SearchDiamond tennis chains: stone size, prongs, clasp, and lab-grown diamond or natural diamond
From the counter at TraxNYC, 47th Street.
The short answer
- One line of diamonds of one size. Each stone sits in its own prong setting, hinged to the next, so the chain bends and lies flat. It usually closes with a box clasp and a safety latch.
- Stone size is written in points, per stone. A 7 pointer means about 0.07 carat a stone, and bigger stones make a wider chain.
- Lab-grown diamond or natural diamond: both are diamonds. Origin is part of the price. Of our diamond tennis listings that state an origin, 56% are lab-grown diamonds and 44% natural diamonds.
- The stones set most of the price, then the gold and the making. Our diamond tennis chains page shows each chain with its price.
Choosing one? Talk to a personal jeweler: call 212-872-9692 or send a text, seven days.
Tennis chain sizes, from our listings
| Chain width | Points per stone | Grams at 22 inches | Stones per inch, about |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 to 2.9 mm | 3.5 | 20.5 | Not worked out |
| 3 to 3.4 mm | 7 | 36.5 | 8.5 |
| 3.5 to 3.9 mm | 10 | 46 | 7.5 |
| 4 to 4.9 mm | 25 | 61 | 6 |
| 5 mm and up | 75 | 75 | 4 |
Each figure is the middle of our diamond tennis listings in that width, counted September 25, 2026. Points per stone come from the pointer in each listing's title; grams from the weight line of listings written at 22 inches.
Stones per inch are worked out from each listing's total carats, pointer and length, so read them as about. For the narrowest chains, too few listings carry all three.
Stone size: points, width and total carats
Stone size is written in points. A point is one hundredth of a carat, and the number is per stone: a 7 pointer carries stones of about 0.07 carat each, a 25 pointer about a quarter carat each. The bigger the stone, the wider the chain.
How wide each stone size runs
A wider chain carries fewer stones per inch, as the table shows, because each stone's link is about as long as the chain is wide.
The total carat weight on a tag is the stones added up: the weight of one stone times the number of stones.
The same total can be built two ways, many small stones or fewer large ones, and they look different on the neck. Read the pointer first, then the total.
Prongs: how each stone is held
Prongs hold each stone in its setting: short claws of gold bent over the edge of the stone. Every diamond tennis listing of ours that fills the setting line says prong, counted September 25, 2026.
Why the stones stay in. What keeps each diamond in a tennis chain from falling out. 3.7 million views.
View count on YouTube, read September 26, 2026.
In our experience at the counter, three checks catch most trouble before the chain goes on:
- Shake it. Hold it by one end and shake it gently next to your ear: a stone that clicks or turns in its setting is loose.
- Look along it. In good light, every prong tip should lie flat on its stone.
- Draw it across a sweater. A prong that catches the wool has lifted.
A lifted prong is a bench repair, and it is better fixed before the stone is lost.
From the counter
“With tennis chains, you can stop looking. Ours are built in one factory that makes nothing but tennis chains, with precise, labor-intensive work, so every link sits properly with the next: not too stiff and not too soft. Telling a good one in your hand takes experience, and the first thing to look for is links that are too loose. With ours, you can stop worrying. I believe they are the best-made tennis chains there are.”
The clasp
A tennis chain usually closes with a box clasp: a folded tongue of gold at one end slides into a box at the other and clicks shut. A safety latch on the side folds over and snaps closed as a second hold; some chains carry two.
The clasp carries the whole weight of the chain, so it matters. Our listings do not record the clasp in a line of its own; ask the desk what a chain closes with.
In our experience, check it the way you will wear it: close it three times. You should hear the click each time, and the tongue should not pull out when you tug the two ends apart.
The latch should snap shut, not rest open. A clasp that closes soft goes to the bench before it goes on your neck.
Lab-grown diamond or natural diamond
Both are diamonds. A natural diamond is mined: it formed in the earth. A lab-grown diamond is grown in a laboratory. Both are crystals of carbon and they look the same to the eye.
The difference is origin, and origin is part of the price: at the same size and grade, a natural diamond usually costs more than a lab-grown diamond.
| What the listing states | Share of our diamond tennis listings that state it |
|---|---|
| Origin: lab-grown diamonds | 56% |
| Origin: natural diamonds | 44% |
| Color: E to G | 91% |
| Clarity: VS | 95% |
| Cut: round (most of the rest emerald cut) | 86% |
Counted September 25, 2026. Origin reads the center and side stone fields alike.
Color and clarity are the grades; what the letters mean is in the 4Cs of a diamond.
Nearly all of our diamond tennis listings state the origin; where one does not, ask the desk which it is before you buy. How to tell the two apart is in lab-grown diamond or natural diamond.
The pen tester. A lab-grown diamond chain and a natural diamond chain: both read as diamond. 1.3 million views.
Know what you are getting. Lab-grown diamond and natural diamond tennis chains we made. 339,000 views.
View counts on YouTube, read September 26, 2026.
Natural diamond and lab-grown diamond tennis chains, side by side
Two pairs from our tennis chains, each a natural diamond chain beside a lab-grown diamond chain of close to the same width, so you can compare them on the listings.
What a tennis chain weighs
More than half of our diamond tennis listings are written at 22 inches, and 18 inches is next. At 22 inches, the middle of them weighs about 43 grams, all widths together, counted September 25, 2026. By stone size:
| At 22 inches | Total carats, about | Grams, about |
|---|---|---|
| 7 pointer | 13 | 40 |
| 10 pointer | 18 | 47 |
| 15 pointer | 23 | 54 |
The middle of our diamond tennis listings written at 22 inches, by the pointer in the title. Grams are each listing's weight line.
That is heavy for the width: every link is a setting, gold around a stone, and the stones weigh too.
Our 3 to 3.4 mm and 4 to 4.9 mm tennis chains weigh about twice a solid 14K Miami Cuban of ours at 3 mm and 4 mm: 0.83 and 1.25 grams an inch for the Cuban.
A scale weighs gold and stones together. A carat is 0.2 gram, so the stones of a 15 pointer at 22 inches, just over 23 carats, are about 4.7 grams of what the scale reads.
When you compare two chains, ask for the gold weight and the carat weight as two numbers. In our showroom page's words: "Every purchase comes with an official appraisal: carat and gram weights, diamond grade and color, current market value, and our corporate seal."
Nearly all of our diamond tennis chains are 14K gold: 99 in 100 of our listings, counted September 25, 2026. 14K is 58.3% gold. At the same size a higher karat weighs more, because the alloy is denser.
If anything you bought from us ever tests under the metal it was sold as, a gold karat or sterling silver, you get your money back in full, with no time limit. Text or call 212-872-9692 with your order number.
The three checks for the gold itself, the stamp, the scale and the magnet, are in our guide to identifying authentic gold.
How the price is set
The stones, most of the price. How many, how big each one is (the pointer), their color and clarity grades, and their origin, lab-grown diamond or natural diamond. A bigger stone usually costs more per carat than a small one of the same grade, so the price climbs faster than the width.
Carats of diamond in an inch of chain, by width, about
The gold. The grams and the karat, at the day's gold price.
The making. Every stone set, every setting hinged to the next, the clasp fitted and the line finished.
The making. A 40 carat diamond tennis chain made for a customer who chose between lab-grown diamonds and natural diamonds. 791,000 views.
View count on YouTube, read September 26, 2026.
Questions we hear at the counter
What is a tennis chain?
A tennis chain is a necklace made of diamonds of one size, set side by side in a single line. Each stone sits in its own small gold setting, hinged to the next, so the line bends and lies flat on the neck. There is no other link between the stones.
The name comes from the tennis bracelet, the same line of stones made for the wrist; our tennis bracelets are the short version of the same build. A chain with diamonds set into a Cuban or a Franco link is a different thing: gold links that carry stones. Those are on our diamond chains page.
3 prong or 4 prong tennis necklace?
Four prongs hold each stone at four corners, so if one lifts, three still hold it, and more gold shows between the stones. Three prongs cover less of each stone and let the line sit closer, with one fewer hold on each.
It is a choice between more hold and more stone showing. Our listings do not record the count, so ask the desk for the one you want.
Are tennis chains real diamonds?
A tennis chain is a style, not a stone. It can be set with natural diamonds, with lab-grown diamonds, or with a stone that is not a diamond at all, such as cubic zirconia or moissanite. Lab-grown diamonds are diamonds. Ask which a chain carries before you buy it.
How much do tennis chains go for?
By what is in them: the stones first, then the gold, then the making; how the price is set walks through each. Every chain on our tennis chains page carries its price.
Talk to a personal jeweler
See the tennis chain you want on video before you choose.
Our personal jewelers on 47th Street answer by phone and text seven days. Every stone is shown in person or on video before you decide.
Keep reading
More answers from the counter: all TraxNYC buyer's guides.
From the counter
In the words of our showroom page: "Every chain is weighed, stamp-checked and appraised at the counter." We are at 64 W 47th St, Booth F-1, in New York's Diamond District, on 47th Street since 2004.
Returns, in the refund policy's words, read September 25, 2026: "Eligible merchandise may be returned within fourteen (14) calendar days of confirmed delivery, as determined by the shipping carrier's delivery confirmation."
If you want a tennis chain shortened, ask the desk first. In our showroom page's words, "Resizing and other alterations are done for you and are not returnable."
After the sale, the shipping policy reads: "Lifetime Support: Even after your warranty expires, TraxNYC will perform repairs at the minimum cost possible." For the gold, see how to clean a gold chain, and check the prongs when you are done.
What buyers wrote after it arrived
A few of the five-star reviews buyers left on our diamond tennis bracelets and diamond chains, the pieces closest to a tennis chain, chosen by us, quoted as written and trimmed only for length. More are on our reviews page.
★★★★★
“Thanks to Sam for helping me purchase this gift. It arrived in a timely manner and item arrived in pristine condition and presentation. 10 out of 10 would purchase again.”
★★★★★
“The package was very well protected and the product arrived in perfect condition with it’s certificate and in a beautiful box with light.”
★★★★★
“She absolutely feel In love with it, the way it was packaged with the box and the light, the card sticker and of course the certificate.”
★★★★★
“I love it! Beautiful sparkle and shine! Im very happy with this diamond chain!”