Clint Orms Engravers & Silversmiths aren’t your usual belt buckle makers.  Clint has elevated the craftsmanship of belt buckles beyond traditional rodeo trophies to heirloom-quality jewelry, without losing touch with the true Western heritage.

Clint’s learned much of his trade from his father, who retired from rodeo competition in the 1950s and went on to design western clothing for the landmark cowboy shop, The Cow Lot, in Wichita Falls, Texas, which closed recently after an amazing 54 year run.

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While many of Clint’s creations follow traditional Western imagery, his artistry has led him into much more elegant and ornate designs.  He now crafts his designs using sterling silver, 14 and 18 carat gold in different colors.  While some of his designs cost a few hundred dollars, others feature diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and rubies and can sell for many thousands of dollars.   

But the gold and the jewels are not the only reason for the lofty prices.  Some of his more complex designs are made from hundreds of individual pieces, all meticulously soldered together, engraved and polished, taking up to 200 hours of painstaking labor.   This effort goes deeper than just producing a nice product or cool fashion trend.  He sees his buckles as heirloom quality that would be passed down from generation to generation.

We are not going to bore you with the specs.  You got the wrong site baby.  We don’t care about the megaflurtz, giga-pixars, or screen revolutions.   If you want the techno-geek stuff, go check out Gizmodo elsewhere on the interweb.  We’re here to talk about buckles.

Egokast has made leaving the house wearing only one belt buckle as archaic as sporting a Walkman with only one cassette.  What if your tastes change while you are out?  Whether tapes or buckles, maybe you can carry one or two extras in your pocket, but you can’t carry your entire collection everywhere you go! 

Or can you?

The real undiscovered killer app here is for collectors to be able to wear all their buckles, all the time.  Simply photograph all your buckles and run them in an endless slideshow!  Or for even more control, create “playlists” based on themes that fit your outfit, such as rodeo, rhinestone, or retro. 

Yes, the Egokast is the buckle collector’s answer to the iPod.  Instead of 10,000 songs in your pocket, it’s 10,000 buckles on your belt!

Tufa is compressed rock made of porous volcanic ash used to make high quality cast jewelry.  The Tufa stone is sliced in half and the intricate design is carved into one side and the two halves are then joined back together and molten sterling silver is pored through the sprue hole into the casting cavity. This technique enables very detailed designs and imparts a unique texture from the coarse rock. 

Sedona Indian Jewelry offers some beautiful examples of Ric’s work that exemplify what a master can produce from this technique.  High quality Royston Turquoise, Blue Diamond Turquoise, and Lapis stones are inlaid in polished silver framing that makes them stand out from the color and texture of the traditional Navajo geometric shapes beneath them.  

And a rarity in belt buckles, Ric has cast a design on the reverse depicting the sun, clouds, and buttes of the Arizona desert.  While only a very few people will ever know what is on the back of your belt buckle, this extra measure of detail demonstrates the true artistry of this Ric Charlie’s work.

Just as the impressionist masters before him, before art, Pearman started out as a kick boxer and a skateboarder.  He captured the 1989 Guinness World Record for the jumping his skateboard over 26 barrels, snatching the record away from the previous title holders, Renoir and Monet, who purportedly turned to painting to console themselves over their loss.

Anyway, back to belt buckles.  Paul was caught off guard by the success of his custom-designed mosaic belt buckles, which have garnered placement in high-end boutiques and galleries and attracting celebrity clients who pay from $500 to $3500 for his work.  The response has created an endless workload for him, trapping him in self-described “belt buckle purgatory” in his basement studio, as he scrambles to keep up with demand.   What the video below for the back story.

So visit New School Mosaics if you would like to own one of these unique creations or simply because you think it would be cool to keep Paul toiling away in his basement a little longer.

To represent this year’s Stampede the organizers wanted an image that reflected Canada’s western heritage and values.  They commissioned Canadian artist Doug Levitt, who painted A Man of His People to honor the culture of the First Nations (the aboriginal tribes of Canada) and offer a sense of nostalgia and respect for the Stampede’s long history with the Plains people.  To ensure historical accuracy, the artist worked closely with native elders to portray as many Plains tribes as possible.  Levitt’s artwork is reproduced on the 2008 limited edition gold- and silver-plated belt buckle commemorating the event. 

There’s still time to buy the buckle, but you better saddle up fast if you want to join this year’s stampede where, until July 13, the wild wild west is still part of the great white north…

The offspring of this mythical meeting is the line of belt buckles from Wildfire Belts.  These blindingly bejeweled belts radiate as much gleam, glitz, and glitter as can be squeezed into your wardrobe, short of strapping Liberace’s rhinestone candelabra onto your pants. 

So if you want to show the world how you sparkle and honor the original Kings of Bling, protect your eyes with your darkest Ray Bans and click on over to Wildfire Belts.

If you are trying to quell the psychedelic flashbacks in your head and find the perfect buckle for your bellbottom hip-huggers, then boogie on down to So Absolutely Fabulous. Their Sugarluxe Banana Split buckle will help you face the Age of Aquarius with some happening vibes.  The limited edition, quality cast, lead-free, pewter belt buckles are crystallized with Swarovski Crystals for extra-sparkly flower power when you need it most. 

Can you dig it?

Native of Singapore, Rivy founded the MadCornerShop brand and markets an eponymous line of stylish clothing and accessories worldwide.  The Hook Belt is a simple yet purposeful design that gives your pants an added measure of security in an unsure world.

(photo courtesy of notcouture.com)

The buckle from ExploreMontana.com displays Custer, shooting Rambo-style with two double-action revolvers called Webley Bulldogs.  He is flanked by the Cavalry guidon variation of the American flag and the guidon of the 7^th Cavalry.  To learn more, visit Friends of the Little Big Horn. 

History continues to re-evaluate this battle.  But no matter which side of the historical debate you choose, pay tribute to the man famous for failing.   Next time you screw up bad at work, think that maybe one day, you too could become a household name!

These gleaming mirror-finished buckles are crafted from silver, considered by the Hopi to be a sacred element of Mother Earth. The traditional tribal technique called sterling overlay is made from two layers of silver where the intricate designs are cut through the top layer which is soldered onto the lower layer which has been tooled for texture and darkened through oxidation to add depth and contrast to the relief.  Each piece is stamped with the artisan’s hallmark DALANGYAWMA representing the Hopi Greasewood clan.

These are beautiful original designs that you can wear proudly in homage to the deeply spiritual Hopi who still follow ancient ways of living, farming their native land, and producing works of art that reflect their traditions.  Or simply because these belt buckles look great!