This chain is made of 18 karat yellow gold and platinum. Platinum was the alloy used that was mixed with the 18 karat gold to make it stronger. When this chain was made chain work was only owned by a few wealthy women that had the good fortune to find a master goldsmith who would have the skill to make this type of elaborate chain. This type of chain work is rare to find today. The process of making chain work is a real art form because it had to be made by hand and only by master goldsmiths who had the skill. It was a multi -step process. First the apprentice had to “make up the gold”; mixing 24 karat pure gold with an alloy. This is because 24 karat gold is too soft so it was at this time mixed with platinum. (today it is mixed with base metals such as brass, zinc and nickel and that is the reason modern jewelry items have to have prongs re-tipped and ring bands added (because these mixtures wear away). But it is also much more cost effective to use the base metals today. Then after forming the gold, the apprentice would flatten the gold by covering it with a thin leather (fawn skin) cloth and would beat it with a leather mallet until the gold was thin enough. The next step was to cut the gold into narrow strips just the exact width and length. As in this chain 2 mm wide and 3mm long with hundreds of links. They had to cut more than needed because some may have too much flame in soldering and would melt. The links were then put together and soldered separately and “seasoned” for two weeks. The torque on the metal is so extreme that it is necessary to wait until it adjusts to the bend. Then after that time, the links were cut at the solder point and put together into links to make the chain one link at a time and solder the same point these links are made within the next link. In working with small detail it is easy to melt the gold and ruin the chain. The torch is a gas and air mixture that was produced by an apprentice pumping a device so the goldsmith could work. The torch tips were very large and not the pencil tips size of today’s smiths. The clasp of this bracelet is the center piece. It is made of 18 karat gold and set with four natural Rubies and a center “Star” set with 9 seed pearls. The bracelet is 7 ¼ inches long and is wonderfully rare and lovely.