Watches and cufflinks come in a wide range of designs and materials, and pairing them offers plenty of room for different combinations. It can be fun to look for common details when choosing a pair, whether it is the dial color, the material used for the crown, the case finish, or the stones and decorative elements found on the cufflinks.
Here, I’ll be featuring six watches, each paired with a set of cufflinks.
1. Jaeger-LeCoultre Bumper Automatic & Mother-of-Pearl Cufflinks
Watch: Jaeger-LeCoultre Bumper Automatic, Cal. P812
Cufflinks: Mother-of-Pearl Cufflinks
First up is the Jaeger-LeCoultre Bumper Automatic.
It features a gold-plated case paired with a warm ivory-colored dial. The overall color palette gives the watch a quiet, understated appeal.
For the cufflinks, I chose a mother-of-pearl pair with what appears to be a shell-inspired design. The gold-colored shell-like details and the soft lustre of the mother-of-pearl complement the dial’s pale tone.
The combination has a soft, warm feel, with the gold and ivory tones coming together naturally. The design of the cufflinks also sits comfortably alongside the watch, making for a well-coordinated pairing.
2. Girard-Perregaux & Black Onyx Cufflinks
Watch: Girard-Perregaux, Cal. 101
Cufflinks: Black Onyx Cufflinks
Next is an oval-shaped Girard-Perregaux watch.
Its champagne-gold sunburst dial changes in appearance depending on how the light catches it. The crown is set with a black stone, which appears to be black onyx.
I chose black onyx cufflinks to pick up the same color as the stone in the crown.
The addition of black against the gold-colored dial gives the overall combination a more defined look.
Using black on the cufflinks to match the stone in the crown creates a visual link between the two accessories.
The color scheme is simple, pairing gold and black, but the sheen of the dial and the lustre of the onyx give the combination just the right amount of presence.
3. Seiko Age of Discovery World Time & Gold-Tone Cufflinks
Watch: Seiko Age of Discovery World Time, Ref. SPL06P1
Cufflinks: Gold-Tone Cufflinks
The third watch is the Seiko Age of Discovery World Time.
Unlike the classic dress watches featured so far, this model offers functions such as world time and an alarm.
With its information-rich dial, I paired it with simple gold-tone cufflinks, picking up one of the colors already present in the watch.
The cufflinks have a simple design, so they do not compete with the dial, allowing both pieces to stand out.
The watch’s multi-function dial and the understated gold-tone cufflinks each have their own character, while the shared color brings the pairing together naturally.
4. IWC Ref. 910 & Dunhill Rope Design Cufflinks and Tie Clip
Watch: IWC, Ref. 910, Cal. 89
Cufflinks & Tie Clip: Dunhill Rope Design
The fourth watch is the IWC Ref. 910.
I paired it with a set of Dunhill rope-design cufflinks and a matching tie clip.
The rope motif is decorative without feeling overly elaborate, and its gold color works well with the watch. Adding the tie clip alongside the cufflinks also gives the accessories a more coordinated look.
A watch, cufflinks, and a tie clip can each be chosen individually, but bringing together pieces in similar colors and with a similar overall feel allows their smaller details to complement one another.
5. Longines & Green-Stone Gold-Tone Cufflinks
Watch: Longines, Cal. L.847.4
Cufflinks: Green-Stone Gold-Tone Cufflinks
The fifth watch is a Longines dress watch.
It has a gold-plated case and a gold-colored dial with a basket-weave pattern. Other distinctive details include a diamond at 12 o’clock and a crown set with a blue sapphire cabochon.
For this pairing, I chose gold-tone cufflinks set with green stones.
The gold tone of the cufflinks picks up the gold color of the watch, while the green adds an accent. Matching the base color and introducing a different color as an accent is another way to put a pairing together.
The watch could also work well with cufflinks set with blue stones, such as turquoise, rather than green ones. Picking up the blue of the sapphire in the crown would create a different look.
6. OMEGA Ref. 132.001 & Christian Dior Tiger’s Eye Cufflinks
Watch: OMEGA, Ref. 132.001, Cal. 610
Cufflinks: Christian Dior Tiger’s Eye Cufflinks
The final watch is the OMEGA Ref. 132.001.
I paired it with a set of Christian Dior tiger’s eye cufflinks.
The OMEGA has a simple, understated design, while the tiger’s eye cufflinks add presence to the overall look. Their distinctive design is balanced by the stone’s rich, muted tones and subtle lustre, keeping them from looking too flashy.
Like other natural stones, tiger’s eye varies in color and pattern, giving each piece its own distinctive appearance.
Final Thoughts
The six pairings featured here were put together by looking at the colors and materials found in the dials, cases, crowns, and cufflinks.
You can look for a shared color, choose cufflinks based on a detail of the watch, or start with the cufflinks and find a watch to match. Depending on how you approach the pairing, the same watch and cufflinks can create quite different looks.
Both watches and cufflinks come in a variety of designs, from pieces featuring natural stones such as tiger’s eye and turquoise to those made in different colors and materials, including gold, white gold, and stainless steel. Some also feature engraved details on the case or surface.
Rather than matching only colors and materials, it can also be interesting to pair pieces that share a decorative motif or other small design details.
Looking through the watches and cufflinks you already own and thinking about what to pair next can be part of the enjoyment of building and appreciating a collection.
