If you ever care to pay attention to the people around you in order to see what jewelry they most frequently choose, you’ll definitely notice that chains are among the most popular items.
What makes them so loved and favored? First, the chains are reliable. They make a great option for solo necklaces, layered looks, and a base for pendants. Second, they’re practical. It’s easy to style chains with different outfits and jewelry, creating stunning combinations and images. Third, they are incredibly versatile. It’s hard to count how many styles of chains there are, and every one of them is unique and distinctive.
But such a popularity of the certain jewelry always makes it a target for different sorts of speculations regarding its price and quality. How to choose a chain like a pro and what you should pay attention to while buying jewelry? We’ll point out several basic features that’ll help you make the right decision and enjoy your purchase afterward.
Style. The most obvious detail, you’ll definitely set your eyes on in the first place is the design of the chain. You may think that it performs a solely decorative function, but there’s a lot that depends on the pattern of the chain. We offer to take a look at the following styles of the chains to compare their advantages.
The Miami Cuban link chain may be considered among the most durable and strongest styles of chains. It is achieved through the construction of the chain. The Miami Cuban link chain displays the twisted flat oval links that are connected with each other to form a sturdy necklace made to last for a lifetime. It’s a perfect option for heavy pendants and medallions as it easily holds a considerable weight.
For the same reason of being quite durable, a Cuban link chain is also a nice decision if you’re looking for a chain to wear every day. The damages that may be fatal to some delicate chains won’t do considerable harm to the Cuban necklace.
The pattern of the Miami Cuban link chain is one of the most recognizable and fashionable designs of chain necklaces. We could’ve said that it’s made continuous comebacks since it was introduced in the 1970s, but it has never really left the trends for all those decades, remaining the fashion icon and classic jewelry obligatory for every fashionista.
The chunky look of the classic Cuban link chain makes it a perfect statement piece of jewelry, ready to draw attention with its luxurious luster and glamorous massiveness. It won’t fail to make your image noticeable and bright.
Let’s move to the next type of the chain, and it’s going to be the Franco style. The intricate pattern of the Franco chain consists of four-sided V-shaped links that provide the chain with two different ornaments within one necklace. One side of the chain displays a V-shaped design, the look of the other reminds of the Cuban chain. The links are placed very tightly together which results in the immense strength of the necklace.
But what is the feature, apart from the appearance, that differentiates the Franco chain from the already mentioned Cuban one? The chain is constructed in such a way that it’s incredibly hard to get it tangled unintentionally. If the link in the Cuban necklace breaks, the chain automatically tears apart as it consists of a single row of links. This, though, won’t happen with the Franco chain. This necklace won’t fall apart if a single link is broken, and it can be easily fixed or replaced.
The chain was designed by the Italian jeweler named Franco and has adopted the natural for this country’s artistic and passionate look. The classic Franco chain unites strict geometry with straight lines and sharp angles, and delicate elegance of intricate texture. It is a great option to wear your pendants or medallions on. The sleek appearance also makes it look good among layers of other chains.
And to finish the thought that the style of the chain is not only about looks, but we’ll also talk about the rope chain. The necklace is made of numerous tiny links joined together to form a resemblance of the rope. As in the case with the Franco chain, it’s quite durable and won’t break if one of the links is damaged. It is also among the strong chain types, but the Rope chain is not generally about that.
The feature of the necklace is the hypnotic flexibility it possesses. Every move the wearer makes echoes with the mesmerizing twist of a rope chain. The effect is enhanced by the incredible luster of every single link, adding glowing charm to the already elegant movements.
Those are the ways the style of the chains performs different functions: some ensure the strength of your necklace, others make the chain resistant to tangles, and some provide noticeable movement. And it’s all in addition to obvious decorative functions. The styles we’ve described are just a drop in the ocean of a great variety of patterns you may choose from and each one of them has its own unique advantage.
Materials
Deciding to get yourself or someone you care about a chain, you’ll surely need to select a material the jewelry is made of. The choice here is grand! We won’t get into some exclusive materials, stopping on the most popular ones. The common metals are sterling silver, stainless steel, platinum, and gold. In fact, they are not quite metals, but alloys.
In order to get the best material to work with or the best combination of quality and price the alloys of different purity are used in jewelry. It is especially important to consider while picking gold items, as the price of the chain varies greatly with its purity.
Usually, the hallmark provides information about the purity of gold used in the jewelry. It may be stamped on the gold jewelry piece either in karats or with a 3-digit number. The most common hallmarks are:
- 9K or 375 (37.5% of gold in the alloy)
- 10K or 416 – (41.67%)
- 12K or 500 – (50%)
- 14K or 585 – (58.33%)
- 18K or 750 – (75%)
- 22K or 917 – (91.67%)
- 24K or 999 – (99.99%)
For the gold chains, the most popular choice is the 12K and 14K alloys.
You may also find the stamps containing letters, such as GF, GP, RG, RGP… Spotting them on the jewelry you should be aware that it’s most likely not made of gold, but has a gold plating or coating of a certain degree.
Another detail you need to know to shop the chain like a pro is the difference between solid and hollow gold. While solid gold is what it sounds like, hollow gold chains are empty inside. The jewelry of hollow gold is usually lighter and less expensive but is indistinguishable by its looks. Such gold chains may lose durability and are more likely to deform than the ones made of solid gold, thus they are less valuable, so you should pay attention.
Length and width
You may choose the length and the width of your chain keeping in mind some general recommendations. 16-20 inches is considered to be the most suitable length for women, while 20-24 inches is the appropriate length for men. Add 2-4 inches to your chain if you are going to wear a pendant with it.
To emphasize the elegance of a long neck, a short thick chain choker of 14-16 inches will be a wise choice. The 18-20 inches chains suit the outfits with deep necklines. Delicate long chains of 22-24 inches make the silhouette visually more slender. For the best effect consider your face type, build, neckline and style of the outfit you’re going to complete the chain with.
Place to buy
The best place to buy a nice real gold chain is always a store with a good reputation and reviews, with all required papers and certificates stating the quality of their jewelry, a clear return policy and special customer programs. Those may be the good old brick-and-mortar stores and online jewelry shops as well. But where to buy real gold chains online? It’s even easier, taking into consideration the criteria mentioned above.
The comfortable customer service, helpful assistants, positive comments, a wide choice of jewelry items, convenient search by size, price, materials, etc., pleasant prices, sales and discounts, useful jewelry-related educative information and size charts are generally all it takes for the online shop to be a good place to buy yourself a high-end gold chain. The easy way to treat yourself to stylish gold jewelry that’ll serve you a lifetime.
