Start with the width, since on a solid chain the width drives the weight. Most men's chains sold here ran 3 to 5 mm, wide enough to show and still flat under a shirt, and most were 14K. Read the grams on the listing, and on a chain sold in several lengths, ask which length they cover. Cubans of 10 mm and wider are showpieces, and only a handful of them sold.
Solid gold: what a solid gold chain is
A solid chain has no air inside its links. Cut one open and it is gold to the middle. Every chain here says Solid in its title, and the others sit with the rest of our men's gold chains. Gold to the middle is what lets a chain carry a pendant and take a knock.
The width: what width solid gold chain a man should wear
Look at 3 to 5 mm first. More than four in five men's chains sold here were that wide. Keep near 3 mm when a pendant will hang on it, so the pendant leads. From 5 to 7 mm a chain is worn alone and gets noticed. Nearly half the chains here run 10 mm or wider. Those are heavy Cubans built as showpieces, and almost none of them sold.
Grams: how much a solid gold chain weighs
The width only hints at the gold in a chain, and the grams say it outright. At 22 inches a solid 4 mm Miami Cuban here weighs about 27 grams. The same length at 7 mm comes near 80. Six in seven chains here are sold at one length, and the grams printed are for that length. When a listing offers several lengths, its weight belongs to one of them, and a longer one weighs more. About two in five curbs print no weight, the chain bought most here among them, so ask the desk for its grams.
The link: solid Miami Cuban, curb or rope chain for men
Cubans fill most of this case, but curbs sold about as often among the men's chains. A Miami Cuban is the tight, flat link worn on its own. A curb twists the same kind of link looser and lighter. Near 5 mm and 22 inches, a solid curb here weighs about 13 grams. A Miami Cuban that wide weighs about 42. A rope spirals small links together, so wear hardly shows. Most of the men's ropes sold were diamond cut, faceted gold with no stones. Take a Franco when a pendant must hang square.
Karat and length: 10K or 14K solid gold, and 20, 22 or 24 inches
14K is the karat to begin with. More than two in three men's pieces sold here were 14K. 10K took nearly all the rest, and it wears hard but holds less gold, so its yellow reads paler. The 18K chains are mostly Cubans of 10 mm and more, and few of them sold. Among the men's chains, 22 inches sold first and 24 second. Take 20 to wear the chain higher at the collar. Nearly nine in ten went out in yellow gold, and some listings also offer white or rose.