Most car cufflinks you'll find in shops show a generic sports car or a cartoon steering wheel. That's fine if he likes cars in general, but a petrolhead doesn't love cars in general. He loves one car in particular: the E-type he's been rebuilding, the Land Rover that's been up every green lane in the county, the first Golf he bought with his own money. Personalised car cufflinks let you put that exact vehicle on his cuffs, photographed from his favourite angle.
The petrolheads these are made for
Think of the man who can tell you the engine code before he tells you the colour. The dad who still talks about the Capri he sold in 1987. The son who has just passed his test and bought a slightly tired hatchback he adores anyway. The friend who spends every weekend at track days, or the grandad who has entered the same Morris Minor in the village show for twenty years.
They also suit bikers. A photo of a café racer, a vintage Triumph or a touring bike loaded for a trip round Scotland works just as well on a small square as any car.
Good moments to give them include a milestone birthday, Father's Day, the day a restoration finally passes its MOT, a first car, or a wedding where the groom is arriving in something he built himself.
Picking the right picture of the car
The square face of a cufflink is small, so the photo has to do its work quickly. A few approaches that tend to read well:
- The front three-quarter view. The classic magazine angle shows the grille, headlights and one side, and it's instantly recognisable.
- Straight-on at the front. Great for cars with a distinctive face, such as a round-headlamp classic or a Beetle.
- A detail shot. A single chrome badge, a wire wheel or the curve of a wing mirror can be striking at cufflink size, and it becomes his private joke.
- The before-and-after. Place a rusty barn-find photo next to the finished car in one image, so the whole restoration story fits into one design.
If he has a personalised number plate, a tight crop of the plate on the bodywork is a neat, witty option that nobody else could wear.
Getting a car photo ready to print
Cars are long and cufflinks are square, which is the main thing to plan for. A side profile of a saloon will end up tiny once it fits the width. Choose a photo taken at an angle, or be ready to crop to the front half of the car.
A plain background helps enormously. A car parked against a hedge, a white garage door or an open sky stands out better than one in a busy car park surrounded by other vehicles. Bright paintwork (British racing green, signal red, a pale cream) prints with more punch than dark grey in shadow.
Use the original file straight from the phone or camera rather than a screenshot or a copy saved from social media. We print from your full-resolution original, so more detail in means crisper edges on the chrome and lettering.
Cars, bikes and everything with an engine
The idea stretches further than you might expect. A tractor from the family farm, a narrowboat, a restored lorry, a vintage scooter or a rally car mid-jump all work. So does a pencil drawing of his car by one of the grandchildren, which often ends up being the version he treasures most.
Ordering your car cufflinks
- Upload your image. Pick the photo of his car from your phone or computer.
- Check the live preview. You'll see it on both cufflinks straight away. Drag and zoom until the car sits exactly where you want it.
- Place your order. Checkout is secure, and the cufflinks are printed in our Cornwall workshop and arrive gift boxed.
A single pair is £40 with shipping included. If the whole car club, or every driver in the family, wants a set, pairs are £15 each when you order 5 or more, plus £5 shipping per order, so five pairs come to £80. Several different designs can sit in one basket, so each person can have their own car.