precious metal collar stays

[rossjamesparker]

After years of using plastic collar stays, I bought some bone stays from Abbeyhorn. Under £20 delivered, but more refined than plastic, and with a nice texture. If you want to go playa you can have them monogrammed, but I don't see the point. They smell 'calciumy', which I quite like.

I don't wear these all the time. Some collars look better with a little roll and curve. But to each their own.

 

[deandbn]



Ladiez love playaz who drop $700+ on collar stays. Trust.

Ladies wouldn't know what a collar stay was even if it hit them in the face like a wet fish.

 

[deandbn]



Maybe its just me, but I don't think I have ever smelled "off" odors coming from my brass collar stays (or any odor at all, for that matter). Is this a common problem?

If your brass items do not smell, it is probably because they have been coated with a clear laquer to minimize the oxidization or the metal. This is quite common.
Oxidization of brass is accelerated when touched by a sweaty, acidic human hand, and it does not matter if they are collar stays, keys, plates, brass money (farthings, ha'pennies' etc)

 

[HRoi]

mine are plutonium

 

[deandbn]



1. Collar stays shouldn't be used in the first place. Nothing is worse than a straight-lined collar. If you need them to keep your collar points put, then your problem is your shirt and shirtmaker. Invest in those instead.
2. If forced to wear a collar stay, metal of any sort is the worst material to choose. You want something pliable so that your collar has shape without looking like cardboard.

I disagree with you. my friend!!

Whenever I see collar points 'curling' upwards, it brings to mind the wife hanging the washed shirt on the line by the collar points instead of the tail of the shirt. I then start to imagine how ignorant that person may be.

It looks awful seeing a guy with his collar points turning inwards under his tie knot, probably because the wife has 'bent' the plastic sewn in collar stay in half when applying a clothes peg to a collar when hanging the shirt to dry.

I think that wilting collars look very iffy/scruffy. I also wonder why so many guys go to the extent of starching their collars, could it be to improve the appearance of the collar. The collar should be stiff with fused interlining to start with , and then most self respecting brands of shirts I have seen, the collars are made in 2 parts to increase the stiffness and impact of the fold, and then in addition to that either have removable or fixed collar stays as well, specifically to keep the blades standing perfectly straight. A lot of guys go to the extent of using metal stays to enhance the effect, giving the blades of the collar extreme stiffness including the advantage of the added weight of the metal stays.

 

[deandbn]



mine are plutonium

Geez guy, I would be real careful with those if I were you. You could inadvertently / spontaneously set off a nuclear reaction at each carotid artery on your neck, not to mention the raidiation effect.

How long do you want to live for??

Just wondering....

 

[HRoi]

it is essential if you want to simply radiate style

 

[deandbn]



it is essential if you want to simply radiate style

LoL

 

[Xenon]



Wouldn't platinum be softer than silver or brass?

No , Platinum would likely be the hardest in the annealed (soft ), there are many variables here (including alloying elements) but brass would likely be much softer and very close to gold and silver. Stainless steal is difficult to say as there are thousands of types/grade and heat treatment would make a huge difference. Certain grades could be made brutally hard.

However here are some facts: Silver is the most reflective substance in the universe followed by gold. The PGEs (Platinum Group Elements: Platinum, Palladium, Rhodium, Osmium, Iridium, Ruthenium) will look dull in comparison to silver or gold.

If you want hard try tungsten or silicon chrome. If your connected try depleted uranium (also very hard). Might be an interesting conversation piece.

 

[luxire]

As a maker of collar-stays, would like to add a few points here:

Steel Collar-stays: Most steel stays in the market are made of very thin sheet of steel, 0.4 to 0.6 mm. The polishing to reduce the roughness is often not done very nicely resulting in they having sharp edges, which harm the shirt. We did a lot of study on the subject and tried different thickness and finishes. When making them too thick, they would not fit into some collars and too thin would make them like blades. We thus settled with 1mm thickness. The edges were finished to be rounded. In our testing and feedback from our customers over the last 1 year, never heard of a shirt getting a hole in the collar stay pocket.
The only problem we faced was the smooth surface making the stay slip off and fall. We have now solved the problem through a non-slip surface finish that should stay put. These would feature in our stays next month onwards. We make them in 5 sizes 2", 2.25", 2.5", 2.75", 3"
These stays require some physical strength to give it a desired curve, but it wont bend easily or on its own.

Brass: We make brass stays too for some of our clients, but never took it to the mass market as I see no real value it would have over steel. The oxidation or chemical based treatments are both undesirable.

Plastic: These would break easily, bend under the iron or in the washing machine where they end up often. We did some research in the area and made stays with different types of plastic. We will be launching plastic stays in September '12 that won't be damaged in the washing machine and can withstand the occasional ironing. These would not break in the shirt, ever.

Mother-of-pearl: Breaks a lot. Need to be made too thick to have a long life. I see no reason for buying these though we do sell them as people like to give those as gifts.

Precious Metals: Good for gifting when the price tag on the gift matters.

My Favorite: Stays, made of 0.3mm steel, with thin layer of treated leather sewn over it's surface. A little difficult and expensive to produce but has no real disadvantages unless washed and ironed too often.

Should collar-stays be used:
Ideally, the collar should have a bit of a drape around the part of the tie that is conceals. When worn without a tie, a straighter collar looks better than a curved one.

Most mass market shirts need them, be it Brooks Brothers or Thomas Pink or Charles Tyrwhitt or Hugo Boss or whatever. Without collar-stays, they would curve up, curve down and in all other directions. Hence yes, they are needed.

On Luxire Shirts:
Very few shirtmakers are able to make a collar that that does not really need them. It took us a lot of research to get to that level.
Our fused collars have that slight natural downward curve that looks elegant and remains that way throughout the day and throughout the long life of the shirt.
For the unfused collars, we researched and tried many different interlinings before commissioning a custom weave that finally gave the desired look and body to the collar.

Should shirts have Collar-stay pockets:
We still provide for collar-stay pockets in our shirts because, there is no reason to deny the buyer the option to use them if he so desires. It gives him the flexibility to choose the right look when wearing a tie and when not wearing one.


Please do not read this as an advertisement as we don't sell collar-stays on our site.

 

[ThinkDerm]



As a maker of collar-stays, would like to add a few points here:

Steel Collar-stays: Most steel stays in the market are made of very thin sheet of steel, 0.4 to 0.6 mm. The polishing to reduce the roughness is often not done very nicely resulting in they having sharp edges, which harm the shirt. We did a lot of study on the subject and tried different thickness and finishes. When making them too thick, they would not fit into some collars and too thin would make them like blades. We thus settled with 1mm thickness. The edges were finished to be rounded. In our testing and feedback from our customers over the last 1 year, never heard of a shirt getting a hole in the collar stay pocket.
The only problem we faced was the smooth surface making the stay slip off and fall. We have now solved the problem through a non-slip surface finish that should stay put. These would feature in our stays next month onwards. We make them in 5 sizes 2", 2.25", 2.5", 2.75", 3"
These stays require some physical strength to give it a desired curve, but it wont bend easily or on its own.

Brass: We make brass stays too for some of our clients, but never took it to the mass market as I see no real value it would have over steel. The oxidation or chemical based treatments are both undesirable.

Plastic: These would break easily, bend under the iron or in the washing machine where they end up often. We did some research in the area and made stays with different types of plastic. We will be launching plastic stays in September '12 that won't be damaged in the washing machine and can withstand the occasional ironing. These would not break in the shirt, ever.

Mother-of-pearl: Breaks a lot. Need to be made too thick to have a long life. I see no reason for buying these though we do sell them as people like to give those as gifts.

Precious Metals: Good for gifting when the price tag on the gift matters.

My Favorite: Stays, made of 0.3mm steel, with thin layer of treated leather sewn over it's surface. A little difficult and expensive to produce but has no real disadvantages unless washed and ironed too often.

Should collar-stays be used:
Ideally, the collar should have a bit of a drape around the part of the tie that is conceals. When worn without a tie, a straighter collar looks better than a curved one.

Most mass market shirts need them, be it Brooks Brothers or Thomas Pink or Charles Tyrwhitt or Hugo Boss or whatever. Without collar-stays, they would curve up, curve down and in all other directions. Hence yes, they are needed.

On Luxire Shirts:
Very few shirtmakers are able to make a collar that that does not really need them. It took us a lot of research to get to that level.
Our fused collars have that slight natural downward curve that looks elegant and remains that way throughout the day and throughout the long life of the shirt.
For the unfused collars, we researched and tried many different interlinings before commissioning a custom weave that finally gave the desired look and body to the collar.

Should shirts have Collar-stay pockets:
We still provide for collar-stay pockets in our shirts because, there is no reason to deny the buyer the option to use them if he so desires. It gives him the flexibility to choose the right look when wearing a tie and when not wearing one.


Please do not read this as an advertisement as we don't sell collar-stays on our site.

Quality post.

Do you sell precious metal stays?

 

[ThinkDerm]

How wide in mm are your stays?

 

[NAMOR]

Thinkderm!

 

[luxire]

Quality post.
Do you sell precious metal stays?

Thank you mate.

We make them on order in sterling silver and 18/22 ct gold. Not done platinum yet, but can.
Recently made a standard pair in gold for $300

Correction: $3000

How wide in mm are your stays?

10mm

 

[MysticAura]

Collar stays made out of precious metals?? wasteful