Men's Pins

Men’s tie pins, or tiepins, reflect the pinnacle of elegance when it comes to securing a tie. From dainty to dazzling, tie pins developed out of the wearing of ties, which in turn can trace its origin to several hundred years ago.

The notion of covering one’s neck originated in the 17th century, when fine dress began to incorporate neck-covering swaths of fabric. Over time, these cravats, as they became known, were rendered in increasingly elegant fabrics like silk and lace, and essentially took the place of a shirt collar. In subsequent generations, dapper gentlemen realized that a proper cravat should be secured with an equally refined fastener, and thus the tiepin was born.

By the 19th century, English gentlemen were wearing all varieties of tie pins, and soon American men were following suit. While less utile today given the wholehearted adopted of the necktie over the cravat, tie pins are a great foray into the history of men’s dress and are precious to boot.

Quick Facts

• The name “cravat” was derived from “The Croats,” a military battalion of Croatian mercenaries. An elaborate neckerchief was part of their uniform, a relative rarity in 17th-century military dress
• The earliest known portrait showing a sitter sporting a cravat is that of Ivan Gunduli?, a poet, that dates to 1622
• A patent taken out in April 1919 outlined a pin design that culminated at its top with a small orb filled with a drop of radioactive material to make it glow