6mm Cuban Chain Cross Pendant Set in 925 Silver

This is a set, a 6mm Cuban link chain with a cross pendant on it, and 6mm is the width that does the most work on a neck. Narrower than that and a Cuban link loses the flat, interlocking look it is bought for. Wider than about 10mm and it starts to sit stiff and ride up on the collarbone. At 6mm the links still articulate, the chain lies flat, and the pendant hangs straight instead of twisting.

Both chain and pendant are set with moissanite on 925 sterling silver. On an iced piece the stone choice shows up most in daylight, where moissanite's refractive index near 2.65 throws coloured flashes that zircon cannot match. Hardness matters here too. A chain takes more contact than any other piece of jewellery, rubbing against collars, seatbelts and jackets all day, and at Mohs 9.25 moissanite keeps its polished facets long after a softer stone would have gone cloudy at the edges.

The only choice to make is finish. Gold gives you the warmer, louder version, and it is the one most people picture when they picture an iced Cuban set. Silver is colder and flatter and reads more expensive at close range, which is why it works better under a shirt collar or with a steel watch. Both are built on the same 925 sterling silver base, so neither will discolour your skin, and both arrive as the chain and pendant together.

• Stone: moissanite, iced chain and pendant
• Chain width: 6mm Cuban link
• Metal: 925 sterling silver
• Finish: gold or silver
• Supplied: chain and cross pendant as a set
• Wear: men and women