Iced Out Cluster Chains are Whats Hot in The World of Hip Hop Jewelry

Men's chains are always popular in the world of hip hop jewelry. Ever since the 80's, rap icons from the west and east coast have been sporting solid gold and silver chains on the big scene. During those days, larger was better, so often times you would see the thickest and widest chains ever made around the neck of hip hop artists. Surely it did not look good, but that was the style at the time. These styles were usually based on solid gold rope and herringbone chains. During the late 90's, hip hop jewelry has evolved. Although modern hip hop chains are more expensive and more extravagant than ever, the sizes are now smaller. The reason is chains are now diamond encrusted. The popular styles are the classic tennis bracelet style, as well as the cluster link. Cluster chains are now taking the hip hop world by storm, and the reason is because they are simply unique and rare.

Cluster chain are made out of platinum or gold for the most part, and are custom made by specialty jewelers. Rappers and hip hop celebrities spend tens of thousands of dollars on custom jewelry such as these. The cluster link chain is highly unique. From a distance, the chain simply looks like a line if glistening light. Upon closer inspection, extreme details are revealed. The chain is actually comprised of individual links with up to 13 diamonds on each link. They are all prong set by hand in a microwave fashion. The center stone is usually larger and it is surrounded by a series of smaller stones.

The cluster link chain is not like any other type of iced out chain on the market. Most diamond chains are simple and only features a few stones every other link. These types of chains are done at jewelers who don't usually specialize in hip hop jewelry. Another popular chain is the classic tennis bracelet style. That style is simply 1 line of prong set diamond stones, together forming a long chain that is usually 30 to 36 inches long. Tennis bracelet style chains are usually very expensive because they require large individual stones. Large stones are often much more expensive than multiple smaller stones because they are extremely rare. Because of this, tennis bracelet style chains are only available for those who pay top dollar.

Bling bling cluster chains are relatively less expensive, with the majority of the cost coming from labor. Each link has so many stones, the total stone count can be over 1000. Cluster chains made with natural diamonds will cost thousands of dollars. However, simulated diamond replicas are now available online through retailers such as hiphopbling.com at a much lower cost.

Simulated diamond versions feature the same look but the materials are much less expensive. Rather than gold, silver or platinum, a lower cost alloy metal is used and is then plated. The stones are lab made replicas rather than real natural diamonds. The result is a cluster link iced out chain that is realistic yet extremely affordable by most hip hop fans.

Cluster chains, 1 row chains and many other hip hop chains made with less expensive materials is readily available on major jewelry retailer websites such as hiphopbling.com The company also features watches, bracelets, rings, earrings and more.