Jewellery chain

File:Gold chain with gemstones and enamel, late 16th century, The Royal Armoury, Sweden.jpg

Solid 16th century gold chain with garnets, rock crystals and champlevé enamel, The Royal Armoury, Sweden.

Jewellery chains, jewelry chains or body chains are metal chains that are used in jewellery to encircle parts of the body, namely the neck, wrists and ankles, and they also serve as points to hang decorative charms and pendants.

Material

Jewellery chains are typically made from precious metals, mainly gold and silver. Platinum, palladium and steel may also be used. These metals are used because they are not very reactive, keep both their intricate shape and their strength, and require only minimal maintenance to keep their shine. Small lever mechanisms called clasps serve as fastenings to enable the chain to be undone and redone.

History

The earliest chain necklaces have been found in ancient Babylonia among jewellery dating back to 2500 BC. The tomb of Queen Puabi, who was buried in 2600 BC, included several gold chains that she wore in different ways. The old Greek, Roman and Egyptian civilisations followed later. An intricate 4th or 5th century Romano British gold body chain with an amethyst and four garnets, made for a slight woman or a girl, was found in the Hoxne Hoard in Suffolk. Around the Tudor period, heavy gold chains were both fashionable and statements of positions and power.

• Wearing chains
• Necklaces
  Necklaces
• Bracelets
  Bracelets
• Anklets
  Anklets
• Belly chains
  Belly chains
• Frontal view of a grey female bust with four gold bands of many fine links, two draped over the shoulders and two plunging from the breast bone sweeping below the breasts and going behind the back. The four converge between the breasts, where each band ends in a head which connects to a centerpiece, a purple gem surrounded by eight smaller sockets, four empty and four with red stones.
  Body chains
• Chain of office
  Chain of office

Styles

There are a vast number of chain styles and techniques for making them. These are some of the more popular designs and their more common names. However, the names differ with countries depending on traditions.

Chain	Image	Description
Anchor (I)	File:Silver anchor chain 2.jpg	or Cable chain, copies the style of the chain that holds large anchors on ships. One of the simplest and most universal chains. The links are oval, made from round wire. Several versions have one or two of their sides ground flat and polished, giving the chain more sparkle through these facets. (pictured) This is called "Diamond cutting" of the chain. Anchor chains with very long and open links are often called Paperclip chains.
Anchor (II)	File:Chain, watch (51360169071), cropped.jpg	or Maritime, Marina or Stud link chain, this too copies the style of the chain that holds large anchors on ships but has an oval link with a dividing bar through the middle. The interlinking sections may be of a Curb or Trace style. There is also a version (pictured) of this style where only every other link is an anchor link.
Ball	File:Silver ball chain 2.jpg	or Bead chain, is formed of small balls of metal joined by small lengths of wire, not longer than each bead in between. Also has its own 'snap over the first link' fastening. Larger steel versions are more often used to hold ID cards than in jewellery, but finer ones may be found for the purpose.
Belcher	File:Halskedja med lås, av guld och ametist, 1824 - Hallwylska museet - 109872, cropped.jpg	or Rolo, is similar to the Trace, but a Belcher chain link is wider than its thickness. Generally the links are rounded on the outside, but the shape of the link can vary.
Box	File:Urkedja, 1840-tal - Hallwylska museet - 109985, cropped.jpg	This is similar to the Venetian chain, but the links are loser and rectangular, whereas the Venetian's are always square and tighter.
Brick	File:Bricklink.jpg	or Serpentine chain, Cobra, Boston link, S-link, C-link or Flat link, is a semi-rigid chain, pressed so tightly that the links have almost fused into a solid band.
Byzantine	File:Oxidized Mens Byzantine ChainMaille Bracelet, edited.jpg	or Turkish, is an intricate design in which each link is connected to four other links, creating a woven appearance.
Curb	File:Gold chain for Lister's pocket watch, cropped.jpg	(cf. Curb chain), Cuban or Twisted is when the links interlock with each other when laid flat. Some more open-link curb chains can only be distinguished from a trace by this method, while the denser curb chain known as closed curb keep their appearance whichever way they hang. This style of chain has the greatest variety of widths available, from a few millimeters to over four centimeters. The links can be round, flattened or faceted in a large variety of ways.
Fancy	File:Poland Gold filigree chain.jpg	A fancy chain can be anything; any form of fine metal that can be replicated and joined onto each other to make a chain. Many fancy chains are variations of the standard styles, for example a trace chain formed of heart-shaped links or a curb chain with every other link set with a gemstone.
Figaro	File:Figaro silver chain 3.jpg	Figaro is not really a style but a popular variation of the Curb chain. A number of standard links (usually three) precede an elongated link all the way through. This variation can be replicated by many of the styles mentioned.
Foxtail	File:Foxtail silver chain.jpg	This chain gets its intricate V-shaped pattern from two rows of oval rings connected by flat rings in the middle. It can be shaped, twisted and hammered to become more square or rectangular.
Franco	File:Gold Franco chain 2.jpg	The Franco chain with a square cut, has a V-shaped pattern on two sides, with the other two more resembling a Curb chain. It is more open than a Spiga or Foxtail, while resembling them at a distance. It's named after the Italian jeweler who designed it.
Omega	File:Givenchy Vintage Gold Choker with a High Neck Dress, cropped.jpg	or more correctly Omega necklace, is a pseudo-chain made by assembling metallic plates on a wire or woven mesh. The plates give the appearance of links in a chain.
Prince Of Wales	File:Necklace (AM 71164-4), cropped.jpg	This is a loose Rope chain. This chain consists of a twisting chain made of small circular links, where each single link has no less than four others joining into it. It resembles the Singapore, but is more loosely interlocked.
Rolo	File:Gold rolo chain 3.jpg	The links of a Rolo chain are usually identical and often round. It is the most basic form of a chain. The links joined in a simple alternating sequence.
Rope	File:Gold-hollow-rope-necklace, cropped.webp	Creates the effect of two twisting strands spiraled together, created by many small links which are not completely joined. One disadvantage of this otherwise strong chain is that, when one link does break, the rest of the chain might follow in succession.
Saturn	File:Tiffany and Company - Sautoir with Pearl Pendant - Walters 572034,cropped.jpg	also called Station or Bobble chain, is a chain with evenly spaced beads, discs or ovals upon the chain.
Scroll	File:Catenina e spille, cropped.jpg	also called Snail, S type, Meander or even Greek key chain since its design resembles old meander ornamentation.
Singapore	File:Singapore silver chain.jpg	This chain may also be called Twisted Curb, but the links are joined in such a way that, even when the chain is untwisted, there is always a natural curve to it. Usually this chain is sold very fine and has a liquid-like look to it.
Snake	File:Round snake silver chain 2.jpg	Snake chain is a very tight-linked chain that has a round or square cross-section and has links that create a slight zigzag look.
Spiga	File:Spiga chain in 18K gold.jpg	or Wheat, is formed of very long, thin teardrop-shape links that all point in the same direction. The join of each link is like a tiny hinge, meaning this style is not as flexible or liquid-like as some others. It forms a 3D chain that feels almost square, and looks as though the wire has been plaited.
Trace	File:Silver Jewellery Chain.jpg	A slender simple style version of the Cable or Anchor chain with small, uniform circular or oval links. Trace chains are typically very delicate, especially in finer widths.
Venetian	File:Venetian gold chain 2.jpg	Venetian chains are very similar to Box chain, but the links are always square, whereas the Box chains are looser and rectangular.

Video

File:Making a silver chain.webm

Making a silver chain.

See also

• Manin gold chain