The Most Favorite Men’s Chain Jewelry Types

Chain jewelry is popular among men of all ages. Whether you choose a chain bracelet or a chain necklace for men makes you look gentlemanly or lends you a street credit. Such a piece of jewelry looks timeless and is effortless to wear. 

So, thinking about buying a piece of chain jewelry for the man in your life but not sure which one to buy? It can be a bit hard to choose the right piece of jewelry, given a plethora of choices.

In this guide, we’ve put together a quick guide about the most popular types of chain jewelry for men. Check this out and find the perfect style.

What Are The Most Favorite Chain Bracelet Types For Men?

A chain bracelet is a low-key way to kick your style up and express your unique personality. From the beach to the board room, this stylish wrist candy works in any situation.

Chain bracelets for men come in a variety of styles, designs, and shapes, ranging from full-blown zodiac-inspired to simple and elegant box chain bracelet.


Men's Box Chain Bracelet

The top types of men's chain bracelets are:

Gold & Silver Chain Bracelets

Wearing a two-tone chain bracelet is an extraordinary way to add interest to your personality statement. Gold and silver are the timeless tones that will keep your jewelry always in trend. 

Personalized Chain Bracelets with Initials

Reflect your positive attitude towards your life by purchasing a chain bracelet personalized with your initials. Atolyestone lets you choose a bracelet type and get it customized. For instance, you can order to have this paved chain bracelet personalized with your name’s initials. 

Men's Curb Chain Bracelet Paved

 Box Chain Bracelets Paved with Diamonds or Zirconia

Another great addition to this list is a combo of impressive Atolyestone anchor and classic box chains. It boasts a spellbinding, sleek and stylish design. It's made with 925 Sterling Silver and cubic zirconia stones. You can also get it with sapphire, ruby, emerald, or diamonds. It’s truly a great product for style and personality enthusiasts. 

 

Men's Anchor Box Chain Bracelet

Men's Anchor Box Chain Bracelet 

What Are The Most Favorite Men’s Chain Necklace Types?

A simple chain around the next makes for an elegant and highly personal addition to any manly attire. 

 When selected and worn appropriately, it comes out to be a timeless and masculine adornment. It shows your individuality, adds finer details to your personality, and can even bear a sentimental meaning.

Gold & Silver Chain Necklaces

Gold is certainly a luxury and timeless choice. But, you need to choose wisely to avoid looking tacky. So, pair it up with effortless, comfortable, and classic sterling silver. You can personalize the style as it suits you. For instance, get a wheat necklace chain in silver and pair it with a gold pendant. 

 

Men's Wheat Chain Necklace

Men's Wheat Chain Necklace 

 Chain Necklaces with Cross and other Pendant Designs

Cross sign pendants are very popular among men. These speak of your unique statement, spirituality, and masculinity at the same time.

In addition, you’ve countless stylish options when it comes to pairing up your chain necklace with a pendant. 

A Stylish Cross Pendant:

925 Solid Silver Paved Cross Pendant

Men's Paved Cross Pendant

Check out this Evil Eye Pendant:

 

Men’s Evil Eye Pendant

 Men’s Evil Eye Pendant

What about this Eagle Charm pendant?

 

Men's Eagle Head Necklace Pendant

 Men's Eagle Head Necklace Pendant

 

And this rudder pendant!

In addition, you can choose Classic Samurai Tag, Star, Ocean Anchor, or a pendant featuring your zodiac sign. 

 

Ball Chain Necklace Designs

A ball chain necklace is a slim, utilitarian style that goes well with long pendants. Known for its minimalist look, the piece of jewelry doesn’t distract onlookers from the rest of your attire. 

Decorate your chest with a stylish ocean anchor pendant that goes well with casual and smart casual outfits. 

 Ocean Anchor Pendant in Silver (Pendant only)

The bold ball chain necklace with a Sailor's Anchor pendant enhances the entire look, regardless of the outfit you’re wearing.

 Men's Sailor's Anchor Necklace Pendant

 

Another stylish choice on this list is this ball chain with a signet oval pendant base for the family crest.

 

 Men's Family Crest Oval Necklace Pendant

Chain Jewelry Glossary

Chain jewelry designs are available in a variety of sizes, shapes, and styles. So, choosing the right piece can be a bit overwhelming.

So, here’s this chain jewelry glossary that will introduce the most popular chain styles. Let's get started:

Ball/Bead Chain

Men's 925 Sterling Silver Necklace Chain
Ball or bead chain doesn’t feature open links. It rather consists of spheres of metal, which can be hollow or solid. It has beads on a chain necklace. Beads or balls are fixed at a regular interval using connector bars along the chain’s length. Some pieces also feature balls or beads placed right adjacent to each other. 

 

Cuban Link Chain

Statement Cuban Links Twined Bangle
The Cuban link chain is one of the most popular styles for men. It’s a variation of a cable chain that features oval-shaped links. It has added decorative details that make it look like a twisting rope cutting into each link. 

 

Rope Chain

Men's Rope Chain Bracelet 14K Gold

 Men's Rope Chain Bracelet

The rope chain looks like two or more twisted strands of chain spiraled together. To create this chain jewelry, rows of metal links are woven to resemble a thick stranded rope. 

Wheat Chain
Men's Wheat Chain Necklace in Sterling Silver

Men's Wheat Chain Necklace  

It’s easy to confuse a wheat chain with a barleycorn chain. But, both are different! The wheat chain is an intricate symmetrical rope chain composed of a small figure of eight links. It gives the chain an almost square, plaited profile. So, it reminds wearers of joyful Harvest Festivals. The wheat chain with a pendant looks stunning. 

The wheat chain typically consists of four strands of oval and twisted oval links. It's also known as the espiga chain and spiga chain. 

Box Chain

Men's Silver Box Chain Bracelet with White Diamonds
Known for their geometric simplicity, box chains are made from round wire rolled flat and folded into square links. It creates open cubes or boxes. This formation provides the chain a sturdy, classic, and uniform look. It's also known as briolette chain, book chain, or square link chain. 

 Woven Chain

925 Sterling Silver Woven Bangle
As the name suggests, woven chains are made with each wire link woven into the next link, resulting in a unique pattern. 

 

Maybe this is a better example: https://atolyestone.com/products/mens-woven-band-ring-in-gold

Foxtail Chain

Men's foxtail bracelet - 925 Sterling Silver

Men's Foxtail Chain Bracelet

This type of chain uses a loop chain link of two rows of slanted oval links. The links are connected by flat rings running down the center of the chain. Each row faces the other at a 45-degree angle, creating a braided or woven effect. It results in a fullness that looks like hairs on a fox’s tail. Foxtail chains can be swaged or hammered into a square profile or can be diamond cut.

https://atolyestone.com/products/classic-woven-chain-bracelet-in-silver

Curb Chain

It’s a variation on the cable chain with uniformly sized oval or round links. The links are twisted and diamond cut to make them lie flat along the surface. It results in the greatest variety of widths, ranging from millimeters up to centimeters. It's also known as the gourmet chain. 

Cable Chain

This most common type of jewelry chain is made of individual round or oval links interlocked in a uniform pattern. In the pattern, each link lies at 90 degrees to the next. Each section is identical throughout, resulting in a simple and classic appearance. 

Figaro Chain

Men's Figaro Chain Bracelet 14K Gold
Figaro chain has flattened twisted links that make it look like curb chains. However, the Figaro chain doesn't have a uniform link size or shape. It’s between one and five shorter links that alternate between longer links. This results in an attractive repeating pattern for the chain's length. 

Spiga Chain

This type of chain is made from a small figure of eight links, resulting in an almost square, plaited profile. This strong chain is also termed as an espiga chain and wheat chain. 

Snake Chain

The snake chain consists of smooth round metal plates with a little curve in the middle. Plates are tightly joined together, and the slight zigzag effect makes it look like a flexible tube reminiscent of snakeskin.

Its virtually closed surface profile makes the snake chain look very flexible and elegant chain for displaying pendant in style. It’s also known as hexagon chain, Brazilian chain, round maille chain, and star weave chain. Snake chains in gold and silver are very popular.

You can maybe give this example: https://atolyestone.com/products/streamline-chain-bracelet-in-gold

Rollo Chain

Rolo chain comes in round, symmetrical links and is also termed as belcher chain. Though it looks stylish when worn by itself, you can also pair it up with a pendant if wearing a necklace.

It’s made with half-round wire, with links wider than they are thick. The link looks wide at the outside, but at the side of the link, the wire makes it fairly thin in comparison. Cable chain links have the same width and thickness all the way around.

Omega Chain

It’s a wide chain that stands unique because of the structure of its plates or links. Small metal plates are aligned next to one another and crimped to the mesh substructure. This piece of jewelry is popular because of its overall strength and reflective qualities that make the chain very shiny. On top of that, the chain is reversible, giving you two style choices. Go for an omega chain necklace silver with a stylish pendant. 

Herringbone Chain

It’s made up of multiple rows of ‘v’ shaped links. These links lie flat to give the chain a fluid quality. The direction of links alternates with every new row, resulting in the herringbone pattern.

The rows can be laid out in colored links to form a multicolor effect. What’s more, thin strands can be plaited or twisted together to create an appealing visual effect. Twisted herringbone chain anklets are also popular among women. 

Byzantine Chain

Byzantine chain, handmade with love, dates back to the ancient 5th century. It's an intricate, closely linked sequential chain design that is made of oval or round links. It results in a very soft, flexible, and elegant drape.

The chain uses links in pairs, with a vertical pair linked by a horizontal pair to a vertical pair. The final pair is folded back past the middle section that is further opened upwards and downwards. It locks the folded back pair and opens up an anchor point for the next sequence.

Available in both flat and round styles, the Byzantine chain is also known as birdcage chain, king's braid chain, and an idiot's delight chain. 

Franco Chain

The Franco Cuban chain is named after an Italian jewelry designer who invented this style. The design looks like the Cuban chain, but it has extra four sides that add to its sturdiness. 

FAQ: What Else You Should Know About Chain Jewelry?

What is the strongest chain type?

Some of the strongest types of chains are curb, figaro, cable, and rope chains. These chains hold any kind of pendant well and don’t break easily. 

What is the best material for chain jewelry?

Though it's possible to form chain jewelry using almost all kinds of metal, the most recommended ones are sterling silver, gold, and platinum. It not just makes the jewelry strong but also adds to their aesthetics. 

How to fix and repair broken chain jewelry?

The easiest and safest way to repair broken chain jewelry is to visit your nearby jeweler. If you want to do it yourself, follow these steps:

  • Examine the break.
  • Separate the link's on one side of the break using the needle-nosed pliers.
  • Hook the closed link to the open link carefully. 
  • Squeeze the ends of the open link together using the pliers.
  • Next, squeeze the closure to make the link’s ends flush with one another.
  • Pull the closure gently to see if all is set. 
  • You’re advised to seek professional help unless you're confident that you can handle it. 

How to clean chain jewelry?

It's normal for chain jewelry to tarnish due to reaction with acids, oils, and moisture in the air.

If it's a piece of silver jewelry, place it in the silver dip for 20 seconds, remove it and wash it with normal water. Let it dry before it's ready to use.

You can also dip the jewelry in lukewarm soapy water. Let it soak for 10 minutes, wash it with normal water, and then set it aside to dry.

How is chain jewelry measured? What are the sizes?

There’re so many sizes available. Men's standard necklace sizes are:

  • 18" necklace
  • 20" necklace
  • 22" necklace
  • 24" necklace

The standard length for men’s chain bracelets is 7 ½ to 9 inches. 

Can a jewelry chain be shortened or lengthened?

Yes. We, at Atolyestone, can customize the jewelry as per your preferences. So, yes, we can shorten or lengthen your jewelry chain. If it’s about a piece of jewelry you already own, then also you can get it shortened or lengthened from a nearby jeweler.