Solid gold horse link chain

Jewels, necklaces or bracelets with alternating links are a jewelery classic. Large or small, they are found everywhere, either as a chain to wear as is, or as a simple chain to make feminine gold necklaces or bracelets.

Through this article we invite you to discover the craftsmanship of a chain with alternating horse links in 18k gold.

In most cases, this type of chain is produced by machines capable of quickly and perfectly reproducing simple assembly and welding actions of the links.

But for some very specific measuring chains (which machines do not mass-produce), it is necessary to manufacture them manually. This applies to all types of jewelry links that you will find described in this link guide.

Two gold chains with alternating links, one polished and the other before polishing. The Vivalatina goldsmith laboratory, in fact, allows you to create tailor-made gold jewellery.

One of the advantages of manually manufacturing these chains is that the chain is put under tension, thus putting a strain on the links which, if they have a weak point, break at the weld, thus allowing them to be repaired and guaranteeing the good functioning of the entire chain once production is finished.

You will find many types of gold link chains in our chain collection or our gold necklace collection.

The development of points

The creation of a chain begins with the shaping of each of the links that make it up.

We begin this operation by creating a gold wire of the correct diameter, corresponding to the size of the chain we want to make.

We first pour the molten gold into an ingot mold in order to obtain an 18-karat gold bar which we will pass through the rolling mill to lengthen it by reducing its section.

18 carat gold bar being rolled

The bar is then passed through a die to give it its final shape and diameter; several steps are required.

Setting the diameter of the gold wire with a die

The wire is then wrapped around a mandrel of the desired shape (round or oval) and whose dimensions correspond to the needs of the chain.

Gold wire wrapped on the mandrel, the paper wrapped on the mandrel allows by burning to facilitate the exit of the mandrel from the winding of the gold wire

After cutting with the saw we finally obtain our oval links for the creation of our chain. We will have followed the same procedure to obtain the round links of the chain.

Zooming in on the golden oval links, we notice the saw cut

Our round and oval links before assembling the chain

Since each of the links is open, after our previous cut, we will have to close the round links by welding them one by one.

Each of the round links is closed by welding, it is meticulous work

Chain assembly

We can then assemble the chain by inserting a round link into two oval links. The oval links are also then closed by welding.

Gold chain in the process of assembling and welding the links

At this point the chain is assembled, we still need to twist and flatten it before we can finalize it.

The chain is then put under tension and then each link is twisted one by one.

Appearance of the assembled and twisted chain in raw gold

The chain is then flattened by passing it through a rolling mill so that the thickness of the chain is uniform along the entire length.

Our chain comes out of the rolling mill which gives it a constant thickness

Once you’ve filed the chain, it looks a little more like what you’re used to seeing in a jewelry store.

The shiny parts have just been filed, they are the flat faces of the chain

Making the ratchet closure

Our chain will receive a solid gold ratchet clasp.

Thin sheets of gold are cut, folded and soldered to form a box on one side and a folded gold blade on the other which will act as a ratchet.

Golden box that will act as a closure

The bent gold blade fits into the box, this blade is our ratchet

Zoom in on the latch with its hammer that allows you to press the ratchet

Industrial production of gold link chains

Industrial chain production allows the quick and economical production of standard products in terms of dimensions, lowering prices due to labor savings.

We invite you to watch this video on the topic which is very interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9VshHnuVNo

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