Links of London was never limited to jewellery. Alongside charms, cufflinks and silver accessories, the original house also applied its design language to a much broader range of personal and lifestyle objects.
The Silver Plated Skipping Rope is one of the more unexpected examples: a functional fitness object reworked with long sculptural silver-plated handles, substantial black rope and the polished presentation associated with Links of London accessories.
Known internationally as a jump rope, the design takes something ordinarily purely practical and gives it a distinctly considered Links of London character.
Curved polished silver plated skipping rope handle detail
Sculptural Silver Plated Handles
The handles are the defining feature of the design.
Rather than using simple straight cylindrical grips, each handle has a pronounced curved taper. A surviving example documented by Links London measures approximately 13.5cm long, reaching around 28mm in diameter at its widest point before narrowing to approximately 19mm through the centre.
The changing diameter gives the handles a more sculptural silhouette and makes the skipping rope immediately distinctive even before the Links of London packaging is considered.
Links of London skipping rope with 6mm black cord
Black Rope and Silver Contrast
The polished handles are paired with a substantial black rope approximately 6mm thick.
The contrast between bright silver plate and black cord gives the design a simple graphic quality. The dark rope also places greater emphasis on the reflective handles, which visually dominate the piece.
The result feels closer to a designed personal accessory than ordinary exercise equipment, while still retaining the essential construction of a functional skipping rope.
Vintage Links of London black and silver skipping rope
Dimensions of a Surviving Example
- Handle length: Approximately 13.5cm each
- Maximum handle diameter: Approximately 28mm
- Handle diameter through centre: Approximately 19mm
- Rope thickness: Approximately 6mm
- Handle finish: Silver plated
- Rope: Black cord
Sculptural curved skipping rope handles by Links of London
Fitness Through a Links of London Lens
The skipping rope is interesting because very little has been added to the basic object. Its identity comes primarily from proportion, finish and presentation.
The curved handles are exaggerated beyond what is strictly necessary for function, while the polished silver plate gives them the appearance of a personal accessory rather than standard sports equipment.
It is a good example of Links of London taking an everyday object and making it more decorative without removing its original purpose.
Silver plated Links of London handle measuring 13.5cm long
Unused Vintage Condition
A surviving example documented by Links London appears never to have been used.
Age has nevertheless affected the silver-plated surface in places. Some localised discolouration has developed through underlying tarnish and deterioration of the original protective top layer during long-term storage.
This distinction is useful when documenting vintage objects: an item can remain unused while its materials still record the passage of time.
The skipping rope therefore survives as an unused vintage piece rather than as something that should be described as newly manufactured or flawless.
Links of London fitness skipping rope in presentation box
The Ivory Oval Presentation Box
The surviving skipping rope is housed in a vintage oval Links of London presentation box.
Under bright photography the box can appear almost white, but in person it has the familiar ivory tone associated with much of the house’s presentation packaging.
The oval box reinforces the sense that the skipping rope was conceived not simply as gym equipment but as a presentable Links of London gift object.
Vintage silver plated skipping rope with black cord
Links of London Beyond Jewellery
The skipping rope helps broaden the picture of what Links of London actually produced during its original years.
The house’s design language could be applied just as easily to a keyring, desk object, piece of silverware or fitness accessory as to a bracelet or necklace.
Here, polished metal, a restrained black-and-silver palette and unusually shaped handles transform an ordinary exercise object into something unmistakably more considered.
Links of London skipping rope with polished curved silver handles
Documenting the Silver Plated Skipping Rope
An original Links of London catalogue title, product reference and retail price for this exact skipping rope have not yet been recovered.
Links of London Silver Plated Skipping Rope is therefore used as a clear descriptive name based on the surviving construction and known material.
The documented example provides a useful physical reference for the design through its 13.5cm curved handles, substantial black rope, silver-plated finish and vintage ivory oval presentation box.
It remains one of the more unexpected examples of Links of London taking a familiar everyday object and giving it the same attention to proportion and presentation found elsewhere in the house’s accessories.
Vintage Links of London silver plated skipping rope with ivory oval box
