Cufflinks anyone?

OK, I admit it, it was love at first sight. From the moment my eyes came across this on e-bay recently, I have been going back to that page just to drool over it.

It’s billed as: CLASSIC SOLID OAK 30 x 4 TRAY CELL CUFFLINKS BOX - Made2Order

And the Cost? (gulp)…

[[Usual protocol: click on the pics to open out to its full version]]

£165 + £10 Courier delivery. Custom-made, they said it would take about eight weeks from order to delivery.

For what it’s worth, here is the (current) link: 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370475459158#ht_2648wt_905

and their website:
http://www.aandtcrafts.co.uk/

Perhaps it’s because my father was a carpenter & joiner I’ve learned to really appreciate well-made and skilled woodwork and craftsmanship. But then maybe that’s just an excuse because…there it was - and that yearning ache in the pit my stomach was clearly there and just grew over the weeks.

Eventually, today, I succumbed. and contacted the maker to make my order - And, surprise surprise, they said “just pay a £10 deposit and pay the balance nearer delivery date”.  How could I resist?

Here’s a few more details of the spec: 

Made from solid oak (Thickness of the wood will depend on what we have in stock and how much we have to plane it . But typically 15-20mm for the box, approx 10+mm for the lid and approx 8-10mm for the dividers)

Box dimensions

- Trays: 30 cells, 6 across and 5 deep (each cell is 35 x 35 and 30mm deep)

- Tray internal dimensions 260mm x 280mm x 30mm deep

- Tray external dimensions 280mm x 235mm  x 40mm deep

- Overall box internal dimensions 280 x 235 x 165mm - approx

- External dimensions 310-315mm long and 265-270mm wide and 190-195mm deep 

- Box is rounded at all outside corners and outside edges & corners.

- Trays are square edged and removable

- Matrix are square edged and fixed for ease of lifting out the trays….

The first question my friends asked me when I showed them what I was thinking of buying, was: “but do you have enough cufflinks to fill the thing?” [A total of 120 slots for you mathematicians out there]. Well, it’s fess-up time, I’ve been collecting antique cufflinks and accessories for about three decades now and somehow I think I might just have enough to fill the trays. Dammit, alright, I’ll come clean, I’ve probably got more than enough to fill the bloody box.

And I do feel that this is the kind of item that can only increase in value over the years (well that’s what I’ve convinced myself anyway).

But I don’t care. I shall just smugly sit here and wait for delivery of this little (er…big) beauty in about early April. Call it a belated Christmas present to self (or an early Birthday present -  it’s  March 2nd, in case anyone wanted to know!).