Gold Chain

There are many different styles of gold chain. Gold chains are designed to stand alone as a fashion statement or to accompany pendants.

Some examples of different gold chain styles include Herringbone, Snake Chain, Box Chain, Wheat Chain, Panther Link, Ventetian Link, Bolero, Toggle, Cable Chain, Mariner, Curb. There are always new gold chain styles being created by designers.

In Europe, between the Middle Ages and 18th century, gold chains were traditionally rewarded as gifts for loyal service to royal courts, according to lapidaryjournal.com.

Gold Chains are available in different karats. If buying gold chain as an investment, it is often better to purchase 18 karat gold and above.

18 Karat Gold Chain
18 karat and 14 karat Gold Chains are very popular because they are not as easily damaged as higher karat gold chains and can be worn everyday without worry of damaging the chain. It is very common in USA for 14 karat gold chain to be sold.

21 Karat Gold Chain
The Middle East traditionaly sells 21 Karat Gold Jewelry. 18 karat gold, 21 karat gold ,23 karat gold and 24 karat gold jewelry are also sold. There is no gold jewelry sold below 18 karat gold as it is not considered gold by law.

22 Karat Gold Chain
22 karat gold chain is popular in many countries in Europe. Spain and Italy in particular are famous for their higher karatage gold jewelry. Italy has traditionaly been the leader in gold chain design and quality manufacturing.

23 Karat Gold Chain
Thailand is reknowned for making and selling 23 Karat Gold chains. Many of Thailand's chain designs are distinctively asian in style.

According to belleaircoins.com, Thailand's gold chains are 23-24K gold and referred to as "Thai Baht Chains". "Thai gold" is .965 fine, a little over 23K. The alloy makes the gold harder so that it stands up to wear much better than very soft 24K gold. Thai gold is sold by the "Baht weight", which is 15.2 grams. So a "two Baht" chain would weigh 30.4 grams, just a little under one troy ounce (31.1 grams)."

"The price for Thai gold is published in the newspaper by a governmental agency. Every gold shop in the country prominently displays and uses that price (a little over the world gold price) for selling 23K gold items that day. The price for the gold in a 23K chain is non negotiable. There is no wholesale or retail; everyone pays the published price. However, there is a fabrication charge which varies according to the weight of the piece and how ornate it is. The labor charge on a heavy, plain chain will be cheaper per Baht weight in comparison to a very fancy, lightweight pair of earrings. The labor charge is sometimes negotiable and occasionally can be reduced a little by bargaining."


24 Karat Gold Chain
Hong Kong, Singapore and China sell 24 karat gold jewelry and gold chain. It is sold by the tael, which is 37 1/2 grams (approximately 1.205 troy ounces). The gold price per tael is standard (a few percent over the world gold price) .

24 karat Gold Chains are also available in Italy and many other European Countries.