If you want to really sell the look you have chosen for a night on the town or some high class event, nothing will cement your presentation better than a stylish piece of neckwear. While there is some truth to the notion that spending more on your outfit is an indicator of social station, there is such a thing as too much. Overdoing the glam can cause some people to perceive you as gaudy or flashy, rather than cultured, elegant and the very model of comportment. Conversely, it is possible to look like you make more than your ensemble might indicate. Regardless, a good look calls for the proper necklace and figuring out what the proper necklace is for you is what the rest of this article has been dedicated to. Necklaces come in various styles and materials and this guide has been written to be a small introduction to the basics of necklaces.
Necklace Styles
There’s many necklace styles to choose from. Not all are fit for all occasions. Some of the most popular include:
- Charm - This sort of necklace is laden with various charms, each of which is symbolic of something the wearer cares about or does. Because a robust charm necklace can come across as gaudy, these are usually relegated to the girls' jewelry section.
- Collar - This is the shortest-length necklace, ranging between 12 and 13 inches. Understandably, this design fits right up against the neck with no real slack. Collars are great for certain lifestyles and can be accented with spikes, studs or rhinestones for extra attention. While "collar necklace" is an odd phrase, collars are technically classified as necklaces.
- Choker - This is the penultimate shortest length of necklace, ranging between 14 and 16 inches in length. Much like with collars, "choker necklace" is only a phrase said by the anal retentive.
- Princess - This classification of necklace is between 18 and 20 inches long.
- Matinee - This sort of necklace measures any length between 22 and 23 inches.
- Opera. An opera necklace is the last category of necklace with a standard length. Opera necklaces also have the greatest range in length, spanning a distance of anywhere between 30 and 35 inches.
- Rope - This category of necklace belongs to any piece that exceeds that of an opera necklace, i.e. anything beyond 35 inches.
- Lariat. This is a variant of the rope style of necklace but is designed without a clasp. Rather than rely on a metal fastener like a lobster claw, rope necklaces are draped around the wearer's neck multiple times.
Popular Precious Metals Used
Since necklaces are so beautiful, naturally, precious metals have been used to produce them. Some of the most good looking include:
- Gold - Gold has been one of the most reliable and cherished precious metals of all time. Gold's purity is gauged in terms of karats, divided up among a 24 point scale-thus, a 24 karat gold necklace is made of the purest form of gold. Outfit-wise, gold does well to complement whites and primary colors.
- Silver - Silver has been around for as long as gold and yet it has its own qualities that have some preferring it over gold. While gold uses karats as a gauge of purity, silver's purity is based on how many parts per thousand. The four main grades of silver are 999 (fine or pure), 958 (Brittania silver), 925 (Sterling silver) and 800 (Jewelry silver).
- Platinum - If you want durable jewelry, few precious metals are more enduring than platinum.
- White gold - This is an alloy of gold (75% composition) and at least one other white metal, such as silver or palladium. As a form of gold, white gold still uses karats; the 75% composition of gold means that all white gold is considered 18 karat.
- Copper - While whole-copper jewelry is not unheard of, this metal primarily shows up when soldering gold or silver.
- Bronze - While not as prestigious as gold or silver, those metals never had an entire age of civilization named after them.
- Titanium - While the bulk of this article has focused on women's jewelry, titanium is one of the few materials more commonly found among men's necklaces. Notably, the common marketing phrase for men's necklaces is "chains," rather than necklace, due to the prevalence of a linked-chain design in such pieces.
