Men's Chain Styles

Types of men's chains, compared link by link

Two chains of the same width and length can look nothing alike. The difference is the link: its shape, how it joins the next one, and how it reflects light. This page puts every link we make side by side, so you can choose by the look you want rather than by a name you half remember.

Flat links: Cuban, curb and Franco

Flat links lie against the chest and read as one dense band.

• Cuban: twisted, flattened curb links packed tight. The chain most men picture first. Ours go from 4 mm to 18 mm, with options set with cubic zirconia. Full range in our Cuban link chains.
• Curb: the same family, with slightly more open links and beveled edges. Our heavy curb chain runs from 6 to 16 mm.
• Franco: a curb link with four faces instead of two, so the chain has a square profile and turns without twisting. A strong base for a heavy pendant. 6, 9 or 13 mm.

Round links: rope, wheat and Byzantine

Round chains have volume. They catch light from every side, so they look lively even when thin.

• Rope: small links twisted into a spiral. 2.3 to 5 mm in our range. See the rope chains.
• Wheat: four strands of oval links braided in the same direction. Softer and more textured than rope, from 3 to 8 mm.
• Byzantine: pairs of small rings folded through each other. Intricate up close, a soft square rope from a step away. 4, 5 or 8 mm, in a 22" length. It looks best alone, without a pendant.

Patterned links: figaro and geometric bar

• Figaro: three short links, then one long. The break in rhythm is noticed without shouting. 3 to 6 mm, silver-tone or gold-tone. All of them in our figaro chains.
• Geometric bar link: long, faceted bars joined end to end. Modern and minimal, 2 to 4 mm, up to 31".

Clean links: box, snake, cable and O-link

• Box: tiny square links that read as one clean line. 1.2 to 3 mm, the natural pick for a pendant. See our box chains.
• Flat snake: small plates joined so tight there are no visible links, only a surface. 2 to 5 mm. Hang it or lay it flat when it is off; a flat chain can kink if folded hard.
• Cable: classic oval links, thick and rounded. From a discreet 3 mm to a bold 10 mm.
• O-link: round, uniform links in a single 16" length that sits high on the neck.

Which style fits which situation

• Office, shirt collar: box, snake or a 3 mm figaro. Thin and flat, nothing catches.
• T-shirt, weekend: a 4 to 6 mm Cuban, rope or wheat chain.
• Statement worn alone: Cuban or curb from 10 mm, Franco in 9 or 13 mm, Byzantine in 8 mm.
• With a pendant: box, Franco, cable or wheat. Skip the Byzantine.
• Two chains together: mix a flat link with a round one, for example a snake chain above a rope, with about 2 inches between them.