• Gold chains come in a wide variety of types.gold chain image by saied shahinkiya from Fotolia.com
  
  Gold chains are a personal accessory popular with a wide variety of people. Possibly due to this high level of popularity, a wide variety of gold chains are available from which consumers can choose. Becoming acquainted with these different types of chains before shopping is advantageous for the average consumer with little knowledge of the product.
  
  

Box Chain

• Box-style links are probably the most popular and common style of gold chain links. They look exactly like they sound: chains made up of links looking like small boxes. This style makes for a rather thin chain and is usually used for holding pendants.
  
  

Cable Chains

• Cable links look more like standard chain links than any other type of gold chain. Each link is shaped like a small oval. These types of chains are usually very flexible.
  
  

Figaro Chains

• Figaro chains do not have one standard type of link, but instead alternate between three or four round links in a row, followed by a single long oval link, then back to several round links.
  
  

Omega Chains

• Omega links connect to make a flat and wide chain. This shape is conducive to slide clasps. They show off more of the gold in the chain than other types of chains and therefore appear to be more expensive than other types.
  
  

Fox Chains

• Fox links are similar to the omega and do not appear to have any links at all---just one long length of gold.
  
  

Rope Chains

• Rope-linked chains look just like their name and consist of two long strands woven together in the same style that makes a rope. The two strands are often colored differently, one being white and the other yellow. They come in two forms: rounded and twisted.
  
  

Snake Chains

• Snake chains look like a flexible tube made from wavy-shaped links.
  
  

Curb Chains

• Curb-link chains are popular in hip-hop fashion and are usually worn by men. They are made from flattened circles or ovals.
  
  

Bar and Bead Chains

• Bar and bead chains alternate between two different kinds of links. First, there are long, rectangular links (sometimes shaped like long bars) which are connected to spherical gold beads. This style is often used in gold necklaces which combine two different colors of gold.
  
  

Herringbone Chains

• Herringbone chains are made to look like intricately woven string or rope. The links are tightly woven, and the design is dense and detailed.
  
  

Marine Chains

• Marine chains strongly resemble standard oval chains. They are made from a vertically-centered bar or post suspended at the center of each oval link.