Belt buckle
Encyclopedia
A belt buckle is a buckle
, a clasp
for fastening two ends, as of straps or a belt
, in which a device attached to one of the ends is fitted or coupled to the other. The word enters Middle English
via Old French
and the Latin
buccula or "cheek-strap," as for a helmet. Belt buckles and other fixtures are used on a variety of belts, including cingula
, baltea, baldric
s and later waist-belts.
and a gold "great buckle" was among the items interred at Sutton Hoo
. Primarily decorative "shield on tongue" buckles were common Anglo-Saxon
grave goods
at this time, elaborately decorated on the "shield" portion and associated only with men. One such buckle, found in a 7th-century grave at Finglesham, Kent
in 1965 bears the image of a naked warrior
standing between two spear
s wearing only a horned helmet
and belt.
Frame-style buckles are the oldest design. In a frame-and-prong buckle the prong attaches to one end of the frame and extends "away" from the wearer through a through a hole in the belt, where it anchors against the opposite side of the frame. The oldest styles have a simple loop or "D" shaped frame, but "double-loop" or "center post" buckles whose prongs attach to a fixed center section appear in the 8th century. Very small buckles with removable center pins and chapes were introduced and used on shoes, beginning in the 17th century, but not often for waist-belts. A "chape" is the fixed cover which attaches buckle to belt while the "mordant" or "bite" is the adjustable portion.
Plate-style "buckles" are common on western military belts of the mid-19th century, which often feature a three-hook clasp: two hooks fitting into one end of the belt and a third into the other. Officers might have a similar but more intricate clasp-style closure that featured two interlocking metal parts. In practice, the term "belt plate" refers to any flat, decorated surface on such a clasp. These precede development of modern "western-style" buckles, which feature a hinged frame affixed to one end of the belt and a simple hook clasp which enters the belt hole toward the wearer but leaves most of the buckle on the "outside" of the belt, providing an ample surface for decoration. The distance between the fixed frame or chape of a plate buckle and its adjustment prong is called the "throw."
Box-frame "buckles" are another, 20th-century style of military friction buckle, common on web
belts. The box-frame buckle consists of three parts (front, back and post). An adjustable captive post sits perpendicular to the belt to press it against the outer "box," which completely surround the webbing and minimize accidental adjustments should part of the belt snag on something. There may or may not be a metal tip on the opposite "tongue" end of the belt for easier insertion.
Earlier, military-style buckles often use friction and are designed for use with cloth belts or straps. Simple friction buckles are one-piece frames with no prong whatsoever, the strap or belt winding trough a series of slots, and may more technically be called "belt slides" or "belt trims." Although technically not buckles, other fasteners such as plastic "side-clasp" or even seat belt
latches are also often used on belts, and colloquially called buckles.
Belt buckles became more popular as fashion accessories in the early 20th century, as the tops of trousers
moved more toward the waist. "Western-style" belt buckles were largely popularized by cowboy movies
in the United States and are often awarded to winners in rodeo
events as prize medal
s or trophies
, a custom later adopted by the Western States Endurance Run
and a few other ultra-marathons. The large, flat surface of the western-style belt buckles make them a popular ornament or style of jewelry. Decorative "buckle sets" may contain a metal buckle, one or more matching loops which sit next to the buckle and a metal tip for the opposite, "tongue" end of the belt. "Belt plates" may be decorative covers for a plain buckle or other decorative fittings affixed to the belt itself, similar to "conchos" (from a Spanish word for "shell"). Decorative belt loops are sometimes awarded in scouting
for participation in or completion of activities.
In 1979, Marvin Levine created and founded J.W. Cooper, a high-end Western wear and accessories retail store in the Falls Shopping Center Miami, FL. He began offering custom-designed belt buckles, positioning them as a high-end luxury accessory. Hand-carved trophy buckles made from semiprecious and precious metals and gemstones; and rare materials, such as 10,000-year-old mammoth ivory, offered by J.W. Cooper, made the modern buckle a sought-after status symbol in the luxury market, and it remains that today. In 1998, Marvin Levine opened the flagship J.W. Cooper store at the internationally known Bal Harbour Shops in Bal Harbour, Florida. Marvin Levine sold his interest in the stores to Todd Rauchwerger around 2001. In 2004, Rauchwerger opened the second J.W. Cooper location at The Shops at Columbus Circle in New York City. In 2005, he formed a wholesale agreement with the Japan-based Cigar Club, and since then – in addition to the company’s two U.S. locations – J.W. Cooper buckles have been sold exclusively at Cigar Club Tokyo, Cigar Club The Westin Tokyo, Cigar Club Osaka, Cigar Club Grand Hyatt Tokyo and Cigar Club Conrad Tokyo.
More recently belt buckles have become a must have fashion accessory, it has even given rise to a new form of tucking in ones shirt known simply as the "front tuck". The front tuck is just as it sounds: the front of the shirt is tucked in an attempt to show off the belt buckle. Also with a rise in technology came an explosion of graphic belt buckles. These buckles made it possible for people to more easily express them selves with graphics and slogans. One of the more popular examples of this style of buckle is seen on the television show Bones (TV series)
in which the main character dawns one of these buckles in a business suit emblazoned with the slogan "cocky". Belt Buckles have also seen a rise in popularity among golfers, most notably after golfer Anthony Kim
wore a jeweled belt buckle displaying the initials "A.K." in a golf tournament.
Buckle
The buckle or clasp is a device used for fastening two loose ends, with one end attached to it and the other held by a catch in a secure but adjustable manner. Usually overlooked and taken for granted, the invention of the buckle has been indispensable in securing two ends before the invention of...
, a clasp
Clasp
Clasp, clasper or CLASP may refer to:* Medal bar, an element in military decoration* Fastener, a hardware device that mechanically joins objects together* "Clasp", a track from Jethro Tull's album Broadsword and the Beast...
for fastening two ends, as of straps or a belt
Belt (clothing)
A belt is a flexible band or strap, typically made of leather or heavy cloth, and worn around the waist. A belt supports trousers or other articles of clothing.-History:...
, in which a device attached to one of the ends is fitted or coupled to the other. The word enters Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
via Old French
Old French
Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...
and the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
buccula or "cheek-strap," as for a helmet. Belt buckles and other fixtures are used on a variety of belts, including cingula
Cingulum
The cingulum is a collection of white matter fibers projecting from the cingulate gyrus to the entorhinal cortex in the brain, allowing for communication between components of the limbic system....
, baltea, baldric
Baldric
A baldric is a belt worn over one shoulder that is typically used to carry a weapon or other implement such as a bugle or drum...
s and later waist-belts.
Types
Belt buckles go back at least to the iron ageIron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
and a gold "great buckle" was among the items interred at Sutton Hoo
Sutton Hoo
Sutton Hoo, near to Woodbridge, in the English county of Suffolk, is the site of two 6th and early 7th century cemeteries. One contained an undisturbed ship burial including a wealth of Anglo-Saxon artefacts of outstanding art-historical and archaeological significance, now held in the British...
. Primarily decorative "shield on tongue" buckles were common Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
grave goods
Grave goods
Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body.They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods are a type of votive deposit...
at this time, elaborately decorated on the "shield" portion and associated only with men. One such buckle, found in a 7th-century grave at Finglesham, Kent
Finglesham
Finglesham is a village near Dover in Kent, England, which was the site of a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon archaeology find known as "Finglesham man," as described in 1965 by Sonia Chadwick Hawkes and Hilda Ellis Davidson....
in 1965 bears the image of a naked warrior
Nudity in combat
Nudity in combat is the practice of entering combat without clothing and armor. It is rarely practiced because, apart from the social aspects of nudity, the combatant lacks even the basic protection of clothes, e.g. when diving for cover, or crawling...
standing between two spear
Spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...
s wearing only a horned helmet
Horned helmet
European Bronze Age and Iron Age helmets with horns are known from a few depictions, and even fewer actual finds. Such helmets mounted with animal horns or replicas of them were probably used for religious ceremonial or ritual purposes.-Prehistoric Europe:...
and belt.
Frame-style buckles are the oldest design. In a frame-and-prong buckle the prong attaches to one end of the frame and extends "away" from the wearer through a through a hole in the belt, where it anchors against the opposite side of the frame. The oldest styles have a simple loop or "D" shaped frame, but "double-loop" or "center post" buckles whose prongs attach to a fixed center section appear in the 8th century. Very small buckles with removable center pins and chapes were introduced and used on shoes, beginning in the 17th century, but not often for waist-belts. A "chape" is the fixed cover which attaches buckle to belt while the "mordant" or "bite" is the adjustable portion.
Plate-style "buckles" are common on western military belts of the mid-19th century, which often feature a three-hook clasp: two hooks fitting into one end of the belt and a third into the other. Officers might have a similar but more intricate clasp-style closure that featured two interlocking metal parts. In practice, the term "belt plate" refers to any flat, decorated surface on such a clasp. These precede development of modern "western-style" buckles, which feature a hinged frame affixed to one end of the belt and a simple hook clasp which enters the belt hole toward the wearer but leaves most of the buckle on the "outside" of the belt, providing an ample surface for decoration. The distance between the fixed frame or chape of a plate buckle and its adjustment prong is called the "throw."
Box-frame "buckles" are another, 20th-century style of military friction buckle, common on web
Webbing
Webbing is a strong fabric woven as a flat strip or tube of varying width and fibres often used in place of rope. The name webbing comes from the meshed material frequently used in its construction, which resembles a web...
belts. The box-frame buckle consists of three parts (front, back and post). An adjustable captive post sits perpendicular to the belt to press it against the outer "box," which completely surround the webbing and minimize accidental adjustments should part of the belt snag on something. There may or may not be a metal tip on the opposite "tongue" end of the belt for easier insertion.
Earlier, military-style buckles often use friction and are designed for use with cloth belts or straps. Simple friction buckles are one-piece frames with no prong whatsoever, the strap or belt winding trough a series of slots, and may more technically be called "belt slides" or "belt trims." Although technically not buckles, other fasteners such as plastic "side-clasp" or even seat belt
Seat belt
A seat belt or seatbelt, sometimes called a safety belt, is a safety harness designed to secure the occupant of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result from a collision or a sudden stop...
latches are also often used on belts, and colloquially called buckles.
Rise in popularity of belt buckles
Because of their strong association with military equipment, belt buckles were primarily a masculine ornament well into the 19th century.Belt buckles became more popular as fashion accessories in the early 20th century, as the tops of trousers
Trousers
Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately...
moved more toward the waist. "Western-style" belt buckles were largely popularized by cowboy movies
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
in the United States and are often awarded to winners in rodeo
Rodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
events as prize medal
Medal
A medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...
s or trophies
Trophy
A trophy is a reward for a specific achievement, and serves as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are most often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics...
, a custom later adopted by the Western States Endurance Run
Western States Endurance Run
The Western States Endurance Run, known commonly as the Western States 100, is a 100-mile ultramarathon that takes place on trails in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains annually on the last full weekend of June. The race starts at the base of the Squaw Valley ski resort and finishes at the...
and a few other ultra-marathons. The large, flat surface of the western-style belt buckles make them a popular ornament or style of jewelry. Decorative "buckle sets" may contain a metal buckle, one or more matching loops which sit next to the buckle and a metal tip for the opposite, "tongue" end of the belt. "Belt plates" may be decorative covers for a plain buckle or other decorative fittings affixed to the belt itself, similar to "conchos" (from a Spanish word for "shell"). Decorative belt loops are sometimes awarded in scouting
Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
for participation in or completion of activities.
In 1979, Marvin Levine created and founded J.W. Cooper, a high-end Western wear and accessories retail store in the Falls Shopping Center Miami, FL. He began offering custom-designed belt buckles, positioning them as a high-end luxury accessory. Hand-carved trophy buckles made from semiprecious and precious metals and gemstones; and rare materials, such as 10,000-year-old mammoth ivory, offered by J.W. Cooper, made the modern buckle a sought-after status symbol in the luxury market, and it remains that today. In 1998, Marvin Levine opened the flagship J.W. Cooper store at the internationally known Bal Harbour Shops in Bal Harbour, Florida. Marvin Levine sold his interest in the stores to Todd Rauchwerger around 2001. In 2004, Rauchwerger opened the second J.W. Cooper location at The Shops at Columbus Circle in New York City. In 2005, he formed a wholesale agreement with the Japan-based Cigar Club, and since then – in addition to the company’s two U.S. locations – J.W. Cooper buckles have been sold exclusively at Cigar Club Tokyo, Cigar Club The Westin Tokyo, Cigar Club Osaka, Cigar Club Grand Hyatt Tokyo and Cigar Club Conrad Tokyo.
More recently belt buckles have become a must have fashion accessory, it has even given rise to a new form of tucking in ones shirt known simply as the "front tuck". The front tuck is just as it sounds: the front of the shirt is tucked in an attempt to show off the belt buckle. Also with a rise in technology came an explosion of graphic belt buckles. These buckles made it possible for people to more easily express them selves with graphics and slogans. One of the more popular examples of this style of buckle is seen on the television show Bones (TV series)
Bones (TV series)
Bones is an American crime drama television series that premiered on the Fox Network on September 13, 2005. The show is based on forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, with each episode focusing on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent...
in which the main character dawns one of these buckles in a business suit emblazoned with the slogan "cocky". Belt Buckles have also seen a rise in popularity among golfers, most notably after golfer Anthony Kim
Anthony Kim
Anthony Ha-Jin Kim is an American professional golfer.-Amateur career:A Korean American, Kim was born in Los Angeles, California and resides in Dallas, Texas. He attended La Quinta High School in La Quinta, California. After high school, he attended the University of Oklahoma for three years; this...
wore a jeweled belt buckle displaying the initials "A.K." in a golf tournament.
External links
- http://www.romancoins.info/MilitaryEquipment-cingulum.htmlRoman Military Equipment: CingulumCingulumThe cingulum is a collection of white matter fibers projecting from the cingulate gyrus to the entorhinal cortex in the brain, allowing for communication between components of the limbic system....
and Balteus] Retrieved 2010-07-17. - Gold belt buckle from the ship-burial at Sutton Hoo, British Museum, Retrieved 2010-07-03.
- Belt buckle, Xiongnu type, 3rd–2nd century B.C. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
- Michael J. O'Donnell and James Duncan Campbell. American Military Belt Plates, Third Edition. Alexanderia VA: O'Donnell Publications, 2010. ISBN-13: 9780967073125.
- Chris Marshall. "Buckles Through the Ages", 2002. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
- Marvin Levine. The Truth About JW Cooper 2011.