Vintage Stratton Cufflinks and Tie Clip set

This is a late 1960s or early 1970s cufflinks and tie-clip set that belonged to my father. I have no idea whether he bought it locally or when we were over in the UK in the mid 1970s (I was a tiny tot at the time). The set was made by Stratton, a well known UK company (based in Birmingham) that made a lot of women's accessories as well as some men's accessories like this set. 

Those days Stratton made their cufflinks and tie-clips in their Birmingham factory. Everything was made in the UK and everything was a big deal in some ways. Stratton were not known to make high end stuff, but for the working man. These were not ST Dupont grade items. But you could see a bit of history in them. 

Note the set came in a nice box with the word 'Stratton De Luxe' on the inner lining. There is also a small sticker stating ' Diamond Cut' - this is for the pattern used on the gold plated on steel (if I am not mistaken) cufflinks and tie-clip. On the tie clip you also see the 'Made in England' and 'Imitation' engraved on it. Now this is the best thing about accessories made in the UK or England from the 1930s to the 1980s (to the best of my knowledge), everything you buy is  clearly stated on what they are made of or what they actually are. In this case, the items here are gold plated and are therefore marked as 'Imitation' items. In some cases, there are those which are marked as 'Imitation Jewellery'. So no chance of passing off the items as something more valuable when you want to dispose them at the pawn shop. They are in fairly good condition with some scratches. I suppose my father did not wear them often as most of his shirts have a barrel cuff with buttons.

These days, Stratton must have stopped making mens accessories (again, to the best of my knowledge) and are still in the business of manufacturing women's compact powder cases from imported parts. These could be found on Ebay and aren't that collectible in my opinion. This is just something of personal value to me as it once belonged to my father. 

And these days again, nothing much like this is made in England. Most are made in China where the labour is cheap and cost is paramount.