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JEWELRY DESIGNER INTERVIEWS

John de Jong photo

Gemstone and wood pumpkin cufflinks including chrysoprase, sapphires, black jade, ruby

John de Jong

Don't shy away from colourful cufflinks

I can’t figure out why I am so conservative in my taste for men’s jewellery, except when it comes to cufflinks.

That is where I love to see men go to town. The more whimsical, colourful and bejeweled, the better.

“I think it’s because cufflinks are worn on the shirt, rather than on the skin,” comments John de Jong, a jeweler who splits his time between homes in Toronto and Lausanne.

So true.

De Jong has a delicious sense of colour that he taps with kunzite, morganite, apatite and a rainbow of sapphires for his tasteful women’s designs. But he doesn’t tone things down for men. Instead, de Jong offers cufflinks in refreshing tones of olive, royal blue and Caribbean green.

Imagine a floret (de Jong calls it a pumpkin) of minty chrysoprase with a pink sapphire centre. On a man’s finger or on a chain around his neck it would look gauche. But on a razor sharp French cuff the gems are stylish and sophisticated.

Same goes for the baby blue chalcedony discs dotted with diamonds.

And de Jong's freshwater pearls or brown diamonds would be stunning with a tux.

De Jong also stocks more neutral cufflinks in sterling silver and gold. And both metals have an elegant gleam. But really guys, here’s one of those rare fashion opportunities where even the most reserved man has a chance to shine.