Hersey Blog

Bangle – An Adopted Word

admin — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 07:46:55 +0000

How many Indian words do you use in everyday conversation? You may be surprised at how many Indian words were adopted by our Victorian ancestors during the days of the Raj and one of them is ‘bangle’. Which leads to the thought, what was a bangle called before we had the word bangle?

This insight into language comes courtesy of a trailer for a BBC radio programme to be introduced by Poet Daljit Nagraon Radio 4 at 11:00 on Friday 13 July in which he will revel in the extraordinary word horde of Hobson-Jobson.

And before you ask, ‘Hobson Jobson’ by Colonel Henry Yule and AC Burnell and subtitled ‘A glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms etymological, historical, geographical and discursive,’ was a 1,000-page dictionary started in 1872 to index the lexicon of words of Asian origin used by the British in India.

A new edition is due for publication in 2013 and within it you will find words such as:

B – bandana, bangle, bazaar, bungalow
C – catamaran, char, cheroot, chintz, chit, chokey, cummerbund, curry
D – dinghy, dungarees
G – gingham, guru, gymkhana
H – hullabaloo
J – jodhpur, juggernaut, junk, jute
K – khaki, kedgeree
L – loot
P – pariah, pundit, purdah, pyjamas
S – shampoo
T – thug
V – veranda

A concise version of the dictionary is available from Amazon and may suffice until the publication of the 1,000+ page version in the new year. You can find our collection of silver bangles by following the link.

Amazon.co.uk Widgets

Forces VAT-Free Silver Gifts

admin — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 13:35:28 +0000

Members of the UK Armed Forces serving abroad in Europe, or further afield, can now purchase silver gifts from our web site and use their tax-free status while serving outside the UK, to buy their gifts and jewellery VAT-free.

To get the VAT Free price use the discount code: BFPOVATFREE when you place your order. You enter this during the order process.

If you are serving inside the EU your exemption from paying VAT can only be processed when a correctly completed and signed form 15(10) has been provided. It is available for download here.

Customers who give a BFPO delivery address in the EU will have their order processed, but it will not be dispatched until the completed 15(10) has been supplied. If within 14 days the 15(10) has not been submitted, the order will be canceled and your payment refunded. We suggest you place your order and download the form at the same time. Once it has been completed you can return it to us by post, by fax or by scanning it and emailing it to us.

If you have any queries you can phone us for advice on +44 (0)844 736 5866

Please remember, it is a criminal offense to make false declarations relating to your tax status.

Silk Knot Cufflinks in Solid Silver

admin — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 10:48:10 +0000

The Silk Knot Cufflink, also known as Turk’s Head cufflinks have been around since the early years of the 20th century and their invention is credited to the Paris shirt maker Charvet, of whom more later.

The Silk Knot Cufflink is based on the Turk’s head knot, a decorative knot that would have been familiar with sailors in the days of sailing ships. Boy Scout Leaders ancient and modern will also be familiar with the knot as on completion of their training course they are awarded the Wood Badge and allowed to use a woggle made using the Turk’s head knot. The woggle, also known as the Gilwell woggle is not worn by other scouts.

The name Turk’s head comes from the knots rough resemblance to a Middle Eastern turban. It is also known as a monkey’s fist, so sometimes the cufflinks are called monkey’s fist cufflinks.

Bachelor Cufflinks

In the USA Silk Knot Cufflinks are occasionally known as bachelor cufflinks. This is because their elasticated construction allows the wearer to put on a shirt where the cufflink has been threaded through the cuff in advance, thus avoiding the fiddly business of trying to thread a cufflink single handedly through the buttonholes of the cuff when it is already worn.

Sailors used the Turk’s head knot for practical purpose such as marking the “king spoke” of a ship’s wheel, giving instant identification that when vertical the rudder would be in a central position. It was also used as a weight on the end of a rope, making it easier to throw, for example on to the quayside when docking a ship. Made from heavy rope, the Turk’s head knot also made an effective weapon when skirmishing at close quarters as it could be swung very effectively and knock people out or over.

Back to Charvet the shirt makers; they have had a shop in the Place Vendôme in Paris since 1877 and are famous for supplying shirts to royalty and heads of state. They are also credited with the introduction of the Silk Knot Cufflink in 1904. These were originally made in silk of a single colour and rapidly became a popular gentleman’s fashion accessory.

Today, Silk Knot Cufflinks are usually made from braided elastic rather than silk and the cufflinks are made not just in single colours, but in two or three different colours as well. This enables them to be made to match the colours of a sports club, institution or even a national flag, allowing the wearer to display their association discreetly on their sleeve.

The popularity of the Silk Knot Cufflink eventually led to them being copied in precious metals such as silver, letting wearers addicted to silk or elasticated Silk Knot Cufflinks to have a similar cufflink to wear on more formal occasions. What’s more, while these precious metal Silk Knot Cufflinks don’t have the bachelor appeal of the elasticated Silk Knot Cufflinks, they do look very smart.

We have a great range of solid silver cufflinks and you can find our silver Silk Knot Cufflinks by following the link.

History of the Collar Stiffener

admin — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 11:20:23 +0000

Collar stiffeners are essential shirt accessories for the well-dressed man; they enable the shirt collar to lay flat against the collarbone rather than curling up or down. For none UK readers, what the British call collar stiffeners may be known as collar sticks, bones, tabs or stays, although stays are also those safety pin type clips that connect each collar tab via specially made holes in the shirt fabric.

Today the collar stiffener delivered with a shirt is usually made of plastic, pointed at one end and rounded at the other. This is inserted, pointed end first, into a specially made pocket on the underside of the collar that reaches to the point of the collar. On some shirts the collar stiffener may be sewn into the collar, but accidental damage, especially during laundering can result in them buckling or breaking. For this reason, shirts with removable stiffeners are the best choice.

Before the invention of plastic, collar stiffeners were made from solid strips of metal such as brass, celluloid, mother of pearl, horn, ivory, whalebone and valuable and unusual woods. There is a reference in an encyclopedia of 1809 to collar sticks being made of boxwood found on Box Hill in Surrey, although whether these were for the collars of a shirt or the collars of a coat or other garment remains unknown. Suffice to say that the principal and effectiveness of collar stiffeners was well known by this time.

Today’s shirt collars descend from the ruffle created by the drawstring at the neck of the medieval shirt, which was an undergarment rather than an exposed shirt that we are familiar with today. However, when the exposed shirt collar became fashionable detachable collars became popular as they allowed the shirt to be worn for several days while the collar could be changed for a fresh one as and when required. Lace collars were imported from the Holland where there was a thriving lace industry.

These detachable collars would be stiffened with starch during washing to make them crisp. The starch served a secondary purpose in that dirt and sweat would adhere to the starch rather than the fabric and this would easily wash away during laundering along with the starch.

In early Victorian times the shirt collar would generally be worn turned upwards rather than folded down, but as fashions changed to less showy designs the downward pointed collar became the standard that we know today. Having a shirt with a crisp shirt collar was an important fashion feature, but starched collars were stiff and uncomfortable to wear and in the early part of the 20^th century many patents for designs for alternative collar stiffening devices were applied for.

There is a source that claim that the modern collar stiffener was invented by Max Rittenberg an employee of Alexander & Oviatt a Los Angeles haberdashers who made their own branded shirts and that Rittenberg’s boss, James Oviatt didn’t patent the idea and gave it to a friend who was a salesman for the Van Heusen shirt-company. However, this claim refers to a date of no earlier than 1912 while as pointed out above, there are several patents earlier in the century for many varieties of collar stiffeners.

Today solid silver collar stiffeners are a fashionable and much longer lasting than the plastic, celluloid, wood or whalebone alternatives. They make terrific gifts for the well-groomed man, especially when personalised with the name or initials of the user, or a special message. The message may be hidden, but the user will have a regular reminder of it when they change the stiffeners between shirts. Messages from children engraved on the stiffeners are especially popular.

Silver Weddings 2012

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:46:16 +0000

Finding celebrity silver weddings becomes increasingly difficult with each passing year. Many famous couples married in 1987…but not that many marriages have survived 25-years.

If you are a friend of any of them and are looking for the perfect silver wedding gift, just take a look at our Silver Wedding Anniversary Gifts – except in one case, I’m sure they would be appreciated.

One silver wedding anniversary this year has already taken place:

18th January 1987 Musician Steve Winwood & Eugenia Crafton

Hera a few more of the soon to be happy couples:

21st March 1987 Darts Commentator Bobby George & his wife and manager Marie – as George is well known for his gold jewellery a silver gift might be a bit of a surprise!
August 1987, BBC Journalist and Broadcaster Andrew Marr & Jackie Ashley of The Guardian
11th October 1987 Musician Joe Cocker & Pam Baker
Date Unknown: Creative genius and chief designer at Apple, Sir Jonathan Paul “Jony” Ive & Heather Pegg

The Early History of the Cufflink

admin — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:29:48 +0000

The history of the cuff link does not go as far back as you may think. Shirts were originally an item of men’s underwear and did not become an exposed garment until the 16th Century. The cuffs of the shirt, when it was an undergarment, were sometimes frilled or ruffed and allowed to be shown at the wrist. Some commentators suggest that this was a rather daring thing to do, much like exposing a hint of underpants today.

Cuffs of shirts were originally tied or laced with ribbons or tape ties, a practice that continued into the 19th Century, although by then buttons had been used for some time to close a cuff, a step that made it significantly easier for a person to dress themselves unaided.

There were several types of buttons in use, including the flat button that is familiar to us all today and which is sewn through directly onto a garment, and the shank button which has a hollow protrusion on the back through which a thread can be sewn to attach the button. This could also be attached when the protrusion was inserted into a hole on the garment and secured on the other side with a wire or clasp

Buttons for everyday use would have been made from horn, wood and shell, but as they became increasingly a decorative feature and made from more valuable materials such as silver, gold and precious stones, the buttons would have had to been removed before the garment was washed to avoid damage and re-sewed when dried and ironed.

We can guess that at about this point, some fashion conscious chap realised that joining two shank buttons together with a thread or a wire, would enable him to secure the open cuffs of his shirt more easily by having a buttonhole on each side of the cuff and threading the buttons through the buttonholes. Moreover, it would allow him to show a button on either side of each cuff and he wouldn’t need to pay a servant to re-sew his buttons continually.

Boutons de Manchette

All over the web you will find references to shirt sleeves being fastened for the first time with boutons de manchette, or “sleeve buttons,” during the reign of Louis XIV. This has been repeated without any verification that I can find, along with the statement that the boutons de manchette were “ typically identical pairs of coloured glass buttons joined together by a short, linked chain.” While the timing, 17th – 18th Century seems about right, I’m sure that the buttons used would more likely to have been made in a metal such as silver and that there would have been some experimentation with the joining method, such as the thread or wire mentioned previously, before someone hit on the use of a tiny linked chain.

The First Cufflinks

Early Silver Cufflinks

The illustration here of a pair of silver chain-link cufflinks, which are the earliest I can find, seem to bear this out. These date to the period of the restoration in England of King Charles II and appear to have been made to celebrate the marriage of Charles II to Catherine of Braganza on the 20th May 1662 and show clasped hands wearing stylish 17th century cuffs, while above there is a crown and below two hearts. The hearts and clasped hands motif are traditional symbols of marriage and union. These “sleeve buttons” may possibly have be worn by Royal supporters of Charles and may be an early example of manufacturing commemorative items for a Royal occasion.

The term “sleeve buttons” was certainly still in use in the UK in the late 17th Century where references using this term along with diamond cuff buttons and buttons set in gold and enamel can be found. The earliest reference to links is found 100-years later in the Birmingham Gazette in 1788.

However, it wasn’t until the middle of the 18th Century and the invention of steam driven stamping machines during the industrial revolution, that mass-produced men’s jewellery became available to a wider audience at more affordable prices.

French Cuffs & Single Cuffs

This may have encouraged the popularisation by the 1840s of what we now know as the French cuff – a double-cuff shirt that folds back on itself and is sometimes known as a kissing cuff – that remains popular today and for which we continue to make a variety of traditional and modern cufflinks.

Another driver for the popularisation of cuff links in the Victorian and Edwardian eras was the use of detachable collars and cuffs on shirts. The collars and cuffs would be starched rigid, making it virtually impossible to use a button to close them. Collars would be attached to the shirt with a collar stud and cuffs with a cuff link. The use of detachable collars and cuffs enabled the shirt to be worn for several days with a fresh collar added daily. Grubby cuffs could be reversed after the first days use and refreshed on the third day.

Turk’s Knot Cufflinks

An alternative fastener to the cufflink is the silk knot, also known as monkey’s fists or turk’s head. The famous Paris shirtmaker Charvet is credited with their introduction in 1904, although today they are rarely made from silk and elastic is used instead. Chavet customers have included Edward VII and Winston Churchill and the business still flourishes today on the Place Vendôme, a few doors away from its original location. The popularity of this fashion led to the introduction of metal cufflinks shaped to look like a silk knot – we make them in silver and they can be found on our website by following the link to Silver Cufflinks – Turks Knot.

Silver Pepper Mill – Inspector Crabbe

admin — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 22:05:01 +0000

: Silver Pepper Mill in Pie In The Sky

One of our recent customers wanted to emulate Inspector Henry Crabbe, a character in a TV series shown on BBC1 between 1994 and 1997.

“Pie in the Sky” was a light-hearted British police drama featuring a disillusioned policeman and pie chef extraordinaire. The role was created specially for Richard Griffiths, typically known for his comic performances and his role in Harry Potter.

I missed that series, but apparently the detective pieman, used to carry a little silver pepper mill in his waistcoat pocket which was whisked out as the occasion demanded.

There’s a still from the series above and a clip from the series above right. You can see the silver pepper mill we engraved below. If you would like to purchase a similar one yourself follow the link to the small silver pepper mill.

: Silver Pepper Mill Engraved

Costly Salt Not Good For You!

admin — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 08:45:32 +0000

I read that the health do-gooders are at it again, this time with yet another report that UK adults eat too much salt. Which? Magazine and Consensus Action on Salt and Health found no difference in chemical content between regular salt and ‘costly gourmet brands’.

In a quote aimed at getting reported in the tabloid press, they went on to say, “Celebrity chefs should not be encouraging people to sprinkle sea salt on food, as you can get all the salt you need from a balanced diet.”

So Jamie, Marco Pierre White and even our local JP Gravier are being accused of not knowing how to prepare a meal and season it so that it arrives at the table with a combination of flavours to delight the customer.

Meanwhile, most ready made meals from your local supermarket will be overdosed with salt to preserve the food and avoid the use of more expensive herbs and other ingredients.

Fortunately, a few salt producers were allowed to comment on the report. Romi Alexander of So Natural, which supplies Himalayan Crystal Salt, spoke tellingly, saying, “Table salt is a highly refined, processed white substance that’s devoid of nutrients.”

Of course, one of the benefits of ‘expensive’ crystal salt is that its price will make home cooks use it more sparingly than free-running processed salt, so that’s got to be good for you. While the bigger benefit is that it encourages people to invest in our beautiful range of salt mills. (You had to read this far to find out why I was writing about salt and not silver!)

Found on the tables of Michelin starred restaurants and one of our popular gifts – in combination with with our silver peppermills – our range of salt mills are available in solid silver or in combination with Rosewood, Blackwood and Ivorine. Like most of our gifts we can engrave them with names or messages. Perhaps “Just One Twist” would satisfy Which?.

The Greatest’s Silver Wedding Anniversary

admin — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:01:32 +0000

Today marks the occasion of Muhammad Ali’s Silver Wedding Anniversary. In 1999 Ali was crowned “Sportsman of the Century” by Sports Illustrated and “Sports Personality of the Century” by the BBC. But the sportsman simply known as ‘The Greatest’ by millions of people around the world and quotes such as, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” has a more gentle side as revealed by this quotation:

“Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.”

The Champ had been married three times before marrying Yolanda E Williams (“Lonnie”), 14-years his junior, on November 19, 1986 in Louisville, Kentucky. They had been friends since 1964. They have one son, Asaad Amin, who they adopted when Amin was five.

We wish them a great day…follow the link if you wish to buy a Silver Wedding Anniversary gift for this or any other Silver Anniversary.

See photo above: Muhammad Ali with his wife Yolanda, accept the President’s Award during the 40th NAACP Image Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on February 12, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images for NAACP)

Christmas 2011 Last Orders

admin — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 00:32:20 +0000

To coincide with the announcement of the Christmas Stamps for 2011, we are publishing our last posting dates for Christmas. If you live in Australia or New Zealand, there’s less than a month to go before you can place your last order…so don’t delay!

Our engraver is already busy personalising Christmas Gifts with messages, so please don’t leave it until the last minute if you would like to have your Christmas Presents engraved.

All our gifts are sent postage free worldwide, in the UK by Recorded Delivery and in the Rest of the World by Signed For services, so someone will need to be at the delivery address to sign for any items we mail.

The last date for posting to addresses in the:

UK and Channel Islands – Wednesday 21 December – order by 1.00pm
Western Europe – Monday 12th December
USA, Canada & Eastern Europe – 9th December
Australia & NZ – Monday 5th December

If you are in any doubt as to whether we will be able to meet a delivery date in time for Christmas or need advice with engraving please give us a call or send us an email and we will be happy to advise you.

(Sorry, but we don’t use stamps like the ones illustrated to post your gifts…we’ve just shown them here because they are quite pretty!)