I will admit, I only owned the chain about 3 hours. My friend liked it and bought it based on the acid test we did.
I left meat on the bone and he's investigating the stones. Who knows, they may well indeed be something and I hope he does well with it. I certainly did.
Sorry about hijacking your thread Weiss. I thank you for this thread as the clasp is what caught my attention when I saw this chain. I remembered your custom chain in this thread and when I felt this piece in my hand, the heft pretty much confirmed my thoughts.
@davidk said: @Weiss Did you specify 5 ozt for the chain, or a gram weight?
If you specified 5 ozt I'm really curious as to how they managed to get your length exactly right and have the weight come out so close.
Great question
It's a great question. To answer it I think I need to back up to how I came up with what I wanted, and how he was able to accommodate.
It was a process. It started with me kicking around the idea in my head, and trying to decide how heavy this piece should be. I was initially inclined to go with 3 ounces since my previous necklace was 2 ounces. Then I started getting greedy and was thinking about 8 ounces--a quarter of a kilo of pure gold!
In the end, I decided to hold off on the 8 ounces and settle for something in between: 5 troy ounces.
Then I had to decide which style of chain. I poured over their previous custom-made pieces. I love the traditional box style baht, but I already have one of those. I asked some of my online friends for input, and ultimately decided on this "anchor" style chain. It's beefy, masculine, and reminds me of pirate treasure.
From there I had to decide on length. My old baht is 28", and I like that length on me. So that part was pretty easy.
I also vacillated over having a clasp or just a continuous chain without a clasp. The length was certainly long enough to just slip over my head--that's what I do with my old baht. But since I didn't go with a traditional baht design (the anchor is more western), I felt the traditional "W" clasp would help identify the piece as handmade, high-karat gold.
I wrote all of these things down and called the goldsmith. We spoke at length about each item on my list. Nothing phased him. He's literally done this a thousand times in the past and it was clear he knew exactly where I was coming from and what I was after. He quoted me a price, I beat him up a bit ( ), then said I needed to turn things over in my head and call him back in the morning.
I ran through my list again and came up with a few clarifications / modifications. First, I wanted to be absolutely, absolutely certain the finished product would clock in at 5 ounces troy at the minimum. I didn't ever want to put it on a scale and have it come up 4.962 troy ounces. This is a natural extension of who most of us are here on this forum and also how I consider things that I buy for my own stack and for the pieces I sell here. I don't want anything ever to clock in under the specified weight. That's just a non-starter and a total turn-off for me.
Second, though I wanted the traditional clasp, I had concerns about its strength on a piece of this weight. It's more than double my old baht necklace. I wanted to be certain it would withstand daily wear with no chance of coming open. So I made a note to ask that he make the clasp especially thick.
Finally, I wanted the finished look to be a little rough. Not polished to a prooflike finish. I wanted it just a little coarse. Not too much, though. So I was really threading a needle on this one.
I called the goldsmith back and went over each of these points. He totally got the 5 ounce thing. I even offered to include an extra $50 to cover another gram +/- of gold so that there was no question. He agreed, no problem.
The second I mentioned my concern about the clasp, the next words out of his mouth were "So you want it beefy?". Exactly. He got it. 100%.
I don't think he was anticipating the roughness I was after (I texted that one to him). But he responded immediately with a "no problem".
So tl;dr: the chain is in fact the exact weight I wanted down to a fraction of a gram. It's the exact length that I wanted--maybe just a CM or two longer which is great--without that, its girth would make it lay on my chest just a tiny bit higher.
How did he do it? In part, because he was able to adjust the clasp. Since it's a single piece, he can make that thicker or thinner, thereby adjusting the weight +/- a gram or more. See in the image below the difference not only in the "W" clasp piece itself, but also the "gripping fists" that hold the clasp. When the chain itself is supposed to be homogeneous and consistent, he's got some play in the construction and heft of these end pieces.
But ultimately, he was able to give me precisely what I was looking for because he's that good, and because I communicated the tiniest detail and made sure we were on the same page. What amazes me is that he was able to take all of this info and craft this piece by hand and get it back to me within a week.
We are like children who look at print and see a serpent in the last letter but one, and a sword in the last. --Severian the Lame
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
@Weiss Do you think it’s better to open the clasp by bending away from the middle of the M clasp or to twist a little bit sideways. Sideways seems better to me as far as grip is concerned, and spreading the bending over a larger area.
@Weiss said:
I love the density of the Cuban link design. If I get another anytime soon, it'll probably be one like that!
He offers loose and tight versions of the cuban link as well, so you can customize to that level. The loose version has a bit more visible space around the links. I chose the loose look because I thought the look was a little bit more masculine, but I'd be happy with either.
@Weiss said:
I love the density of the Cuban link design. If I get another anytime soon, it'll probably be one like that!
He offers loose and tight versions of the cuban link as well, so you can customize to that level. The loose version has a bit more visible space around the links. I chose the loose look because I thought the look was a little bit more masculine, but I'd be happy with either.
Very cool. That massive 20 ounce(?) cuban he did recently was cool--but the links looked like they had a lot of play. Like the tighter look of yours MUCH better!
We are like children who look at print and see a serpent in the last letter but one, and a sword in the last. --Severian the Lame
@Weiss You probably already know this, but this is advice from the master himself when I asked whether it was better to bend the clasp straight out (away from the clasp), or to slightly twist.
Here’s his response: “Twist it. Keep the shape“
BTW, he just finished it. His wife’s pic, not mine:
Great chains but I'm not a gold chain wearin kinda guy. After thinkin about it, it would be another golden trinket in my sdb. Now, still on the table is say, 10 feet of 1g. Marked 9999 links, and a dozen clasp linkers, for resale. Someone does that and offers a piece here, i cant resist buying a bracelet.
@Baley said:
Great chains but I'm not a gold chain wearin kinda guy. After thinkin about it, it would be another golden trinket in my sdb. Now, still on the table is say, 10 feet of 1g. Marked 9999 links, and a dozen clasp linkers, for resale. Someone does that and offers a piece here, i cant resist buying a bracelet.
I’m sure that you can get it made, but the workmanship will be a significant factor in the price.
Comments
@ricko not sure about the stones, likely glass.
However, the metal...
Woo hoo! Score!
My YouTube Channel
You can tell looking at the shine:
My YouTube Channel
I was pretty sure the chain was gold....but seems odd to put fake stones in a gold chain. Cheers, RickO
Could be red spinel. It's suprising how much of the jewelry we see has faux stones now a days.
I will admit, I only owned the chain about 3 hours. My friend liked it and bought it based on the acid test we did.
I left meat on the bone and he's investigating the stones. Who knows, they may well indeed be something and I hope he does well with it. I certainly did.
Sorry about hijacking your thread Weiss. I thank you for this thread as the clasp is what caught my attention when I saw this chain. I remembered your custom chain in this thread and when I felt this piece in my hand, the heft pretty much confirmed my thoughts.
My YouTube Channel
@Weiss Did you specify 5 ozt for the chain, or a gram weight?
If you specified 5 ozt I'm really curious as to how they managed to get your length exactly right and have the weight come out so close.
Beautiful chain
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
Great question
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
It's a great question. To answer it I think I need to back up to how I came up with what I wanted, and how he was able to accommodate.
It was a process. It started with me kicking around the idea in my head, and trying to decide how heavy this piece should be. I was initially inclined to go with 3 ounces since my previous necklace was 2 ounces. Then I started getting greedy and was thinking about 8 ounces--a quarter of a kilo of pure gold!
In the end, I decided to hold off on the 8 ounces and settle for something in between: 5 troy ounces.
Then I had to decide which style of chain. I poured over their previous custom-made pieces. I love the traditional box style baht, but I already have one of those. I asked some of my online friends for input, and ultimately decided on this "anchor" style chain. It's beefy, masculine, and reminds me of pirate treasure.
From there I had to decide on length. My old baht is 28", and I like that length on me. So that part was pretty easy.
I also vacillated over having a clasp or just a continuous chain without a clasp. The length was certainly long enough to just slip over my head--that's what I do with my old baht. But since I didn't go with a traditional baht design (the anchor is more western), I felt the traditional "W" clasp would help identify the piece as handmade, high-karat gold.
I wrote all of these things down and called the goldsmith. We spoke at length about each item on my list. Nothing phased him. He's literally done this a thousand times in the past and it was clear he knew exactly where I was coming from and what I was after. He quoted me a price, I beat him up a bit (
), then said I needed to turn things over in my head and call him back in the morning.
I ran through my list again and came up with a few clarifications / modifications. First, I wanted to be absolutely, absolutely certain the finished product would clock in at 5 ounces troy at the minimum. I didn't ever want to put it on a scale and have it come up 4.962 troy ounces. This is a natural extension of who most of us are here on this forum and also how I consider things that I buy for my own stack and for the pieces I sell here. I don't want anything ever to clock in under the specified weight. That's just a non-starter and a total turn-off for me.
Second, though I wanted the traditional clasp, I had concerns about its strength on a piece of this weight. It's more than double my old baht necklace. I wanted to be certain it would withstand daily wear with no chance of coming open. So I made a note to ask that he make the clasp especially thick.
Finally, I wanted the finished look to be a little rough. Not polished to a prooflike finish. I wanted it just a little coarse. Not too much, though. So I was really threading a needle on this one.
I called the goldsmith back and went over each of these points. He totally got the 5 ounce thing. I even offered to include an extra $50 to cover another gram +/- of gold so that there was no question. He agreed, no problem.
The second I mentioned my concern about the clasp, the next words out of his mouth were "So you want it beefy?". Exactly. He got it. 100%.
I don't think he was anticipating the roughness I was after (I texted that one to him). But he responded immediately with a "no problem".
So tl;dr: the chain is in fact the exact weight I wanted down to a fraction of a gram. It's the exact length that I wanted--maybe just a CM or two longer which is great--without that, its girth would make it lay on my chest just a tiny bit higher.
How did he do it? In part, because he was able to adjust the clasp. Since it's a single piece, he can make that thicker or thinner, thereby adjusting the weight +/- a gram or more. See in the image below the difference not only in the "W" clasp piece itself, but also the "gripping fists" that hold the clasp. When the chain itself is supposed to be homogeneous and consistent, he's got some play in the construction and heft of these end pieces.
But ultimately, he was able to give me precisely what I was looking for because he's that good, and because I communicated the tiniest detail and made sure we were on the same page. What amazes me is that he was able to take all of this info and craft this piece by hand and get it back to me within a week.
--Severian the Lame
He is quite the craftsman
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
Very cool chain.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
I don't recall if you mentioned, but where is this goldsmith? Overseas?
My YouTube Channel
Nope, they're here in the US.
--Severian the Lame
@Weiss Do you think it’s better to open the clasp by bending away from the middle of the M clasp or to twist a little bit sideways. Sideways seems better to me as far as grip is concerned, and spreading the bending over a larger area.
Sideways would seem to apply less stress. but I don't open the clasp. Just slip the whole thing over my head
--Severian the Lame
Wire he made today for my chain, and links taking shape. Thank you for sharing his contact info. He’s a really good guy to work with.
THAT. IS. AWESOME!
--Severian the Lame
@Weiss It will be a neck chain the same width, clasp, and style as the bracelet he’s wearing in this photo.
All made from Apmex .9999 gold shot, and will be stamped both 9999 and 24K just like yours.
Sweet!!
Amazing craftsmanship
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
My chain is coming along nicely.
I love the density of the Cuban link design. If I get another anytime soon, it'll probably be one like that!
--Severian the Lame
@davidk That's awesome!
My YouTube Channel
He offers loose and tight versions of the cuban link as well, so you can customize to that level. The loose version has a bit more visible space around the links. I chose the loose look because I thought the look was a little bit more masculine, but I'd be happy with either.
If you look at his workbench, there is a Starbucks coffee cup, but that could be anywhere I guess
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
Happy to share his info, just send a PM.
Very cool. That massive 20 ounce(?) cuban he did recently was cool--but the links looked like they had a lot of play. Like the tighter look of yours MUCH better!
--Severian the Lame
@Weiss You probably already know this, but this is advice from the master himself when I asked whether it was better to bend the clasp straight out (away from the clasp), or to slightly twist.
Here’s his response: “Twist it. Keep the shape“
BTW, he just finished it. His wife’s pic, not mine:
It looks like they'd have to grind down the links to get the flat side. How do they get the weight so exact after that?
I would think rather a press of some type squeezes the links just right to achieve the shape?
Experience. When he knows the style and length he knows the exact gauge to pull the wire.
It all starts with Apmex .9999 gold shot. He pulls the wire and makes everything by hand. He knows the clasp gram weight before he begins.
Or perhaps even an eagle, globe and anchor. Nice chain btw. Semper Fi
The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
Experience indeed. I wonder if they recover the dust somehow.
Nice chain...but those fingernails could slit a throat.
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
You can be certain that they do.
Great chains but I'm not a gold chain wearin kinda guy. After thinkin about it, it would be another golden trinket in my sdb. Now, still on the table is say, 10 feet of 1g. Marked 9999 links, and a dozen clasp linkers, for resale. Someone does that and offers a piece here, i cant resist buying a bracelet.
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
I’m sure that you can get it made, but the workmanship will be a significant factor in the price.