Gold Swank Cufflinks, Vintage 1960s, Bullet & Toggle Closure

Samuel M. Stone and Maurice J. Baer founded the Attleboro Manufacturing Company to produce and sell women’s jewelry in 1897, which marked the beginning of Swank. In 1908, Baer established a new division called Baer and Wilde to manufacture men’s jewelry, while Stone was fully in charge of Attleboro Manufacturing. The new Baer and Wilde division functioned in parallel with the Attleboro Manufacturing Company until 1918 when the Kum-A-Part cuff button was developed and became an instant hit.

During World War I, the military required thousands of metal identification tags, commonly known as “dog tags,” and other emblems that the Attleboro Manufacturing Company produced. Following the war, the women’s line was terminated, and the company switched to solely manufacturing men’s accessories such as collar buttons, pins, tie clips, and dress sets. The name Swank was initially used in 1927 in a print ad for a men’s collar holder, and the company was incorporated as Swank Products, Inc. in 1936. The name was subsequently changed to Swank, Inc. in 1941.

Once again, war occurred, and Swank suspended accessories production to manufacture precision parts for automatic weapons, in addition to producing the purple heart and the bronze star medals. After the war, Swank became one of the leading manufacturers of men’s accessories, including cufflinks and tie clips.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the company bought several leather goods businesses such as Prince Gardner Company, which made men’s and women’s leather goods under the Prince and Princess Gardner brand names, Crestline Manufacturing Company, and the Alco Leather Manufacturing Corporation. Leather goods were marketed under various names, including Swank, Pierre Cardin, and L’Aiglon. They also produced fragrances under the Royal Copenhagen name. Swank re-entered the women’s jewelry market with the Anne Klein label and received a license to produce jewelry and accessories with the Guess? label in the 1980s and 1990s. The company is still in operation today.