Tennis Cluster Chain (10mm & 12mm)

Tennis Cluster Chain (10mm & 12mm) With Stones at Different Heights

Where an ordinary tennis chain has one row of stones, here the stones are set in groups per segment. That puts them at different heights and different angles, so you get fire and depth instead of an even shine. At 10mm or 12mm this is a chain that is noticed from a distance. The silver-tone finish is applied in five layers of PVD.

Product details

• Base material: copper alloy, nickel-free

• Finish: silver-tone, 5x PVD

• Stones: VVS CZ (simulated diamond)

• Widths: 10mm and 12mm

• Lengths: 50 and 55 cm

• Clasp: box clasp

• Delivered in a Carpe Ice jewellery box

What Makes a Cluster Setting Different

In a cluster setting several smaller stones are grouped around a larger one, instead of every stone sitting alone in its own setting. That gives far more facets per centimetre, and because those facets do not all face the same way, light breaks in several directions at once. You see the difference from an ordinary tennis chain mainly in movement: where a single row shines evenly, a cluster flickers.

Why a Copper Alloy and Not Stainless Steel

A cluster setting calls for hundreds of small settings at different heights. Copper can be worked more finely than stainless steel, so those settings close tightly around each stone and almost no metal stays visible between them. On steel you do not get that density, which is why virtually every serious iced out piece is built on a copper base. Copper is also denser than hollow steel, which at 12mm is the difference between a chain that genuinely weighs and one that feels hollow.

Five Layers of PVD Over the Copper Base

The silver colour is applied with PVD, physical vapour deposition: the material is bonded at molecular level inside a vacuum chamber rather than laid on galvanically, at Carpe Ice in five layers. That makes the finish noticeably harder and more scratch-resistant than an ordinary coating. In silver tone that counts double: if the layer wore anywhere, the warmer copper undertone would show straight away. The alloy underneath is nickel-free.

10mm or 12mm, and Which Length

Both widths are emphatic. The 10mm is the most chosen and just about keeps its proportions with a normal collar. The 12mm is pure statement and wants to be the only chain you wear. The chain comes in 50 and 55 cm, both short for this width, and that is deliberate: a broad set piece belongs high, where it reads as a collar rather than as a hanging chain. At 55 cm you get a little more movement, at 50 cm it lies closer against the neck. At these widths layering does not work: choose one and keep the rest of your jewellery quiet.

Keeping It Sparkling

A copper alloy is more sensitive to moisture than steel, so this is a piece for going out rather than for the gym. Take the chain off before showering, swimming and training, apply fragrance and deodorant before you put it on, and store it dry in the box it came in. On a cluster setting there is more space between and under the stones than on a flat row, so dust gathers there faster. A dry, soft toothbrush lifts it out; that is what dulls the sparkle first, not the stones themselves.