Gold body chain hoxne treasure reflections

Fine metal chains 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

pendant A pendant is a loose-hanging piece of jewellery, generally attached by a small loop to a necklace, which may be known as a "pendant necklace". A pendant earring is an earring with a piece hanging down. Its name stems from the Latin word ...

s. Unlike industrial or

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

s for other purposes, jewellery chains or ''body chains'' are designed for aesthetic purposes.

Material

Jewellery chains are typically made from precious metals, mainly

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

palladium Palladium is a chemical element with the symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas, which was itself na ...

and

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

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 findings serve as fastenings to enable the chain to be undone and redone.

Styles

File:Silver Jewellery Chain.jpg, Trace: Often the simplest style of chain. The links in a trace chain are typically uniform in breadth and thickness, and can be very delicate, especially in finer widths. File:Rolo chain.jpg, Rolo: The links of a rolo chain are usually identical and often round. These links joined in a simple alternating sequence. File:Singapore chain.jpg, Singapore: This 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. File:Rope chain.jpg, Rope: Rope chain 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. File:Figarochain.jpeg, Figaro: Figaro is not really a style but a very popular variation. 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. File:Wheat chain.jpg, Wheat: Wheat chain 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 File:Byzantine chain in silver and green aluminium arp.jpg,

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

: An intricate chain that can be made by the hobbyist from

jump rings Jump rings are (usually metal) rings used to make chains, jewelry, and chain mail. They are made by wrapping wire around a mandrel to make a coil, then cutting the coil with wire cutters to make individual rings. The rings can be assembled one by on ...

. File:Twisted link chain.jpg, Twisted link chain File:Foxtail chain.jpg, Foxtail chain File:Bigcurbchain2.jpg, A curb chain 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. This style of chain has the greatest variety of widths available, from a few millimetres to over four centimetres. File:Boxchain.png, Briolette: Also known as Box, briolette is similar to a belcher chain except the links are tighter together and are square in shape, hence the name. File:Bricklink.jpg, Brick link chain, also called a Boston link chain. * Belcher: This is similar to the trace, a belcher chain link is wider than its thickness. Generally the links are round, but the shape of the link can vary. * Prince Of Wales: 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. * Spiga: Spiga is formed of small figure-eight links which form a 3D chain that feels almost square, and looks as though the wire has been plaited. * Anchor: The anchor chain copies the style of the chain that holds large anchors on ships, an oval link with a dividing bar through the middle. The interlinking sections may be of a curb or trace style. Also a version called ''Maritime'' where only every other link is an anchor link. * Snake: 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. * Bead: 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. * Fancy: 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 A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, ...

References

{{Authority control Jewellery components

Material

Styles

See also

References