Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Even before Ella Gafter founded her namesake jewelry collection in 1982, she was a formidable presence in the jewelry industry.
As a Rome-based gem dealer, Gafter sold pearls and precious stones to retailers and jewelers but was often dissatisfied with how they made use of the rare materials she worked so hard to source. Instead of grousing, she decided to design jewels that would do them justice, focusing primarily on pearls — akoya, Tahitian and South Sea. She explains her fascination with the lustrous marine treasures simply: “Every woman looks better with pearls than without.”
Her daughter Talila Gafter, then an undergrad at Harvard, was her ally in getting the project off the ground. Together, they made the rounds to stores with Ella’s first efforts. “We had a little pouch with eight pieces and we sold everything,” Talila tells 1stDibs. After graduation, she “was involved one hundred percent” in building the company, whose pieces are handmade by master jewelers in Naples.
The designer insists that her unwavering focus is the source of her success. “There’s no compromising for me,” she says. She’s been known to replace the pearls in a single piece time after time until she’s certain she’s achieved her ideal result. “A pearl you have to respect,” she explains. “You have to put it where it wants to sit.”
Ella describes the collaboration with her daughter as a “partnership,” with each having her own domain. “I’m all fantasy; Talila is the concrete one,” she says. The company is now based in New York City, with Talila as its president while Ella is firmly at the helm of creative decisions. “I’ve never made a design suggestion to Ella,” says Talila. “Nobody does.”
That forbearance has been earned, says Talila. “I admire that Ella doesn’t take no for an answer, her tenacity, her extraordinary ambition. She believes as long as there is life, there is a lot of beauty to create. She’s a force of nature.”
Find Ella Gafter earrings, rings, necklaces and other jewelry on 1stDibs.
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Contemporary Ella Gafter Cufflinks
White Diamond, Ruby, Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Emerald, Black Pearl, Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Ella Gafter Cufflinks
White Diamond, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Pearl, Sapphire, Black Pearl, Yellow Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Copper, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Pearl, Ruby, Black Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Ella Gafter Cufflinks
White Diamond, Ruby, Diamond, Onyx, White Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Diamond, White Diamond, Ruby, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Diamond, White Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Diamond, White Diamond, Onyx, Yellow Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Diamond, White Diamond, Onyx, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Ella Gafter Cufflinks
South Sea Pearl, Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Sapphire, White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Pearl, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Silver, 18k Gold, Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Ella Gafter Cufflinks
18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Ella Gafter Cufflinks
White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Ella Gafter Cufflinks
18k Gold, White Gold, Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Diamond, White Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold, Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Copper, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Ella Gafter Cufflinks
White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Diamond, Sapphire, White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Diamond, White Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Copper
1910s Unknown Vintage Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1910s Unknown Vintage Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century European Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
1920s Vintage Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s Unknown Contemporary Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
20th Century Unknown Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Mid-20th Century European Ella Gafter Cufflinks
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1920s Unknown Art Deco Vintage Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Early 1900s French Art Deco Antique Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary British Contemporary Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 20th Century French Art Deco Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Diamond, Jade, Ruby, Gold, Platinum
2010s American Art Deco Ella Gafter Cufflinks
Ruby, Diamond, Platinum
