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months-long backlog of orders. A business that
was inspired by fraudulent antiques quickly
evolved into a thriving industry, and belt buckles
became an iconic element of 1970s fashion.
Several new companies formed to fill the
demand for buckles. MM Limited (now Great
American Products) found early success making
buckles with motorcycle brands like Harley
Davidson, Honda, and Yamaha. Indiana Metal
Craft and Basic Tool Supply (BTS) were also early
entrants to the industry.
The Tech Ether Guild was an artist collective
in Kalamazoo, MI that produced dozens of solid
brass buckle designs in the late 70s to early 80s
and was popular with hippies and young people.
Craftsmen and artists soon saw the potential of
buckles as a medium for artwork, and designers
including David Yurman, Jack Boyd, Carl Tasha,
Leoma Lovegrove, Scott Nelles, and Duncan
Laurie all created belt buckles before moving on to
other artistic endeavors.
A “Tiffany” belt buckle with the original receipt,
from the author’s collection. A wholesaler/distributor belt buckle catalog Expansion of Belt Buckle Popularity
(rear cover) making a joke about the
seedy and scandalous origins of the In the 1970s, Belt buckles were sold through
appeared quite old (1890s-1920s), rare, and belt buckle industry, c. 1977. mail-order catalogs, leather shops, western stores,
valuable. Many were made by Tiffany & Co., the and music festivals. Popular themes included
reputable jeweler based in New York, and frantic collectors bought them astrology and horoscopes, hippie counterculture, psychedelia and drugs,
up at prices as high as $200. Above is one example (from the author’s Western and cowboys, animals and nature, fantasy artwork, Egyptian
collection) that came with an original receipt where the customer paid revival, and more.
$50 plus tax – that’s equivalent to about $400 today if you adjust for In the mid-and late 1970s, manufacturers expanded into producing
inflation from 1970. corporate designs for companies as promotional items and employee
There was also a collector’s guide titled Tiffany & Gaylord Express & gifts. Apparel marketing was a novel marketing strategy at the time,
Exhibition Belt Plates that dealers and pawn shop owners would show to and it found success using belt buckles to promote brands – especially in
prospective customers. The 90-page hardbound publication showcased the music industry. Pacifica belt buckles made a splash in record shops,
numerous belt buckles of interest and with shiny holographic images that
offered insights into their historical featured rock bands like KISS and the
context and rarity. Grateful Dead.
Unbeknownst to collectors, the The 1980s saw a rise in the popularity
“Tiffany” belt buckles and associated of belt buckle collecting, especially
guidebooks were a meticulous lie. The among farmers in the Midwest who
ruse unraveled in the early 1970s when collected the agriculture-themed belt
J. Duncan Campbell, an advisor to the buckles given away with tractors. Local
Smithsonian Institute and an expert belt buckle clubs formed to meet and
in historical belt plates, purchased a hold swap meets, and two magazines
copy of the collector’s guide. To his dedicated to buckle collecting were
astonishment, he found it contained even published.
passages plagiarized from his own Manufacturers aligned with the
publications for the Smithsonian, edited growing collector’s market by producing
and rearranged to praise the fake Tiffany sets of limited-edition belt buckles.
buckles. Campbell eventually exposed Award Design Medals and Tony Lama
this scheme and found that the fake (a popular cowboy boot maker), for
Tiffany buckles were being mass- example, collaborated to produce several
produced in England and chemically large series of belt buckles commem-
treated to make them look older than orating U.S. states, cattle breeds, and
they were. The perpetrator, an famous western firearms, which became
Englishman called John Fairchild, was a highly effective marketing tool that
ultimately revealed, but only after tens helped to drive demand among
of thousands of fraudulent buckles were collectors. Today, there are only a few
sold into circulation. remaining buckle manufacturers, and the
popularity of belt buckles has died down
1970s Belt Buckle Craze considerably since its peak in the 80s.
The fake Tiffany belt buckle fraud was
impressive in its audacity, complexity, Rare belt buckles from the Tech Ether Guild. Belt Buckle Collecting
and scale. A young sculptor, Daniel Solid brass inlaid with stone and resin. I realized I wasn’t the only person
Bergamot, was one of the few who curious about the history of belt buckles
noticed the popularity and success of the fake Tiffany belt buckles. He when customers on Etsy and eBay started reaching out to me with
decided to try making his own legitimate buckles that could actually be questions. Most people who contact me about belt buckles either
worn and formed the company Bergamot Brass Works in 1974. Their inherited them from a family member or recently bought them at garage
first buckles were copies of popular fake Tiffany designs, but they quickly and estate sales, thrift shops, flea markets, or swap meets. Now I’ve
developed a catalog of their own artwork and designs. The belt buckles started a blog and online collectors guide for belt buckles at
sold out fast, and despite hiring several employees, they had a several www.BeltBuckleHistory.com, and here’s the advice I give to beginners:

40 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles