To a friend who asked for her advice about what to give the woman he loved, Mademoiselle Chanel answered without hesitation: “I know women, women adore chains, give her a chain and she will adore you.”

Adored by kings and queens, a symbol of the manufacture of ancient civilizations and the countercultures of the young, a constant inspiration for artists, stylists and designers, the chain is one of the most loved jewellery items in the history of costume. With an authoritative critical essay and awesome selection of photographs, this book traces the symbolic and aesthetic evolution of chain from early history to modern day and its intersections with art, fashion, design, craftmanship and new technologies. A fascinating and skilfully illustrated journey that shows how extraordinary jewellery, able to link the past to the future in the name of creativity, beauty and innovation, can be generated from such a simple functional element.