SHOWDOWN | Machine vs Handmade Cuban Link Chains
Dímelo, what up, it’s your boy Gus from gusvillajewelry.com. In today’s video we are going to be doing The Ultimate Showdown and we’re going to answer some painstakingly repeated questions that I get asked quite literally all the time. Which one is better: machine-made Miami Cuban link chains or handmade Miami Cuban link chains? I’m going to give you the nonbiased pros and cons about both of them. We’re going to go through the 5 biggest selling points of both chains, and we’re going to see which is better for you.
So I know what you guys are thinking. Because I handmake Miami Cuban link chains and that is ultimately what I’m known for, I’m going to give you guys a real convincing video as to why you should buy handmade over machine-made but the reality is I’m not.
Because guess what?
I will be selling machine-made chains as well and we’re going to talk about both sides of the coin. In my hands, I am now picking up two sets of chains. These are all machine-made, and these are all handmade Cuban links and we’re going to go through all of them. So, lets start off with the biggest elephant in the room.
And that, of course, is the appearance. The most distinguishing factor when it comes to both styles of chains. I know that people call them Miami Cuban link chains when they’re made in Italy. But there really isn’t anything Miami Cuban link chain about an Italian-made chain because at the end of the day, they’re machine-made. And one of those differences as far as the naked eye, the biggest one, of course, is always going to be the spacing. Machines, no matter how well you calibrate them, there’s always going to be a bit more gaps than when we handmake them. The machines are calibrated to have two interacting points. One of them curls the wire and the other one solders the other curl in a completely different direction. That chain is then turned and passed through another machine that solders the links together and that's how you create the pattern to mimic what a Cuban link looks like. They just can’t get as tight as a regular Miami Cuban link.
In front of me is a more in-depth look so that you can see the spacing that I’m talking about. When you’re looking at a handmade one, we try to tighten those links as much as we possibly can. It is really only noticeable when you are getting a bird’s eye view so if you start looking at chains when they’re laying on your chest you’ll see that the links appear to be tighter. You could only really see the gaps when you’re looking at it from the top.
The second biggest thing is the file and I think this is not only the most obvious one but it’s the one where people kind of pinpoint and say that’s the reason why I like the handmade ones because the file can never be duplicated as the one that comes in the original handmade one. When the links are finished, they are perfectly in unison when they’re machine-made but when you handle them, there’s a big imperfection. In addition to that, as you are stroking the file (pause) through the actual chain itself you give it more of an oval shape that people love but on the machine-made ones, they all kind of mimic what the file is supposed to look like, but in reality, there’s no one actually filing them. In addition to that, the file is very similar if not exactly the same in any machine-made Cuban whether you buy them from Italy, or you buy the ones that we have down here in Miami or you buy the Chinese ones. They mimic the file by essentially cutting the link on the top and almost flattening it. The handmade one has a bit of a deeper groove cuz you’re stroking the file back and forth and back and forth and in addition to that, there’s different styles.
There are some shops out there that have something very flat, for instance, Daniel Jewelry Inc., which we have a review out there, also ones that are a little more bubblier, those coming from the old school type of filing and there’s a little bit more modern, the way I like it, which is a combination of the two. It has a bit of a flat, but also really oval and kind of a den-looking shape.
Now, let’s move over to the locks. Typically speaking, most machine-made Miami Cuban link chains are going to be made in Italy. They make some incredible machines, they’re all consistent, they’re all beautiful. However, for the curb chain - which is what we call Miami Cuban chains - they like to put a lobster clasp. It rarely comes with a box lock. Now, the ones we made here, we do make them with box locks but typically they’re not going to come that way.
And a lot of people don’t like that lobster clasp. It’s a bit of an old school style that isn’t used here and when you do a handmade one they’re going to come with box locks. It’s more traditional. They’re going to have the clicks on the side which are called the figure eights, it has a little bit more synergy and it isn’t a lock that is used on any other chain. Unlike the lobster claps, which is not only used on these style chains but on many many others including the Figaro, the Franco. We also have different styles, for instance, a sleek lock or a handmade lock as opposed to a casted one. We, of course, handmake all of our lock boxes in our gold orders.
Now, here’s the biggest elephant in the room. The cost. Because machine-made Cubans are so much cheaper than handmade ones, a lot of people prefer the machine-made ones. Handmaking a smaller link is a very very difficult, time-consuming, labor-intensive task. Because there are so many links to make a big chain, we as jewelers won’t make links that are under 8mm. At GVJ, we do them all the way down to 5mm because we hate ourselves.
But the truth is it is a very difficult link to pull off. Now, what are the benefits of having something that’s machine-made? You’re going to get the same width at a much cheaper price because the companies that are making them are pumping out so many of them. Say for instance it’s a 5mm, 50 gram, you’re going to pay about 10% or 15% over the spot price of gold. However, if you want something to be handmade it’s going to come with a heavy, heavy premium because of how many hours it takes for a jeweler to pull that off. Machine-made chains were made is so that the jeweler wouldn’t have to spend that time making something and still turn a profit. That’s why you don’t hear people hand-making 2 mm or 3 mm.
I mean even me saying that makes me want to jump off a bridge. So Italian machine-made chains are going to be cheaper. If you want something that’s handmade it’s going to come at a premium. You be the judge. Whether you decide which one is better or not, if you want my personal opinion, I’m the type of person who likes to pay for a premium experience. However, it depends on what it is.
Now, let’s talk about how long people have to wait for a machine-made chain or a handmade one. Now, this isn’t always the case. For the most part - knock on wood - I am very blessed that we have so many orders right now, that we have people waiting up to 3 weeks for a piece. If you are ordering a machine-made chain... most jewelers are going to purchase these in bulk so most of the time they’re going to be ready in stock by the time you order it. And let’s say you don’t want to wait, you place the order online, 3 days later that chain is in your hand. Most of the time handmade Miami Cuban link chains are going to be made to order and so, there is a waiting grace period. Now if that doesn’t matter to you, wait for it. If you really want that handmade look it’s going to be worth it. If you just want that Cuban around your neck, there is no one knocking when someone is impatient. I sympathize with you. If you got it in stock and you order it, do it. I want that overnight my boy.
Here’s a bonus tip for all you guys out there. Unfortunately handmade Miami Cuban link chains are made by many people down here in Miami and the reality is they are not all the most honest people. The beauty about Italian or machine-made Cuban link chains is that they are going to be more consistently truthful with the purity that you are purchasing. In other words, if you purchase a chain that says 10K or 14K that comes from Italy, they are so consistent with being 14K or 10K or 18K that they advertise. It is so on the button that I can close my eyes and if I were a betting man, I’d bet the house on it matching the purity test that was advertised. Unfortunately on the other hand, with the handmade ones, there are a lot of games that people play and making chains that are under karat, plating them to come out over karat, maybe they play the lead game.
Let me give you guys a hint on what the lead game is. You put lead in your chain to make it look heavier and plate in on the outside. There’s a thousand things that I’ve seen. And that’s why it’s so important to purchase your Miami Cuban link from a reputable dealer down here because so many people play games. If you don’t even want to deal with that, go the machine-made route. The biggest suggestion that I can possibly tell you, if you are purchasing a Miami Cuban link and you want something that’s either 14K plumb or higher, 10K plumb or higher, do some research on the jeweler that you are purchasing from. Ask other people that have purchased from them before, if what they bought was actually what they got. Finally here are some shots of some models wearing both Italian machine-made chains and Miami Cuban link chains and you tell me which one looks better.
Of course, we do sell both here at GVJ, but we specialize in handmade Miami Cuban link chains. They’re going to be available on our website. If you guys have any questions outside of everything that you’ve seen in this video, and you want to ask personally, go on our website, send us an email, or give us a call. If you’re in the market for any sort of Cuban link chain we are your number one source for that. We’d love to earn your business. I hope that you found some sort of value from everything that was shown here and maybe it made your decision just a little bit easier. Thank you guys for tuning in. I’ll catch you in the next one. Subscribe to the YouTube channel. Holla.
