Decorative jewelry, its forms, materials, and fashion history.
Test your knowledge with these top questions!
What is the traditional name for a folded-back double cuff worn with cufflinks?
The fold creates two layers on each side of the wrist opening, so a cufflink passes through four aligned buttonholes.
What does a monogram engraved on a cufflink usually represent?
Three-letter monograms often put the surname initial in the center and make it larger than the first and middle initials.
Cufflinks fasten which part of a dress shirt?
Unlike sewn-on buttons, cufflinks detach, so the same pair can be worn with different shirts.
Which US secretary of state became known for using brooches to send diplomatic messages?
Albright wore a snake brooch after Saddam Hussein's press called her a serpent.
Which brooch style has a raised carved image, often a profile, against a contrasting background?
Carvers use layered shell or stone so the portrait and background can have different colors.
Which piece of jewelry fastens to a jacket lapel with a pin?
Early brooches held cloaks together, so the jewelry had a practical role as a clothing fastener.
Which material made from ancient wood was popular in Victorian mourning brooches?
Queen Victoria's long mourning for Prince Albert helped make black jet jewelry fashionable.
How does the hinged bar on a toggle-back cufflink secure the cuff?
Aligning the bar with the post makes the cufflink narrow enough to slide through the buttonholes.
Which former U.S. secretary of state wrote Read My Pins, a book about brooches?
Albright wore a snake brooch after Iraqi media called her a serpent, making an insult part of her diplomatic wardrobe.
Which flower appears on brooches worn for Britain's Remembrance Day?
Poppies grew on First World War battlefields, and the poem "In Flanders Fields" helped make the flower a remembrance symbol.