Silk & Silver Links by EG Cappelli for Zampa di Gallina

I wear silk knots fairly frequently, and I've been looking for another silk cufflink alternative for awhile now. In my mind, the knots are on the casual end of the casual-formal spectrum so I was hoping to come across a link that still included some kind of silk in the design with some kind of sterling silver base (to go with my platinum wedding ring and stainless steel Longines watch).

I happened to come across a thread on Style Forum that provided a link to a French site for well-crafted men's clothing and accessories, Zampa di Gallina, which included these wonderful sterling silver cufflinks made by EG Cappelli that featured little swatches of silk in a variety of colors and patterns (you can see the cufflinks here).

As it turned out, Zampa di Gallina is run by Style Forum member Amar Ezzahi (and his associate Sadri who was also extremely helpful) and I'm pleased to report that the transaction went well and the links arrived within 7 days of my online purchase. There was an initial technical glitch that prevented me from paying via my paypal account (the site has only been up and running for a short time so they're still in the early stages), but Amar/Sadri allowed me to pay directly via Paypal. After that, it was just a matter of waiting for the links to show up.

Once they arrived, I was quite pleased with them. I went with a brown silk to go with the various shades of brown and grays that I wear throughout the week. I was tempted to also pick up the EG Cappelli 7-fold featuring the same fabric/pattern for sale on the Zampa di Gallina. I'm still debating whether to do it since I have a Drake's tie in a very similar color/pattern. It's not an exact match, which I think may ultimately be a better option than wearing matching tie and links.

So far, I've tried the links with a few shirts and it looks great. The colors really jump out and offers a nice contrast against white or light blue shirts. Generally, I like heavier cuffinks and these are fairly light, so my personal preference would have been for something with little more heft, but I'm quibbling here. That being said, the cufflinks look great and I would highly recommend picking up a pair via Zampa di Gallina.