Chain Types and Styles | 7 Products Ideal for Your Next Jewelry Project

Chain Types and Styles | 7 Products Ideal for Your Next Jewelry Project
By: Sawyer Wood

Here at HarperCrown, charms are our specialty. They’re just what we do! However, that doesn’t mean it’s the only thing we have on proverbial tap. To help you from DIY idea to final product, we also offer a full line of both cut-to-length chains and finished, pre-cut chains that pair perfectly with almost any of our charms or pendants.

With over 120 options, though, it can sometimes be hard to pinpoint exactly which chain style is right for your newest project and what’s better left for another day. That being said, we’ve compiled a brief overview of some of our most popular offerings to point you in the right direction. Continue reading below for seven types of jewelry chains you’ll definitely want to grab while we’ve got them in stock!

1. Finished Gold Flat Cable Chain

In the jewelry world, it doesn’t get much more common than cable chain. Strong, durable, and simple thanks to a consistent structure of interlocked round lengths, this chain link type is a great no-frills choice if your goal is to highlight a pendant without too much other visual distraction.

Plan on making several necklaces for friends or selling them in a shop? We’ve gone ahead and made bulk ordering more effortless and accessible than ever, allowing you to pay by the foot rather than paying a premium for individual cut lengths. Just be sure you have some wire cutters and a good set of jewelry tools on hand to finish the job! We'd also recommend buying a pack of 22 gauge jump rings as they’re just the right fit for this 1.3 mm flat cable chain. A match made in heaven? It certainly seems that way.

2. 14/20 Gold-Filled Flat Cable Chain

You remember how in grade school we all would MacGyver together big paperclip necklaces and applaud each other on our jewelry-making skills? Well, you can consider this particular chain style the adult successor to that nostalgic (if slightly questionable) childhood fashion choice.

Keeping with the same sort of flat, rectangular link look, it’s a fun and more playful option than basic ball chains or other flat cable varieties. However, it’s kept both pretty and dainty thanks to 2x5mmx30ga links, classic 14k gold, and a soft shimmer effect. Pair it with any of our matching gold charms, and you’ll have a product even your younger self would adore.

3. Shiny Finish Bulk Figaro Chain

While this Figaro may not have anything to do with opera or eighteenth-century French plays, it will still have you singing praises! A necklace featuring a pattern of three round links between a longer oval one, our shiny finish figaro chain offers a bold look that’s still not too flashy or overpowering. That makes it one of the best picks for those wanting a little more “oomph” from their jewelry chain styles.

But that’s not the only thing separating it from the competition. Due to popular demand, we offer it in a range of chain styles. Available in beautiful sterling silver and traditional yellow gold and in both 1.5 mm or 2 mm varieties, you have more options than ever in how you － or your customers － make a statement.

4. 5-Foot Satellite Curb Ball Chain

Looking for more visually-interesting types of jewelry chain but aren’t quite sure that a figaro chain is the aesthetic you’re going for? We’d encourage you to give our satellite curb ball chain a spin. Why? Because this jewelry chain truly stands out from the rest with its glossy bead detailing and long 15mm spacing between each one.

Further helped by bright and shiny gold, rose gold, or silver options and unique inner links, this type of chain makes a serious impact on its own or with a charm attached. 

5. 14K Rose Gold Rolo Chain

We love our cable chains here at HarperCrown, and we definitely know our customers do as well. Yet, sometimes you just need to put a spin on a classic to keep things fresh, and our rolo chain is the result of doing just that.

Much like the original, this type of chain continues the tradition of using small circular links and a simple pattern but alternates between vertical orientation and horizontal. This gives it a rolling or rounded effect and provides a little extra texture that many other chains lack while remaining super comfortable and in the same great quality you’ve come to expect from all our products.

6. 4 mm Sequin Disc Chain

From the 60s to the early 80s, a lot of cool stuff was invented and introduced to the public. The hippie movement, Grease, Queen, even email and the first mobile phone: all still-influential, well-known things originating within this unique era. Something else that was massively popular back then? Sequins － which we’re intent on bringing them back. That’s where our sequin disc chain comes into play.

A chain formed from 4 mm discs, flat and slender links, and shiny finishing, it’s chock full of retro charm while keeping with more modern construction. That enables it to be ideal for nearly any project, so embrace the creative freedom. Form it into a bracelet, a ring, a choker, or something else entirely. All are wonderful options for showing off this chain type’s old-school style.

7. Flat Finished Necklace Chain

Big and brash more than have their place in the jewelry space, but basic and easy-to-wear does, too. And for the times when you simply need a standard, go-to piece, you won't find a better option than our flat finished necklace.

Nearly identical to our previously-featured finished gold chain, this version is formed from small, interlocking round components, adding up to a quiet and plain necklace you can wear for any occasion. But this one does something different: it utilizes a large clasp for quick on and off. Take this new closure, add in the lie-flat cable design, and you have one supremely comfortable chain style.

Here's our entire collection of wholesale chain.