Christmas is approaching and most of us are on the lookout for presents. Thankfully shopping nowadays doesn't automatically imply throwing yourself into madding crowds of people as the Internet offers the chance of doing your own browsing in the comfort of your house.
Yet spotting genuine quality items at reasonably affordable prices in a virtual jungle is a trick business. Among the few oasis of quality there is Samuel Gassmann's recently opened online store.
The shop offers a selection of his trademark cufflinks for both men and women in mother-of-pearl, coral and glass or in more luxurious and rare materials.
Fans of everything architectural can opt for sculpted cufflinks in antique ivory; those who like bright shades can instead go for the Colour(s) or for the most recent addition to Gassmann's collection, the Composition(s) cufflinks and it's possible to choose between cufflinks for different occasions, from day to evening.
All the pieces are handmade in Gassmann's Paris-based studio and are unique and timeless accessories, ideal if you need to invest your money (prices go from roughly 110 euros on) into something you definitely won't throw away the day after Christmas.
Which cufflinks would you recommend for both men and women as the perfect presents that we could use not only at Christmas but everyday?
Samuel Gassmann: Every taste is as good as the next one and there is no discussion about this! My advice would be to buy a pair of cufflinks that you know you will wear everyday. Something that looks like you. The worst is to wear something by duty or for convention and not for and with pleasure! Personally, I wear all the models from the archetype selection, more than the cabochons because they look like buttons, so they are almost invisible on a shirt. I consider them as a little treasure just for myself!
Which are the most expensive and extravagant ones instead?
Samuel Gassmann: I often work with ancient materials like antique ivory or sestercius - the latter sold out actually. To work with that kind of noble materials seems to be anachronistic especially if you think about the period of time we are living in nowadays, but that's what I enjoy the most about my work.
Which is your favourite shade among the coloured cufflinks?
Samuel Gassmann: To my mind, colour is ephemeral… and I love the ephemeral particularity of the Colour(s) selection as their shades are produced using a temporary pigment that mimicks our own life in colour: one day you have blond/brown/red hair, then you go grey and you turn white at the end. Everytime, whatever you do, colour will disappear. Colours live with us, grow up with us, get old with us.
The Composition(s) 3 cufflinks are new, can you tell me more about them?
Samuel Gassmann: This is a model from the A/W collection. The basic idea for the Composition(s) 3 cufflinks is the same behind the Colour(s) cufflinks. The latter were inspired by Mondrian's orthogonal structure of representation and by colours being temporary. Porous and sensitive to light, troca shells can be tinted,
but rediscover their natural colour with the passing of time. The cufflinks are a multiple compositions of blue 3, green 3, yellow 3 and red 3 (so Line 3 of the Portrait of Colour(s)). It was also a real pleasure to make something so beautiful from a craftsmanship point of view and at the same time so technologically advanced alongside François Mercier who made the natural pigments that are sensitive to light to dye the shells. Mercier retired this year, so the Composition(s) cufflinks are from my point of view also a way to thank him for his support from the early days of my career in design.
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