This is Watch Your Style and my name's Eric.
Today I'm going to be going over a topic that
is not necessarily in any way, shape or form
related to watches; but I get a lot of phone
calls and questions about it.
And being born and raised in Miami, I happen
to know a lot about it.
I have a lot of experience, and that is, the
Cuban Link Chains.
So, the Cuban Link Chain.
I've heard it called a curbed chain.
I've even had a phone call and someone say
that it's a Franco chain.
I don't know what everybody else calls it.
We call it the Cuban Link Chain.
It's a very traditional design.
Been around for a long time.
It's something that's also going to be around
for a long time because it's a very traditional
style.
I don't know if you guys remember that era
when all those chains with those exotic links
were around...2003, 2000, that era.
I never really liked them.
I always stuck to the Cuban Link chain.
I always liked it.
I've had a Cuban link chain since I was 12
years old.
And that being said, there's a lot of styles
of Cuban link chains.
It really just depends who's making it for
you and how it's made.
That's a very important part also.
Is how it's made.
Now, as much as I would like this video to
turn into an episode from the Discovery Channel
of �How It's Made,� I don't have enough
time or we don't really want to get into that.
But I'm going to go over a couple of little
bit of the views, what is it that you want
to look for, and what makes a high quality
Cuban link different than a cheap Cuban link
chain.
So a Cuban link chain can be pretty much made
out of silver.
You can get them in platinum, 14k, 18k, 10
karat as well, also white gold, rose gold,
yellow gold.
However you want it, it can be made.
It also depends on the weight.
A lot of people sell it by pennyweight, some
people sell it by grams.
I like to stick to grams, just because it's
a lot more simpler for people to understand
it.
And Cuban link chains, besides quality, it's
all about size.
Some guys like the big ones.
They want 250 grams all the way up to a half
a kilo, which is 500 grams.
Those are really big chains guys.
I wear daily 
a 130-gram, 7-mm, 18-karat.
I for one like 18k chains.
I recommend that the minimum you should go
is 14 karat.
Ten karat is a lot more affordable, but I
don't know.
It's just a personal thing.
There's nothing wrong with a 10k chain, but
I think 14k is a good home base, especially
later on when you go to sell it.
If you want to melt it down, just in case.
Some of the characteristics of a quality Cuban
link chain is the finish of the links.
In case you guys don't know, the machine-made
chains are a little bit different than the
hand-made ones.
A lot of the really small ones, 5-millimeter
in width and under, are machine made.
I'm mostly going to be talking about the hand-made,
gold Cuban links.
Believe it or not, it's a long-ass process.
They start off with the gold.
They obviously melt it down into a bar.
Then they go ahead and they start rolling
out into a rod, thinning it out to the point...let's
just use this pen as an example.
It starts off like this.
They go rolling out until it gets longer and
longer to the right gauge.
Huge process...they coil it up, they cut into
rings, they weld it.
My God, I can get into this.
It's a long-ass process, but it's hand-made.
One of the more important parts is whoever
is building this chain, just like anything
else, there's some people that just have better
quality and craftsmanship.
Now, the team that I use to make the chains
are the best.
I've been doing this for a long time and I've
had a Cuban link chain made by everybody in
Miami.
The guy I'm using now is the best.
Part of that has to do with this is that I'm
a psycho with this stuff.
I like quality.
When the time comes to file down the chain,
it needs to be filed right.
It needs to be filed at at the right angle.
Any Cuban link chain could be skinnier and
wider, and you'll get more bang for your back
if you kind of want a thicker chain, but you
don't want it to weigh that much.
But in reality, there's kind of like a scale
you want to stay in to get the right Cuban
link chain.
Always take what they recommend you.
If you wanna all of the sudden get a wider
chain skinnier, that's your problem.
Oh, by the way, they have a lot of other Cuban
link chains also that are like those really
flat designs, those are nice as well too,
but I'm mostly going to stick to the traditional,
Miami Cuban link chain.
So the difference between a cheap Cuban link
chain and a high quality Cuban link chain,
let's start off with Karat.
Some of the guys will sell you a 14k Cuban
link chain.
You think you're saving a bunch of money.
You sit there with your calculator at home.
You do all of this math.
You're like, �Oh, I'm getting it for $26
a gram,� but the problem is you might not
be getting 14 karat.
When it gets tested, it comes back 13.2.
Stuff like that.
See those are part of the factors of high
quality.
High quality Cuban link chains, in 14k for
example, should always be 14 and up, never
under.
Second thing is the finish.
To some of you guys, that might not matter.
You guys might just want the most gold possible
for your money, and I understand that.
But me, I'm a quality freak.
I want every link to be welded precise and
filed down evenly.
A good way to test a Cuban link chain for
quality is you open the chain up and you hold
it like this on its side.
A good Cuban link chain will once, always
hang straight, never coil, and if you notice
on the side profile, will be evenly filed.
There won't be no inconsistencies.
To some of the people that doesn't matter.
To me, it's a big deal.
One thing I want to stress about Cuban link
chains as opposed to watches and stuff like
that, it's all about what you like.
Some people like the chain long, some people
like them short, so you just gotta get what
you like.
If you like the chain to look really short
like you're some type of an Egyptian price,
then that's what you like.
I get it.
If you wanna look like Young Buck in 2001
and have the chain all the way hanging to
your belt, then that's what you like too,
man.
Whatever you like, I'm OK with that.
A lot of guys over here in Miami, they like
these really big Cuban link bracelets.
I'm not too into that anymore.
It's just not my style.
Like I said, I wear a slim chain.
I like something daily.
You gotta go with what you like.
Platinum, white gold, rose gold...I think
the sky is the limit with the chains.
One thing I want to tell you is, it's very
popular to have this huge kilo chain...and
let me tell you what my recommendation on
that is.
If you ever going to make yourself a kilo
chain, a large kilo Cuban, 1000 grams, yeah
it looks awesome, but my opinion to you, my
recommendation is you should do several small
chains.
Before I do one 2-kilo chain, I'd rather do
eight 250-gram chains, because for me, you
just get a lot more chains.
I just personally like the look of a lot of
chains, instead of one big one.
Not to mention, if you want to wear one or
two chains one day, that's fine.
If you want to wild-out for your birthday
and throw them all on...I just like the look
of more chains as opposed to that big chain.
That's just my two cents on that.
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My name is Eric, Watch Your Style.
