text: A Cuban link can be made with different materials such as solid gold, sterling silver, brass or stainless steel. What's the pros and cons of these materials? How do you know you are buying a Cuban link with the material the brands' state?
  Let’s see them one by one.
  - KARAT GOLD
  The gold used for rings, bracelets, watches and other jewelry is rarely 100% pure gold — instead, it comes in a variety of different purity levels.
  The most common gold purity levels are 10k (karat), 14k, 18k, and 24k. Each level of gold purity offers its own range of advantages and disadvantages, from hardness and durability to the risk of certain levels of gold purity contributing to skin irritation.
  Pure gold, or 24k gold, is gold that hasn’t been mixed with any other metals. But it isn’t used for Cuban links, because it’s extremely soft, which makes it easy to bend and warp. Because of this, alloys are added to create a more structurally sound metal that mixed together, is known as "solid gold." And its color is almost orange which will be strange for a Cuban link.
  The last important reason is that it’s extremely expensive. Here is a table of the price for each Karat Gold.
  That is to say an 18K solid gold Cuban chain weights 300g costs $10K only for the materials, let alone CZ stones and craftsmanship which is also the key for jewelry making.
  Not all solid gold has equal proportions of pure gold, however. 14k solid gold, used in our everyday jewelry, has 14 parts pure gold and 10 parts other alloys, whereas 18k gold, used for our wedding collection, is 18 parts gold, 6 parts alloys.
  Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals, usually copper.
  Fine silver, for example, 99.9% pure silver, is relatively soft, so silver is usually alloyed with copper to increase its hardness and strength.
  Sterling silver is prone to tarnishing, and elements other than copper can be used in alloys to reduce tarnishing, as well as casting porosity and fire scale.
  The price of silver per gram is 0.5 USD. It’s more affordable than karat gold and also is valuable, it’s a good choice for jewelry. But sterling silver is prone to tarnishing, so it needs to plate to prevent from oxidation and tarnishing.
  Brass is one of the most popularly used metals for jewelry, partly due to its resemblance to gold. It has been used since its creation in making beautiful jewelry designs.
  Due to its affordability, workability, and durability, brass is a very good choice for jewelry and is increasingly being used in the jewelry world.
  Because brass is a resilient metal, it makes for secure settings for gemstones.
  And the price of brass is USD0.008/gram which is also affordable plus durable, resemble gold. Secure for setting stones. Need to plate with gold to prevent oxidation and tarnishing.
  - STAINLESS STEEL
  Stainless steel is a highly durable metal, allowing it to withstand the wear and tear of everyday activities. The hard metal resists scratches and corrosion thanks to an invisible layer of chromium that prevents oxidation; this makes it a wonderful metal of choice for body jewelry.
  However, this rigidity also makes it challenging for jewelers to set gemstones, so prong setting is rarely used for stainless steel jewelry.
  Hence, stainless steel is highly durable, scratches and corrosion resistance, but too hard to set stones.
  So far, you'll be clear if there is a Cuban link costs hundreds of dollars and yet claimed to be solid gold, hey, bro, tell me, where to get one? I will make a wholesale. LOL. You know that price is impossible. And if someone uses stainless steel for an iced-out Cuban link, that is also impossible! Only if they glued the crystals on the mounting. Therefore, the best choice for an affordable Cuban link at $150-$200 is one made with brass, 1/100 cost of a solid gold one. It's affordable, workable and durable, and most resemble solid gold.