Cadeia Cubana

A chain of thick oval links with rounded edges, closed so tightly that each link nests into the curve of the next. From a short distance it reads as one dense rounded band rather than a row of separate ovals.

The link uses wire that is heavy for the size of the ring, so the central opening is small and the metal around it is broad. Every edge is rounded, which gives the chain a smooth cushioned surface with no corners.

It is made in widths from a firm everyday chain up to very broad pieces worn alone. The listing states the width, karat and colour of each chain and names the clasp it is fitted with.

For comfort and for the look. A thick link with a square edge would dig into the neck and catch against a collar; rounding every edge lets the chain slide against skin and cloth, which matters at the widths a Cuban is made in.

The rounding also shapes the way the chain reflects. A cushioned surface returns a soft, continuous shine rather than a sharp flash, so the two rails along the chain glow evenly instead of glittering.

It is set during forming and finished in the polish, and it is one of the things to look at on a listing image: a well-made Cuban shows no flat or angular edge anywhere along its length.

Each oval is joined through the one before it and closed tight, so that it is drawn into the hollow of its neighbour and only a sliver of opening remains. The links sit inside one another rather than simply hanging from one another.

Seen from the front, the outer edges of consecutive links line up into two smooth continuous rails, one down each side, and the inner edges meet in the middle as a row of small crescents. That pairing of rails and crescents is the Cuban's signature.

The tight fit limits how far each link can swing before it bears on the next, which makes the chain firmer along its length than an open chain of the same width and keeps the pattern from opening up when it is stretched.

Very little. The links are thick and closely set, so the chain is dense for its length, and that weight holds it in the hollow beneath the collarbone. It moves with the body when the wearer turns and settles again at once.

There is no swinging or bouncing of the kind a light open chain shows. The run is heavy along its whole length, so no single section is free to lift, and the chain lies as one piece.

The clasp stays at the nape, because the chain is equally weighted on both sides and does not creep round. Once put on in the morning a Cuban generally needs no adjusting.

Flat and still. It lies close against the chest with only the front arc showing at an open collar, and since it is heavy it does not ride up or shift when the collar moves against it.

The rounded edges are what make it comfortable there. A link with a sharp margin rubs at the side of the neck and frays a collar edge, while the Cuban's cushioned faces slide against both without catching.

Worn outside the collar the whole band is visible and follows the line of the shoulders. Either way the chain settles into place quickly and holds that position through the day.

Because the fastening has to match the link. A lobster clasp is fine for a narrow Cuban, but on a broad one it looks small and its ring becomes the weakest point in a chain of heavy links.

A box clasp is a rectangular housing shaped and finished to the same width as the links, into which a folded sprung tongue from the other end slides and clicks. It carries the load across its full width and reads as one more link in the run.

Most box clasps on a Cuban add a small hinged latch on one or both sides that snaps over the joint. The tongue cannot be released until the latch is lifted, which guards against the clasp opening under a knock.

It does not tend to. The links are closed so tightly that there is no open gap for a strand of hair to slip into, and every edge is rounded, so there is nothing for a thread to hook on.

A finger drawn along a Cuban feels only a faint regular pulse at the joints. That smoothness is why the chain can be worn against a knitted collar or a scarf without lifting fibres from it.

The one place to check is the clasp, where a lobster's ring or a box clasp's latch stands slightly proud of the run. On a well-finished chain these are rounded to match the links.

By taking out whole links. The jeweller cuts one link through its seam, works it free of the two links it nests into, removes as many links as are needed, and closes the cut link around its new neighbour with solder.

The joint is then rounded and polished to match the rest, and on a solid Cuban it is strong and hard to find. Since every link is identical there is no pattern to preserve, and the cut can be made anywhere along the run.

A Cuban can be lengthened the same way, by soldering in links of the same width, gauge and finish. The clasp is left in place unless it too is being changed.

It is cut out and replaced. A link that has worn thin where it bears on its neighbours, or that has cracked at its seam, is cut through, freed from the links on either side, and a matching link is threaded in and soldered closed.

Because the links are heavy, the new solder joint is large and holds well, and once the joint is rounded and polished the replacement is difficult to tell from the original.

Wear on a Cuban usually appears first at the clasp fittings rather than the links themselves. A lobster clasp or a box clasp can be replaced on its own without opening any of the links.

From around three millimetres, where it is a firm everyday chain that carries a pendant well, through five to eight millimetres, which is the range most often worn on its own as a visible band.

From ten millimetres upward the links are substantial pieces of metal, and widths of fifteen and twenty millimetres are made for those who want the chain to be the whole statement.

The construction does not alter with size. What changes is the gauge of the wire and the size of the oval, and, from about eight millimetres, the fastening moves from a lobster clasp to a box clasp.