Cufflinks
Buy and sell cufflinks in Panama.
Cufflinks only work on a shirt with a buttonhole on both sides of the cuff, so in Panama they come out for weddings, graduations and offices that still expect a jacket. They also have a place in folk dress: the fine linen festival shirt that men wear with the traditional costume of Panama province is closed with gold links, plain or made from coins, so a good pair can matter as much to a dance group as to a groom. They come new and pre-owned, from plated novelty sets to solid gold and silver handed down from a grandfather.
Bullet backs, chain links and fixed studs:
the fastening on the back decides how quickly a pair goes in and how long it lasts. The bullet or torpedo back, a small bar that swivels flat once it is through the cuff, is on most modern pairs. A whale back has a flat flap that folds down and fewer parts to wear. Chain links, two faces joined by a short chain, are the oldest style and show a face on both sides of the cuff. Fixed backs have no moving part at all, so nothing breaks, but they need a cuff with some give. A double or French cuff folds back on itself and has no buttons, and a convertible cuff has a button plus a second hole for a link. A plain barrel cuff with a single buttonhole will not take them. Metal is the other half of the match, and a gold pair beside a steel watch from men’s watches reads as an afterthought.
Gold cufflinks on Panamanian folk dress:
in the traditional costume of Panama province, the man’s fine linen festival shirt is closed at the cuff with gold links, either plain or made from coins, and some older versions of the women’s national dress closed the blouse with gold links where a wool pompom sits today. On the men’s costume from Los Santos the buttons can be gold, silver or costume metal, and a buyer needs to know which of the three is on offer. The hat that completes the outfit is under men’s hats and caps.
Plated, sterling or solid gold cufflinks:
the stamp on the back matters more than the design. Plated and stainless steel pairs, which covers most novelty and logo designs, run from about $20 to $50 new and keep little of that once worn, because the plating is what you paid for. Sterling silver, stamped 925, starts around $80 and passes $200 for a heavier or engraved pair. Solid gold is stamped 750 for 18 carat or 585 for 14 carat, and a gold pair is priced by its weight before anything else, so a buyer will want it on a scale. Marks such as GP, GF or HGE mean a gold layer over base metal, worth a fraction of the same pair in solid gold.
Old cufflinks under a good light:
the edges and the toggle go first, because the cuff rubs them every time the pair goes in. Plating wears through there before anywhere else, and a coppery or grey patch means base metal underneath. Swivel each bullet back: it should click firmly into both positions, and one that spins freely will work its way out of the cuff by lunchtime. Chipped enamel and loose stones are easy to miss in a dim room, and enamel cannot be polished back. Logo pairs from names like Montblanc, Cartier or Hugo Boss are copied often. The real ones feel heavy for their size, the engraving is crisp, and they usually come with the box and booklet; a light pair with soft lettering at a low price is almost always a copy.
Family cufflinks headed for a new owner:
most pairs that come up were a father’s or a grandfather’s, so start by saying where yours came from and whether the gold has ever been tested: family gold is exactly what folk dance groups and collectors look for, and its weight sets their offer. Photograph both faces and the back of each link in daylight with the stamp readable, add one picture worn on a cuff for scale, and mention any engraving or the original box. When a buyer comes from Las Tablas to collect a gold pair, let them thread it through their own double cuff before paying: a link too short for a thick folded cuff pinches the fabric, and that is better found out at the handover than at the wedding.