What is a chopin chain?

Question

I'm trying to select a chain for a pendant, and one of the options is "chopin" chain, vs a "rope" chain (which looks the same to me).

What's the difference, where does this style of chain come from?

score 7 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 22 '20 at 22:23

7

The chopin chain is a type of rope chain in which every slightly twisted link embraces two others:

^{(source. click to enlarge)}

Depending on the thickness of the links, the character of the chain can seem a lot fuller:

^{(source. click to enlarge)}

If google images is any indication, the most common type of rope chain, for comparison is the one that, not surprisingly, has the spiralling character of a regular rope:

^{(source. click to enlarge)}

In the rope chain, every straight link embraces four others.
Here is a video demonstrating the making of such a chain.

answered Jan 22 '20 at 22:23

Joachim

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I couldn't find the actual definition, so kudos. Just to add: appearance-wise, rope has a spiral look, while chopin has a more uniform braided look. The style is often called "wheat" or "foxtail". – fixer1234 Jan 22 '20 at 23:18
@fixer1234 Thanks. I do believe both foxtail and wheat have different looks. Foxtail at least has a decidedly symmetrical appearance. Wheat could indeed be that second variant of chopin, with the broader links. – Joachim Jan 22 '20 at 23:32

What is a chopin chain?

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