Kai Zaunick founded this atelier in Lima, Peru in 2006. Every piece is made to order in solid .925 sterling silver or 18k gold, produced in-house and inspected before it leaves the studio. There is no outsourcing, no production line.
The catalog covers more than two hundred designs in sterling silver and 18k gold. Each can be ordered as it stands. Many are ordered with engraving: initials, a date, a family crest or a design that belongs to one person alone. A plain pair of cufflinks is a considered accessory. An engraved pair becomes something kept and returned to. The groom who reaches for the pair carrying the wedding date, years after the occasion that gave them their meaning.
Two decades at the atelier has built the judgment that makes that work possible. Which forms translate cleanly to silver. Which engraving details survive at small scale. Where a line that reads precisely on screen will disappear in metal. That judgment applies to every commission that comes through the studio.
Press Recognition
ZAUNICK's cufflink collections have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, GQ, Stern and Spiegel. The recognition is for the quality of the engraving work and the rigor of the personalization process.
Bespoke personalization is not a feature layered on top of the work at this atelier. It is the work.
Materials and Craft
Every ZAUNICK cufflink begins as solid .925 sterling silver. Each model is also available in 18k gold vermeil: sterling silver with an 18k gold plating applied in-house.
When engraving is applied, it is cut into the silver surface, not surface-marked: the difference between a design that holds its definition for decades and one that fades within years.
The Personalization Work
Custom engraving at this atelier covers initials, dates, monograms, family crests, coats of arms and company logos. For standard engravings, the process is direct: the brief goes in, the piece goes to production and ships within five to seven business days. For complex artwork, there is a proof step. Nothing in the custom artwork category proceeds to engraving without written approval from the person who commissioned it.
Not every design arrives ready to engrave. When a crest or logo is too complex for the available surface, Kai will say so before the order is confirmed. He would rather have that conversation upfront than deliver something that falls short of what was imagined.
Acting with Purpose
Production at the atelier is guided by environmental awareness. The use of potentially harmful substances is reduced wherever possible. ZAUNICK does not apply additional silver plating, a decision that removes a significant source of hazardous materials from the production process.
All precious metals are sourced from the region.
Kai personally reviews every brief.
