Two long-standing passions meet right here: watchmaking and cufflinks. “Watch” cufflinks come in two very different forms. Some are genuine tiny watches that tell the time; others are made from watch movements and worn as miniature works of art. Here is how to tell them apart, choose them and wear them.
What are watch cufflinks?
The term covers two families:
- Working watch cufflinks: each cufflink contains a tiny quartz movement, a dial and hands. They really do tell the time, and are set using a small crown, just like a watch.
- Watch movement cufflinks: these do not tell the time. Their face displays a watch movement (mainplate, bridges, gears, jewels, blued screws) mounted in a cufflink setting. Their appeal is aesthetic and symbolic.
Both families are gathered in our Watchmaking / watches category, and the designs with a visible movement in our Watch movements category.
Cufflinks that tell the time
How do they work?
A quartz movement, powered by a small battery, drives the hands. The dial is usually round, with hour markers or Roman numerals, beneath a protective crystal. A crown on the side lets you set the time.
One watch, or two time zones
Since you wear two cufflinks, nothing stops you setting each one to a different time zone: Paris time on the left, New York or Tokyo on the right. That is the idea behind our GMT-6 and GMT+9 designs, named after Greenwich Mean Time. A nod much appreciated by travellers, by families spread across continents and by teams who work with colleagues abroad.
Can they replace a watch?
Let's be honest: reading the time on a cufflink means turning your wrist and pulling back your sleeve. They are an accessory with character rather than an everyday instrument. Many people wear them in addition to their watch, or save them for evenings when the sports watch happily comes off.
Cufflinks set with watch movements
Watch movements on display
On these designs, the heart of a watch becomes the decoration: balance wheel, hairspring, gilded gears, red jewels serving as bearings, engraved calibre or manufacturer inscriptions. Some of our designs are made from old movements by well-known watchmakers, named on the product page: Omega, Tissot, Hamilton, Elgin, Wittnauer, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and even Rolex or Audemars Piguet. Others, more affordable, feature a balance-wheel mechanism, like our Watch movement (balance wheel) design.
Why such a range in price?
Price follows the rarity and provenance of the movement. A generic, mass-produced mechanism remains affordable; a movement from a major manufacturer, necessarily available in limited numbers since it comes from existing watches, is priced like a collector's piece. Either way, every pair is unique in its small details: serial number, wear, engravings.
Good to know
These cufflinks are decorative objects: the movement no longer works as a watch and does not tell the time. Do not immerse them in water or use any cleaning product on the face, as this could damage the visible parts.
How to wear watch cufflinks
A simple outfit lets the movement speak
A visible movement is already visually rich. It works best with a plain white or light blue shirt with double cuffs, and a suit in a classic colour: navy, charcoal or mid grey. Avoid piling on patterns around it.
What about your watch?
Wearing a watch with watch cufflinks is perfectly fine, as long as the tones match: a silver case with silver cufflinks, a gold case with gold settings. If your cufflinks tell the time, a slim, discreet watch avoids an overloaded look. Our article on pairing cufflinks and a watch explains the possible combinations in detail.
For which occasions?
Movement cufflinks suit the office as well as dinners and weddings: the subject is serious and the look elegant. Working watch cufflinks, more playful, are at home in a relaxed professional setting or at an evening event.
Who to give watch cufflinks to
- The watch enthusiast, who will recognise a calibre and enjoy wearing a movement from a manufacturer he admires.
- The traveller, or anyone living between two time zones: the dual-time design really comes into its own.
- A retirement, the obvious symbol of time finally set free; see our retirement gift ideas.
- A milestone birthday or a career achievement, when you want a gift that is kept and handed down.
Every pair comes in its own gift box, ready to give. To store a small collection of watches and cufflinks, have a look at our gift boxes and storage cases.
Frequently asked questions
Do watch cufflinks really tell the time?
The working designs do: they contain a quartz movement. The watch movement designs are decorative and do not tell the time.
Can you change the battery in a watch cufflink?
It works like a small quartz watch. Changing the battery on something so tiny is delicate: a watchmaker will do it without risk to the dial.
Are the movements genuine branded movements?
Each product page describes the movement used and its origin, and that description is the reference. Entry-level designs use a generic, unbranded mechanism.
Which shirt should you wear them with?
As with all cufflinks, a shirt with double cuffs or convertible cuffs, which has two buttonholes on each cuff.
