For over one hundred and fifty years the paperclip has been a ubiquitous part of our lives, used to gather documents together or unfolded to poke into computer drives and mobile phones to release internal mechanisms. They’ve even been used to pick locks and handcuffs. But with the advent of a paperless society with more and more transactions being done online, perhaps the paperclip will gradually fade away and become a curiosity for your grandchildren.

The GEM Paperclip

The paperclip we use today has a design so perfectly simple that it seems odd that it once competed with dozens of alternative designs. But the Gem paperclip, yes it does have a name, is the winner of a paperclip war that lasted for best part of a century.

The Gem paperclip first emerged around the 1870’s, competing with many designs from manufacturers keen to get a slice of the office equipment market. They wanted to take advantage of new mass production methods that extruded wire and folded it into unique shapes that they could then patent, believing that the winner of the war would make a financial killing.

But creating a design that was unique and could be patented, was easily made and met the usage criteria presented a challenge. The perfect paperclip had to be easy to slip over a number of pages without catching or tearing them, be lightweight so that it used as little wire as possible and would be strong enough to be reused time and time again.

Many of the solutions were bizarre, look complicated to make, used far too much wire in construction and appear fiendishly difficult to use. Some don’t seem to be strong enough to be endlessly recycled as the Gem is, surely one of the first green products with an infinite lifetime. Despite this they are still churned out by the billion each year, so we must assume that they have a life of their own and after fulfilling their allotted work on Earth, disappear to planet Gem for a quite retirement, in the same solar system as planet BIC where ball point pens disappear.

The Gem paperclip was never patented. In Sweden paperclips are called ‘gems’  and in many other countries some people still call paperclips ‘Gem clips’. 

Beyond its practicality, the Gem has taken on a cultural life of its own. It’s been reimagined in sculpture, worn as quirky jewellery, and - much to the annoyance of some - immortalised as Clippy, Microsoft Word’s animated assistant that was eventually retired in 2007.

The GEM Paperclip - Now a Money Clip

At Hersey & Son, we’ve reimagined the Gem paperclip in a way that truly honours its timeless design. Our handcrafted SILVER PAPERCLIP MONEY CLIP is a tribute to the original: beautifully simple, endlessly useful, and now, unmistakably elegant. At 2 inches (51mm) in length, it’s perfect as a stylish money clip or a thoughtful gift for the person who has everything.

Admired by those who understand design, cherished by those who appreciate craftsmanship  this is more than just a paperclip. It’s a symbol of quiet silver genius, and of course, now you can tell your friends the history of the Gem.