How To Find The Right Gold Chain For You

How To Find The Right Gold Chain For You

Buying a gold chain online may seem fairly straightforward to most of us. That is until you spend £100 on a tacky gold-plated necklace that looks nothing like what you had in mind. Unless you have money to throw away, the process of buying your first gold chain online should involve plenty of research and careful consideration. Spending hundreds of pounds on a piece of jewellery, if not thousands, only to find out it’s not what you were hoping for is far from ideal. Especially if the retailer doesn’t offer a returns policy. Everything from your chain’s thickness to your choice of metal will drastically change your array of options. In this blog, we share some of the top things to consider in order to find the right gold chain for you.  

Seller

As we mentioned in our guide to buying jewellery online, one of the easiest ways to discover the reputation of a retailer is by searching for some reviews of their brand. Established review sites such as Trustpilot are usually the most reliable, but it could also be wise to check out the seller’s Facebook or Google My Business ratings too. Just be mindful if you’re reading reviews directly from the retailer’s website or a less well-known review site as it’s possible these reviews could have been manipulated.

Price

The next thing to consider is your budget. A £200 budget will offer a surprisingly different range of options than £1,000 will. What kind of metals will your budget allow for? What about the thickness of your chain? Will you need to risk buying from a less trustworthy jeweller? If you’re not happy with the options that your budget offers then it could be wise to save up some extra money for a chain that’s more to your liking. Alternatively, searching for second hand gold chains could allow you to get a lot more for your money. We stock a wide range of used chains at Hatton Jewellers from as little as £100, with all items polished and cleaned on arrival to ensure the highest quality. People are often cautious when buying second hand jewellery, but in reality it can be a very smart financial move.

Metal

One of the most important considerations before buying a chain is what type of metal you want. The most common precious metals for solid chains are yellow gold, white gold, platinum and silver. Costume jewellery is often made from gold-plated sterling silver or brass, so it’s very important to check the finer details of your preferred chain to ensure it doesn’t fall into this category. A lot of online jewellers market their jewellery as ‘gold’ when it’s actually just gold-plated. Of course, if you shop with a reputable online jeweller such as Hatton Jewellers you can be certain that your chain will be solid gold, as we only stock fine jewellery.

Length

Most chains come in a wide variety of sizes, commonly ranging from 14 to 36 inches, so it’s important to know the length that you’d like before making a purchase. The way the chain fits you will vary depending on your height and weight, so it could be wise to test your desired fitting with a tape measure and string first. Failing this, try to find some example photos of the chain being worn by someone with a similar build to yourself.

Carat

The next point on our checklist is the carat (ct); a term that refers to the purity of your gold, with 24ct being 100% pure gold. The most common options include 9ct, 14ct and 18ct gold chains. Due to its softness 24ct gold is fairly impractical for use in fine jewellery, simply because it can be so easy to scratch and bend out of shape.

Width

Another important thing to consider before buying a gold chain is its thickness. Most chains range from 1mm to 20mm, with the wider chains generally being more expensive. Again, it could help to find some example photos of the chain being worn by someone with a similar build to yourself before buying it. It’s also important to remember that certain styles of chain are often thicker than others; Miami Cuban and curb chains tend to be among the thickest.

Style

When buying a gold chain for the first time, it’s easy to make the mistake of purchasing the first thing you find attractive. But if you’re familiar with chains then you should know there are countless different styles on the market. Some examples include rope chains, belcher chains, figaro chains, byzantine chains and more. It’s likely that after doing some research you will find one or two styles that stand out as your favourites. From here, you’ll be able to do far more targeted online shopping, increasing your odds of finding a chain that you truly love.

Pendant

Another consideration when shopping for your perfect gold chain is whether or not you want to buy a matching pendant too. If the answer is yes, it could be wise to do some research around the different type of pendants on the market. Common examples include cross pendants, St. Christopher pendants and ‘Jesus Piece’ pendants. It’s also important to bear in mind that some styles of chain are more suited to holding pendants; franco chains, curb chains and other forms of link chains tend to work best.

Gemstone

The use of gemstones has always been popular in fine jewellery, but even more so with pendants in particular. The most common gemstone is of course diamond, but this is only just scratching the surface with your range of options; sapphire, amethyst, ruby, emerald and tanzanite, to name a few. The second most common gemstone isn’t actually a single gemstone; more so the ‘birthstone’ that matches the month you were born. Traditionally, people believed that each of these 12 gemstones correlated with a Zodiac star sign. Regardless, a gemstone can be the perfect addition to a gold chain and pendant.

Payment Options

Last but certainly not least, it could be wise to consider the most appropriate payment option before buying your chain. Sure, you could wait another six months to save up for your dream gold chain. But what if there was another way? Most online jewellers offer a variety of buy-now-pay-later finance options, which allows you to pay off your fine jewellery over a period of time that suits you. We’d always recommend going for a 0% interest-free finance option, as this prevents you from falling victim to higher payments down the line.   This may seem like a lot of work, but we assure you it will be worth your time. Instead of spending a ton of money on a chain that may not turn out to be everything it claims to be, you can be confident that you’re buying a chain that suits you. Do you have any other tips for finding your perfect gold chain? Why not let us know on Instagram?