Links of London was never limited to jewellery. Alongside charms, bracelets and cufflinks, the original house produced a much broader collection of personal objects, gifts and pieces for entertaining.
The Links of London Silver Plated Cocktail Shaker is a particularly appealing example. At approximately 15cm high × 7cm diameter, it takes the familiar three-piece cocktail shaker and reduces it to an unusually compact scale without removing any of its essential components.
It remains a proper shaker: a tapered lower vessel, a removable upper section with an integrated perforated strainer, and a separate cap.
Vintage Links of London silver plated cocktail shaker
A Compact Three-Piece Cocktail Shaker
The proportions are the first thing that distinguish this design.
A conventional cocktail shaker is generally expected to have the capacity and physical presence associated with a working bar. This Links of London version is noticeably smaller. At only around 15cm high, it feels almost like a personal silver object or accessory rather than professional bar equipment.
Yet the design has not simply been miniaturised into something decorative.
The shaker separates into the same three functional components associated with the traditional form. The lower section provides the mixing vessel, the rounded upper section incorporates a perforated strainer, and the small domed cap closes the pouring aperture.
Links of London compact three-piece cocktail shaker
The Tapered Body
The lower vessel has a simple tapered profile, narrowing towards its base and widening towards the shoulder.
There is very little applied decoration. Instead, the form relies on proportion and the reflective silver-plated surface.
This simplicity is important to the design. The highly polished finish exaggerates the curved surfaces and gives the relatively small object considerably more visual presence than its dimensions suggest.
When assembled, the widest point occurs around the junction between the lower vessel and the rounded upper section, creating the familiar silhouette of a classic cocktail shaker.
Vintage silver plated Links of London barware
Integrated Perforated Strainer
Removing the upper section reveals the functional detail of the design.
A circular perforated strainer is built directly into the neck of the upper component. Multiple round openings allow the mixed drink to be poured while retaining larger pieces of ice inside the shaker.
The strainer is not a separate accessory. It forms part of the shaker itself, keeping the three-piece arrangement compact and self-contained.
Viewed from underneath, the rounded upper section forms a shallow funnel around the central strainer. This construction is largely hidden when the shaker is assembled, making the opened object particularly useful for understanding how the design works.
Links of London cocktail shaker measuring approximately 15cm high
The Ribbed Domed Cap
The smallest component provides most of the visible decorative detail.
The removable cap has a softly domed polished top with a sequence of horizontal grooves around its lower section.
These ribs interrupt the otherwise uninterrupted polished surfaces and give the cap a slightly more engineered appearance. They also visually separate the small upper cap from the larger rounded shoulder beneath it.
It is a restrained detail, but an effective one. With no engraving or elaborate ornament across the main body, the repeated horizontal lines become one of the defining features of the shaker.
Compact silver plated cocktail shaker front view
Dimensions of a Surviving Example
- Overall height: Approximately 15cm
- Maximum diameter: Approximately 7cm
- Material: Silver plate
- Construction: Three pieces
- Lower section: Tapered mixing vessel
- Upper section: Rounded shoulder with integrated perforated strainer
- Cap: Removable domed cap with horizontal ribbed detail
- Marking: Links of London logo to the base
Links of London cocktail shaker with removable domed cap
Small Scale, Complete Construction
The most interesting aspect of the cocktail shaker is the relationship between its size and its construction.
Nothing essential has been removed simply because the object is small.
It could have been produced as a simple decorative vessel or as a two-piece novelty shaker. Instead, it retains the complete three-part arrangement, including the internal strainer and separate cap.
This makes the scale feel deliberate rather than economical. The familiar bar object has effectively been condensed into a smaller Links of London format.
That approach appears throughout many of the house’s more unusual objects: ordinary functional forms become more personal through scale, finish and presentation.
Vintage cocktail shaker with integrated perforated strainer
Silver Plate Rather Than Sterling Silver
This example is silver plated rather than sterling silver.
That distinction is important when documenting vintage Links of London objects. The house used precious metals extensively in its jewellery, but objects and accessories could also be produced in silver plate where the size, function or construction made it a suitable material.
The cocktail shaker therefore belongs within the wider history of Links of London silver-coloured objects without being described as sterling silver.
Links of London three-piece cocktail shaker shown open
A Surviving Vintage Example
The example documented here survives in good vintage condition.
There are no obvious signs of significant use or wear. The silver-plated surface does, however, show some light ageing and natural patina in places after years of storage.
This is an important distinction with vintage objects. Lack of use does not prevent materials from ageing. Silver-plated surfaces can change in appearance simply through exposure to the atmosphere, storage conditions and the passage of time.
The surviving patina has therefore been documented as part of the object’s present condition rather than interpreted as evidence of heavy use.
Silver plated cocktail shaker separated into three components
The Links of London Mark
The base carries the Links of London logo.
Unlike sterling silver jewellery carrying British assay marks, a silver-plated object does not provide the same hallmark evidence for dating. No reliable manufacture date has currently been established for this particular surviving example.
Until documentary evidence such as a catalogue, advertisement, original receipt or dated packaging is identified, it is more accurate to describe the shaker simply as a vintage Links of London design rather than assigning it to a specific year.
Vintage Black Links London Dust Bag
The documented shaker is accompanied by a vintage black cotton Links London dust bag.
The bag provides appropriate period presentation and storage for the object, although it should not automatically be assumed to have been the packaging originally supplied with this particular shaker.
That distinction allows the surviving object and accompanying vintage material to be recorded accurately without creating an unsupported provenance.
Links of London Beyond Jewellery
Objects such as this cocktail shaker help reconstruct a broader picture of Links of London.
The jewellery remains the most familiar part of the house’s history, particularly the Sweetie bracelet, charms and silver accessories, but it was never the whole story.
Barware, table objects, games, personal accessories and other curiosities allowed the same polished, gift-oriented approach to move beyond jewellery and into everyday objects.
The cocktail shaker does this particularly successfully because the underlying object is so familiar. There is no need to reinvent it completely.
Instead, the design changes the experience through scale, proportion, finish and detail.
At only 15cm high, this is a small cocktail shaker. As a surviving Links of London object, however, it reveals something considerably larger about the range of things the house was willing to make.
