Boyer has an eight page essay on vests in Elegance.

According to him, Charles II introduced them to his court in 1666 "to teach the nobility thrift."

While they may not still have the crest magnets, they do have club ties, with "10 1/2" in circles as the motif.

Horace and Will:

I've consulted "The Englishman's Suit" by Hardy Amies regarding the evolution of the vest. Sorry for the delay.

I haven't read the Boyer essay, but what you both say here seems to be in agreement with what I found in Amies' book.

I'm paragraphising, but he says that the English King Charles II, introduced the vest. Amies quotes Samuel Pepys on the subject: "October 15th 1666. This day the King begins to put on his vest, and I did see several persons in the House of Lords and Commons too, great Courtiers, who are in it, being a long cossock close to the body, of black cloth, and pinked with white silk under it, and a coat over it..."

Amies also quotes the Handbook of English Costume in the 17th Century (1963) by Dr. Willet Cunnington: "It is customary to regard the modern style of male costume as originating from the reign of Charles II when the suit compoased coat, waistcoat (or vest...) and breeches, garments which necessitated improvements in the tailor's skill."

There were two reasons for the vest, he says, one was practical: to provide another layer of clothing for added warmth during the brisk British winters. The other was political. To undermine the French influence on fashion.

The court of Charles the II "....dressed in fashions deeply influenced by Versailles. But at the same time the houses of the aristocracy were on estates; their owners dressed in riding clothes."

Hope this helps a bit. 

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There is a red or burgundy one, and a royal blue.  I may still pick one up once I get my Harris tweed back from the tailor--it seems to cry out for a club tie.