There is no rule about how to remember someone. For some people it's a framed photograph on the landing; for others it's a habit, a phrase or an object they carry. Memorial cufflinks sit in that last group. To anyone else they're a smart detail at the wrist. To you, they're a face you know.
For the Days They Should Have Been Here
Many people first think of in memory cufflinks when a family occasion is coming up. A groom who has lost his father wants him present at the ceremony. A son is getting married a year after his grandfather died. A grandson graduates, or a nephew is christened, and the family is conscious of the empty chair.
A pair worn on that day doesn't need to be explained, though it often becomes a gentle talking point. Guests who knew the person will sometimes spot the photograph and share a memory, which can be one of the kindest moments of the day.
Choosing a Photograph You'll Want to See
The image will be printed small, so a few considerations help:
- Look for the face. A head-and-shoulders portrait with the eyes visible is the most recognisable at this size.
- Choose the person you remember. It doesn't have to be the latest photograph. The one from a fishing trip twenty years ago may feel far more like him than a posed picture from last Christmas.
- Group photos can work. If the best picture of your gran is at a family party, zoom into her face in the live preview until she fills the square. The sharper the original, the better this works.
- Old prints are fine. Lay a printed photograph flat by a window in daylight and photograph it straight on without flash, or have it scanned. Upload that original file rather than one passed on by message, since we print from the full-resolution image.
- Try black and white. A faded colour print often looks calmer and clearer in monochrome.
Words, Handwriting and Small Symbols
Not everyone wants to look at a face every time they fasten a cuff, especially in the early months. There are gentler alternatives:
- Their handwriting. A signature, "Love, Dad" from a birthday card, or a line from a letter. Photograph it on plain paper in good light.
- Initials and years. Simple lettering, such as "J.M. 1948–2025", is discreet and dignified.
- Words that say it simply. "Always with me", "Forever in our hearts" or the name they called you.
- Something that was theirs. Their allotment, their boat, their football club's colours, their favourite flower.
Some families choose a photograph for the wedding day and words for everyday wear afterwards. There is no wrong answer.
Wearing Them at a Wedding or Celebration
People sometimes worry that wearing in memory cufflinks at a happy occasion will make it sad. In practice, most find the opposite: the pair gives the person a quiet place in the day without asking anyone to stop and grieve. A groom might mention them in his speech; he might say nothing at all. Both are fine.
If you'd like the design to sit comfortably with wedding clothes, a black-and-white photograph or simple initials suit almost any colour of suit or tie.
In memory cufflinks aren't only for big occasions, either. Plenty of people wear theirs to work on the anniversary, to a match their dad would have loved, or on an ordinary Tuesday when they simply want him near. After the wedding is over, the same pair can become an everyday keepsake, kept on the dressing table and reached for whenever it feels right.
Pairs for Everyone Who Misses Them
A loss is shared, and it's common to order several pairs so that a father, his sons and his grandsons can all wear the same photograph, or so each family member has their own chosen image. Each pair carries one image on both cufflinks, and different photos simply mean different pairs in the same basket.
A single pair is £40 with shipping included, and two to four pairs are also £40 each. From five pairs in total, every pair is £15, with one £5 shipping charge for the order, so five pairs come to £80 and eight to £125.
If the person served in a regiment, belonged to a lodge or played for a club and you'd like its badge, please make sure you own the artwork or have permission to use it; we may have to decline a badge we can't lawfully reproduce.
When several relatives are each choosing a picture, it can help for one person to gather the photographs and handle the order, so nobody has to go through the practical side alone.
Taking Your Time Over the Order
There's no hurry. Some people order in the weeks after a funeral; others wait a year or more until they can bear to go through the photographs. Looking through albums together, deciding which picture feels most like them, can become a small act of remembering in itself.
When you're ready, upload the image, move and zoom it until it looks right on both cufflinks in the live preview, and place your order. Each pair is made in our Cornwall workshop and arrives in its own gift box.