How a Gold Chain Is Actually Made – Mapple Gems

Fine Jewelry

How a Chain Is Actually Made

Hundreds of individual links, each one closed or not — which is the whole difference between a chain that lasts and one that does not.

Written by the Mapple Gems workshop, Surat · Updated 17 October 2026

Short answer

A chain starts as drawn wire, is formed into links, and each link is then soldered closed — or not. Unsoldered links spread open under load, which is why a cheap chain fails somewhere in the middle rather than at the clasp. Hollow chains use tube instead of solid wire: lighter and larger for the money, but they crush rather than bend and cannot be repaired invisibly. The only way to tell solid from hollow is the gram weight.

Chains are bought by look and length and almost never by construction, which is why so many end up in a drawer with a link opened somewhere along their length.

A chain is not one object — it is several hundred separate joins, and the manufacturing decision that matters is whether each one was soldered shut. Making a chain begins with drawing wire: a rod of gold alloy is pulled through progressively smaller dies until it reaches the required gauge, which also work-hardens it and gives the metal its springiness. That wire is then wound and cut into individual links, each link is threaded through its neighbour, and each is closed and soldered so the join becomes continuous metal. On a fine chain that is hundreds of tiny soldering operations, and it is most of what a good chain costs. Skip the soldering and the chain still looks identical — the links sit closed, the pattern is the same, the photograph is the same. It simply comes apart when a link is pulled sideways by a snag, a seatbelt, or a hand. That is why a chain almost always fails mid-length rather than at the clasp. You cannot see the difference and you cannot feel it, so the only protection is to ask: are all links soldered? — and to notice that anyone who makes chains properly answers immediately.

Solid, hollow and plated

Construction	Behaviour	Repairable?
Solid, soldered links	Bends, then can be trued	Yes, invisibly
Solid, unsoldered links	Spreads open under load	Yes — but it will recur
Hollow	Crushes, then splits at the seam	Not invisibly
Plated over base metal	Wears through at contact points	No
Solid 925 silver	Soft; deforms but honest	Yes

Hollow chains exist for a legitimate reason — they give visual scale for far less gold — but the trade is real and permanent. And nothing about the outside reveals it: ask for the gram weight and compare it against another chain of the same pattern and length. A large chain that weighs very little is hollow.

Why the pattern decides the failure mode

Different patterns fail in different ways, which is worth knowing before choosing one for daily wear.

Cable, rolo and box are the robust everyday patterns: simple geometry, each link independently soldered, and a single broken link is a straightforward repair. Curb and figaro behave similarly. Rope is strong but has many small components, so a failure can be fiddly.

Herringbone and snake are the exceptions and deserve a warning. They are made of many flat segments that lie together to form a smooth ribbon, and once kinked they are permanently kinked — the deformation cannot be pressed out and the chain is effectively finished at that point. They are beautiful and they are not for anything worn constantly, slept in, or hung with a pendant.

The parts that are not chain

Most chains that fail do so at a component rather than the chain itself.

The jump ring joining pendant to chain — if it is open rather than soldered, it spreads under a snag. This is the commonest single failure in fine jewellery and it is entirely preventable.
The clasp. A lobster is a sprung mechanism that closes positively; a spring ring is lighter, older and fails sooner. Specify a lobster on anything you care about.
The end connectors where the chain meets the clasp — these take the whole load and should be soldered.
The bail on the pendant, which must be sized to the chain: a thicker chain will not pass a narrow bail, and enlarging one later is more work than specifying it now.
The load rule: bail at least as substantial as the chain, chain at least as substantial as the pendant.

What wears a chain out

Not usually snapping — abrasion. Links rub against each other continuously as you move, and over years the metal thins where they touch. That is why an old chain often breaks at a link that looks fine and is actually half its original thickness.

Two accelerants worth avoiding. Pendants that swing and hard knots concentrate wear at one point; storing a chain clasped and laid flat rather than tangled prevents both. And a ring worn on a chain is a special case — a rigid concentrated load that wears the chain at the contact point rather than at the clasp, which is why it needs a heavier chain than a pendant of the same weight.

Check the length of a chain occasionally, not just the clasp. Hold it up and look for a link that is visibly thinner or slightly elongated — caught early, that is one link replaced rather than a chain lost.

What to ask before buying

“Solid or hollow?” — and then “what is the gram weight?”, which is the only answer that confirms the first.
“Are all links soldered closed?”
“What fineness?” — 585 or 750, not the word gold. If it needs a preposition it is not solid.
“Lobster clasp?” and “soldered end connectors?”
“Can you add an extender?” Two or three centimetres of adjustment costs almost nothing and covers layering, seasons and second thoughts.

Keep reading

Frequently asked questions

Why do chains break in the middle rather than at the clasp?

Because unsoldered links spread open under sideways load. A chain is hundreds of separate joins, and soldering each one shut is most of what a good chain costs — skip it and the chain looks identical but comes apart at a snag.

How can I tell if a chain is hollow?

By gram weight — nothing external reveals it. Compare against another chain of the same pattern and length; a large chain that weighs very little is hollow. Hollow links crush rather than bend, split at the seam, and cannot be repaired invisibly.

Why are herringbone and snake chains not recommended?

Because they are made of flat segments forming a smooth ribbon, and once kinked they stay kinked — the deformation cannot be pressed out. They are fine occasionally but not for constant wear, sleeping in, or carrying a pendant.

What actually wears a chain out?

Abrasion — links rubbing each other as you move, thinning the metal where they touch over years. Store chains clasped and laid flat rather than tangled, and check along the length for a link that looks thinner or slightly elongated.

Ask two questions: gram weight, and are the links soldered.

Neither is visible in a photograph, and together they decide whether a chain is a purchase or a replacement.

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