Cuban Link Chains

Cuban link Chains (also known as Miami Cuban links) are an evolution of the hip-hop jewelry movement that began in the late 70’s to mid-80’s. In fact, many still consider Cuban link necklaces a component of hip-hop fashion. Nevertheless, their classic, sleek design is no way limited to the likes of Jay-Z and Daddy Yankee!

The reality is that the exact origin of the Cuban link is difficult to pinpoint, despite claims by various hip-pop celebrities that they played a pivotal role in making Cuban link chains popular. One thing we do know is that interest in Cuban links accelerated after 2012 and has been rising steadily ever since. How do we know? We asked Google! By typing “cuban link chain” in Google Trends, we obtained the graph below, which shows monthly worldwide searches for the phrase from 2005 until September 2022 [blue] versus the market price of gold [orange].

From 2005 to 2012, the graph shows that Google searches for “cuban link chain” were relatively flat. Towards the end of 2012, however, interest began taking off. Demand during this period could have been precipitated by the increased attention these chains were getting due to high-profile, hip-hop celebrities. One example was the debut of pieces like Jay-Z’s 30-inch long, 5-kilo [11 pound] chain on February 2013. During that same year, DJ Khaled also claimed that he played a pivotal role in making longer versions of Cuban link necklaces popular, sparking a “kilo war” (watch the video embedded in this article, where Khaled makes reference to his 2-kilogram necklace).

The reality is that search interest for this type of chain has been steadily rising since 2012. This includes a multi-year period of falling gold prices (from the August 2011 end-of-month peak near $1800 an ounce to the $1060-an-ounce bottom at the end of December 2015), as well as a multi-year uptrend in the precious metal (from 2016 until 2020). On August 7th, 2020, the price of gold hit a record high of $2,067.15 and interest for “cuban link chain” spiked up as well. The peak month in terms of Google searches was December 2021, beating the prior high on December 2020, the year COVID-19 reared its ugly head. After the December 2021 interest peak, we've seen searches drop consistently to levels [on Sept 2022] we hadn't seen since the first quarter of 2020. This may not be surprising given that financial markets have been on a downtrend for most of 2022 and the price of gold has not been able to hold the psychological $2,000 per oz mark but for a brief period of time.

Nevertheless, with endless Central Bank printing becoming the mode du jour of the Twenty First Century and so many citizens being worried about hyperinflation going forward, it may not be unreasonable for people to turn to gold once more as a reliable safe haven. This, in turn, may also push more consumers into gold jewelry, including Cuban link chains, down the road.

INVESTING IN CUBAN LINK CHAINS

We have already written about the investment merit of luxury watches (link to blog post here), but is Cuban link jewelry also a good investment? As noted in the previous section, it is possible for current global interest in Cuban link chains to continue to rise as the global crisis deepens.

In 2005, the spot price of gold was hovering around $400 per troy ounce. From that point, the metal rose steadily for another 7-8 years, increasing nearly 350% in price. This mean that if you would have bought a Cuban link chain at the beginning of 2005, it could have been worth four times what you paid for it seven years later! The more recent 2-year, 69% appreciation in gold, from September 2018 to August 2020, would also have resulted in a proportional increase in the price of gold chains.

But given that gold prices pulled back after August 2020, some investment purists might argue, “There are obviously better ways to invest in gold than to buy Cuban links!” Even though their argument is sound, let’s not forget one important thing...When you buy a Cuban link chain, you are doing it primarily because you like it, not because you are trying to bet on the appreciation of gold (the same is true when you purchase a luxury watch). The fact that Cuban links can retain their value or even go up in price because of the market behavior of gold is a BIG benefit, but only a secondary one. Although this secondary benefit can obviously give the buyer of a Cuban link chain a greater sense of security over time, it should still take a backseat to a buyer’s affinity for gold jewelry.

QUALITY – THE KEY TO CUBAN LINKS

Many jewelers make [or at least attempt to make] these thick chains with strong, tightly-spaced links, but few succeed in creating very high quality pieces that are worthy of the limelight. We’ve actually had customers show up at our store wearing Cuban link chains of such low quality that the best solution was simply to melt them down (a topic of one of our recent videos)! Without impeccable craftsmanship, attention to detail and finish, a Cuban link chain might be better off remaining in incubation as a 24K gold bar. For the best looking Cuban link, we recommend going with a tighter, flat-link design (also known as a Miami Cuban link), 14K-quality gold or better (not skimming on the price by going with a 10K chain that’s only about 40% pure gold like many jewelers do), and a high quality clasp (unless you prefer a continuous, no-clasp design).

The picture above shows some common thicknesses for Miami Cuban Link chains, as well as the two most common color configurations. The two chains on the left are made of yellow gold and are 8mm and 14mm wide respectively, 7mm and 8mm being the most common chain widths customers prefer. Rose gold Cuban links are also popular. You can see two examples of rose gold (also known as pink or red gold) Cubans on the right of the picture (the 8mm and 10mm-wide chains). When you’re in the market to buy a Cuban link chain, please give us a call. We’ll give you our recommended width, length, color for your chain based on your preferences and objectives. Read our blog post describing how gold Cuban links are made.

Don't find the chain you are looking for within the options above, click here to use our calculator and configure the chain that you desire.