Men's Silver-Tone Byzantine Chain

Men's silver Byzantine chains: 4, 5 and 8 mm, worn at 22 inches

A Byzantine chain, also known as a king's chain, is one of the more complex patterns in chainmaking. Pairs of small rings are folded through each other along the whole length, which creates a dense chain that still moves freely. Up close it is intricate; from a step away it looks like a soft, square rope. This page covers our three silver-tone Byzantine chains.

"Silver" is the color: these chains are steel. The Byzantine Chain in Stainless Steel is bare polished stainless steel. The Byzantine Link Chain Necklace and the Titanium Steel Byzantine Chain with Crucifix Pendant are titanium steel (a stainless steel alloy, not pure titanium), with silver-tone, gold-tone or black options.

The chains, side by side

Choosing the width

• 4 mm: the elegant choice, under an open collar.
• 5 mm: clearly there over a t-shirt.
• 8 mm: a bold chain worn on its own and nothing else.

Because the link is rounded and dense, a Byzantine looks fuller than a flat chain of the same width. If you hesitate between two widths, the narrower one will already look substantial.

With or without a pendant

A plain Byzantine looks best alone: its texture is already the detail. The exception is the crucifix version, built as one piece, where the dense chain balances a substantial pendant. At 22" the crucifix sits just below the collarbone; choose 24" or 26" for it to rest mid-chest.

To layer, keep the plain 4 mm Byzantine as the top chain, with a smoother chain at least 2 inches longer underneath. For the matching wrist piece, see our silver Byzantine bracelets; for every silver-tone chain, browse men's silver chains.

Care

The stainless steel Byzantine is bare steel with no plating, so it needs very little: a soft cloth brings back the shine. All three can stay on in the shower, at the gym, at the sea or in the pool. Rinse them in clean water after the sea or the pool, because salt can settle in the folded rings, and dry them well. On gold-tone and black, perfume and chlorine wear the plating over time.