.5 centimetres. They are signed Dior. The set also includes a tie pin on a chain, which can be worn as a brooch, so that it can serve both a man's tie and a jacket lapel.

The object

The Archivary describes the set as 1980s Christian Dior gold-plated cufflinks with tiger's eye stones, flower-shaped and signed Dior, with a chained tie pin that can also be worn as a brooch. It is recorded in like-new condition and comes with its original box.