Short answer: both are real solid gold, and neither is a scam. A machine-made Cuban is produced by precision machinery in uniform widths and is the affordable way to own the style. A handmade Cuban is built link by link by a goldsmith — denser, heavier for its size, and made to order to your exact spec. We sell both, so here's the honest breakdown of where your money goes with each.
How a machine-made Cuban is built
Machine-made chains are produced by specialized machinery that forms, interlocks, and solders links with high precision, then the chain is finished and polished. The result is remarkably consistent — every link identical, every chain of a given spec essentially interchangeable with the next.
That consistency is the point. Machine production keeps the labor cost per gram low, which means most of what you pay is the gold itself. It's also what makes smaller widths possible at all — nobody is hand-forging a 3mm Cuban at a price any buyer would accept.
There is nothing "lesser" about a machine-made solid Cuban. It's real gold at its stated karat, it wears for decades, and it's what the overwhelming majority of gold chains sold anywhere — including most of our own stock Cubans — are.
How a handmade Cuban is built
A handmade Cuban starts as raw gold. Our goldsmith — domestic, not overseas — draws the wire, forms each link, interlocks it with the last, and solders it closed, working down the full length of the chain. The links are then filed, shaped, and finished by hand, and the chain gets a fitted box clasp built for its weight.
Because a person is forming each link, handmade Cubans are typically denser and heavier than a machine-made chain of the same width and length — the links are tighter, thicker through the body, and sit into each other with a lay you can feel the moment you pick one up. Handmade work starts where machine efficiency ends: we build them at 6mm and up, made to order in about 2 weeks.
The other thing handmade buys you is choice. Width, length, and karat are all up to you — including 18K, which we only offer as handmade custom work, not as stock. A lot of our handmade orders come from repeat customers who started with a machine-made piece and saved up for the keeper.
What the differences mean in practice
Weight and feel. Same width, same length: the handmade chain will generally weigh more and drape with a heavier, tighter lay. On a chain priced by its gold content, more grams means more gold — you can see this yourself, since we publish the measured gram weight on every listing.
Price per gram. Here's the part that surprises people: the per-gram rate on a handmade Cuban is pretty much the same as machine-made. Because handmade chains are heavier, the goldsmith's labor spreads across more grams, which keeps the rate close. The handmade piece costs more in total mostly because you're getting more gold. Our pricing guide explains per-gram pricing in full.
Repairs and longevity. No difference here. Both wear for a lifetime, and as long as the links are solid, a goldsmith can open, resize, or repair either one the same way. What makes a Cuban serviceable is solid construction — not whether a machine or a person made it.
Availability. Machine-made is in stock and ships now. Handmade is made to order — you approve the spec, pay a deposit, and the build takes about 2 weeks.
Which should you buy?
If you want a Cuban under 6mm, the decision is made for you: machine-made, and there's nothing wrong with that. If you're buying your first gold chain, a stock solid Cuban is the smart entry — real gold, fair per-gram price, on your neck this week. If you want 6mm or above, wear a chain daily, and think of this purchase as a permanent piece — or you want a spec that doesn't exist off the shelf, like an 18K build — that's what our handmade Cubans and handmade rope chains exist for.
Either way, judge the chain the same way: karat stamp, gram weight, and price per gram. Here's how to verify any Cuban is real before you buy from anyone — including us.
Ott Family Jewelry is a family-owned fine jewelry business in the Dallas–Fort Worth area selling solid gold Cuban link chains, lab-grown diamond tennis pieces, and custom handmade chains, with published gram weights on every listing. Read what our customers say.