Saturday, May 10, 2008

Ziething & Co. Cufflinks

Ziething & Co. Octagonal gold cufflinks, circ 1925.

Ziething & Company is one of the lesser known makers of fine cufflinks from the first half of the last century. The firm created intricately engraved cufflinks with beautifully engine-turned centers surrounded by bold white gold borders. The brightly engraved links literally sparkle and dance on the cuff.


Ziething & Co. Starburst gold cufflink, crca 1925

Ziething & Co. was based in Newark, New Jersey and specialized in manufacturing 10kt and 14kt gold jewelry. Based on the style and construction of the cufflinks, Ziething appears to have created jewelry (or at least cufflinks) during the 1920s and early 1930s. I suspect the firm did not survive the Great Depression, like a number of the cufflink makers from the early 20th century.


The maker's mark for Ziething is a "Z" in a diamond-shape cartouche. The maker's mark is usually found in the middle of the connecting bridge. The other side of the bridge is stamped with the gold karate mark, "10K". The Ziething mark is sometimes misidentified as an elongated "N".


Ziething & Co. "Spider Web" gold cufflinks, circa 1925.

If you would like to view more elegant cufflinks from the past,
please visit our Antique Cufflink Gallery.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Unknown said...

Its good to see the cuff links by Ziething & co. The business was started by my Gt Gt Gt uncle William Henry Ziething (1875-1944) who was brought to America by his father Henry Ziething in about 1884.William was born in Portsmouth UK. Henry did not get on with his wife and told her that he was taking William & his sister Ada for a holiday to Germany.They actually went to Newark, New Jersey where they settled. William & Ada's mother Amelia never knew what happened to the family and assumed that they had drowned on there way to Germany.

Antique Cufflink Gallery said...

Thank you so much for posting about the history of your talented ancestor. I enjoy learning about the cufflink and jewelry makers as much as I love the antique cufflinks themselves.

Ziething cufflinks are among my favorites. With their bold design and bright-cut engraving they capture the exuberance and excitement of the Jazz Age.

Flagler said...

cgrant19 your uncle William married my 1st cousin.
Oliver R. Martin & Mary Barringer…daughter Sarah Louise Martin married Wm H. Ziething June 28, 1896 Manhattan, NY…Henry Ziething & Amelia Wells.