Do You Know the Difference Between a Necklace, Chain, Choker, Charms and Pendants?

Necklace vs Chain, Pendants vs Charms, Do You Know The Difference?

Why is it important to know these terms?  When buying jewelry on-line, it helps to have a good idea from a product description to be able to visualize the size of what you are buying.  Let's look at the terms - 

 Necklace

A necklace is a chain that may have a charm or pendant hanging from it. Necklaces can come in many lengths.  The standard length is 16-18 inches.  A 14 inch necklace would be considered short vs a 20 to 22 inch necklace would be consider long.

Chain

Chains are metals, such as gold or silver that are interlocking individual pieces of metal that is worn around the neck usually with a clasp to keep it together.  The difference between a necklace and a chain is that chains usually do not have anything hanging from it on a jump ring.  Necklaces usually have a charm or pendant hanging.  Chains can have little decorative elements sewn into the metal as shown below.

You can also have a combination of a choker with a chain or necklace.

Choker

A choker hugs the neck in a snug manner.  It tends to sit in the middle of the neck and the length is usually between 14 to 16 inches length and sometimes will have a 2 or 3 inch chain extender to give it extra length if needed by the wearer.

Charm 

A charm is a small adornment and light in weight, about the size of a dime or penny. It can symbolize something or be a symbol, like a heart.  Any small jewelry piece with a small hole to attach a jump ring through could be a charm.

Pendant

Pendants tend to be much larger than charms and are a main focal point of a necklace.  We tend to think of pendants are mostly on longer chains, hanging down so that the pendant is much lower on your body vs a charm which tends to sit near the neckline area. 

If you are searching for a specific charm or pendant, Shop Our Collections.  Just ask us if you don't see what you are looking for, we may be able to customize a necklace just for you!

Happy Shopping!