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Chain vs Necklace: What Are the Differences?

In 2021, archeologists unearthed the world’s oldest example of jewelry from a cave in Morocco, making the humble necklace one of humanity’s earliest forms of expression.

A jewelry gift is an excellent way to show your good wishes, undying devotion, friendship, or familial affection to someone on a special occasion.

Are you planning to gift a significant other with some form of neck adornment soon?

Knowing the correct terminology helps you find what you want, so keep reading for a comparison of the terms, ”chain vs. necklace”, to guide your gift shopping.

What Is a Chain?

Chain

A chain is an item of jewelry worn around the neck to complement the wearer’s outfit, or as a reminder of a significant occasion. As the name suggests, chains comprise several metal links, joined together to resemble a rope.

The most common types of chain designs include rope, box, cable, and snake chains. They’re often heavy designs, that hang down easily on their own.

Rope chains comprise woven strands of metal, while box chains have square links. Snake chains comprise a series of flattened links joined together closely to create a scale-like appearance, while cable chains represent a ship’s anchor chain.

What Is a Necklace?

Necklace

Necklaces also hold pride of place around the neck of the wearer. They’re available in many styles and material types, including metal, string, plastic, and more.

View this Thor’s hammer necklace for an idea of some different necklace styles. A choker is a type of short, close-fitting necklace that doesn’t hang down much from the wearer’s throat.

Chain vs. Necklace

Necklace and chain

The key difference between a necklace and a chain is that the former isn’t always made of metal and usually has some form of adornment attached to it. This might be a pendant, or a series of stones or other items attached to it.

You can wear a chain on its own with no pendant, or add one to it. In this case, your chain effectively becomes a necklace.

In this way, one of the best necklace tips when shopping is to choose one with a detachable pendant, giving the wearer more style choices.

Necklaces may feature gemstones, pearls, or other materials. Chains only comprise metal links.

Chains are often much thicker than necklaces to give them more impact, too.

You can choose from long or short chains and necklaces, as well as ones that loop back on each other to create a fuller look. You can also wear more than one chain or necklace at a time.

Get the Basics Right

Any necklace guide or chain buying guide will tell you that the most important thing when deciding on a chain vs. necklace, is the wearer.

A person who prefers an elegant look won’t get much use out of a gaudy, bright chain or necklace, while a young trendy person, might love an attention-grabbing design.

Are you keen to discover more about the fashion realm? Check out our other posts for the latest news on a wide range of glamour and beauty-related topics.

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