In a photo or behind glass they look the same. At the counter, you can tell a gold chain apart in minutes.
They look the same until you look close
The Cuban link is the chain that gets copied the most. There are solid gold Cuban links, hollow gold ones and plated ones: another metal with a gold coating on top.
All three shine the same on day one. The difference is in what’s under the shine and in how long it lasts.
These are the signs you can check at home, in order, and the one that gives a real answer.
The stamp, and why it isn’t enough
A solid gold chain usually carries a stamp on the clasp or on the last link: 10K, 14K, 18K, or the equivalent in thousandths.
A plated one can carry letters too, and that’s the trap. Next to the number, letters like GP or GF mean plating or fill over another metal; a karat on its own doesn’t carry them.
A stamp can be struck into any metal. That’s why the stamp is the first step and never the last.
Weight, color and edges
Gold is heavy. A solid Cuban link has weight in the hand and on the neck; a plated one the same size feels light.
Look at the edges of the links and at the clasp, where the chain rubs. On a plated one, the coating wears through there first and another color shows underneath.
Solid gold doesn’t change color with wear. If your chain of many years still looks the same inside and out, that’s a good sign.
Watch out for hollow ones. Real gold, with its karat, but the link is empty inside and weighs less than a solid one of the same length. It’s not a trick if they tell you; it is if they don’t.
The magnet test
Gold doesn’t stick to a magnet. Bring a strong one up to the links, away from the clasp: if the magnet grabs them, there’s another metal underneath. The clasp may have a steel spring and doesn’t count.
If it doesn’t grab, that still isn’t the whole story. There are coatings over metals that don’t stick either, so the magnet rules out, but it doesn’t confirm.
It’s good for what it’s good for: clearing the steel piece out of the way, which is the most common disguise. For the rest you need the stone.
The test that decides: the acid
At the counter we run an acid test, in front of you. The piece is rubbed on the stone, in a place that doesn’t show, and the acid says whether there’s gold and what karat.
With a plated chain, the scratch goes through the coating and the metal underneath reacts to the acid. With a solid chain of the karat on the stamp, nothing happens.
It’s the sign that gives an answer, not a hint. Looking is free.
If you’re going to buy a Cuban link
Ask for the karat and ask to see it tested. Here it’s done on the stone, in front of you.
No costume jewelry here. If it shines, it’s real.
And if you already have one and want to know, bring it in. It gets looked at and tested, and you get told what it is, whether you sell or not. 88 Nagle Avenue, Inwood, every day, 9:00 AM to 7:30 PM.
