Wrought Silver Shell Cuff Links

Spratling called these the "wrought silver shell" cufflinks, a Third Design Period (1951 to 1967) design whose surface relates closely to the applied discs set over pierced areas that he first used in the Second Design Period. The shell form gives each link a domed, organic profile.

The "wrought" in the name points to technique. Spratling production remained hand-wrought throughout his career, the silver worked by hand to the same standard across jewelry and accessories (Morrill, Mexican Silver, 1994, p. 251). A wrought silver shell is that hand method applied to a small sculptural unit.

The link to the earlier applied-disc-over-piercing treatment shows how Spratling carried a successful surface idea forward across design periods, refining rather than abandoning it. The cufflinks read as a Third Period distillation of that motif.

Named in Spratling's own terms and tied to a documented earlier technique, the "wrought silver shell" cufflinks are a small but clearly traceable piece. Men's accessories like cufflinks are less commonly seen than his jewelry and surface only occasionally.