Fashion

Chanel’s Bruno Pavlovsky Talks Sales Growth, Retail Strategy and Matthieu Blazy Impact

Fashion

The Best Gold Necklaces for Women to Wear This Fall

From thick chains to dainty birthstone pendants, these trending accessories will make all your seasonal ensembles look a touch more luxurious.

By Stacia Datskovska Plus Icon

Stacia Datskovska

Senior Commerce Writer for WWD

Recent Articles by Stacia Datskovska

View All

October 3, 2026, 9:21am

Add us as a Google Preferred Source

selection of gold necklaces for women overlaid on crinkly paper background and photo of a pendant gold necklace; best gold necklaces to buy online fall 2026

Courtesy Manufacturers, WWD/Stacia Datskovska, Canva

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, WWD may receive an affiliate commission.

Like quality watches, gold necklaces are timeless — living outside of the trend cycle while appearing around the necks of society’s most fashionable members year-round, no matter the season. The best gold necklaces for women are some of the wisest accessory investments you can make, as they’re versatile enough to pair with practically every outfit and aesthetic under the sun: whether you want to dress up your Y2K-coded sweatsuit with a thicker chain stack or add a touch of shine to an LBD ahead of date night.

These babies also tend to do their best work when teamed up with any and all dresses, your most polished, starched button-up for the office, and sharp-shouldered blazers worn over basic white tees. In other words, they’re a transitional-weather nonnegotiable.

Home

We Tested the Most Luxurious Peel and Stick Wallpapers Sold Online -- Here Are Our Renter-Friendly Winners

Designer and Luxury

Djerf Avenue Opens First Store in New York City

The sheer diversity of gold necklaces in 2026 is nothing short of impressive. On the Oscars red carpet this year, the sculptural torque necklace — a rigid and oftentimes diamond-adorned collar seen on attendees like Rose Byrne — prevailed. So too are vintage-inspired, gold coin necklaces finding themselves in the spotlight as of late, worn on the regular by everyone from Taylor Swift (she’s known to turn to the brand Ben-Amun for such pieces) and Hailey Bieber to Shay Mitchell and Emily Ratajkowski.

Rose Byrne attends the 98th Academy Awards on March 15, 2026, completing her eveningwear with an en vogue gold necklace silhouette: the torque, in this case made by James de Givenchy’s label Taffin. Courtesy Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images

If you’re trying to keep it low-profile, we always recommend thin gold chains that occupy the “fine jewelry” category. To make the classic silhouette a bit more edgy and unexpected, go with a paperclip necklace that lends itself well to charm-fueled personalization. Love the idea of a pendant necklace but don’t necessarily want the focal point to be a Roman coin? There are plenty to choose from that feature gems, your zodiac constellation, gilded, oh-so-romantic hearts, and beyond.

For the ultimate It-girl–approved gold necklace styling moment, wear multiple at one time, playing around with their lengths and thicknesses to get a richly layered and visually affecting final result.

Best Gold Necklaces to Shop This Fall

affordable necklace

Raiz Salvador Snake Chain Choker

Buy Now at raiz $68 Jump to Details

meaningful necklace

Iskra Personalized 3 Little Heart Necklace

Buy Now at iskra jewelry $850 Jump to Details

best necklace set

En Route Waterdrop Necklace Set

Buy Now at en route $51.30 Jump to Details

chunky necklace

Jennifer Fisher Chelsea Chain

Buy Now at jennifer fisher $550 Jump to Details

best for charms

Gorjana Parker Necklace

Buy Now at gorjana $78 Jump to Details

sculptural necklace

Alexis Bittar Asterales Gold Floating Collar Necklace

Buy Now at neiman marcus $275 Jump to Details

best for gifting

Mejuri Zodiac Pendant Necklace

Buy Now at mejuri $228 Jump to Details

maximalist necklace

Ben-Amun Gold Toggle Coin Necklace

Buy Now at neiman marcus $170 Jump to Details

solid gold necklace

David Yurman Sculpted Cable Chain Necklace

Buy Now at nordstrom $2,450 Jump to Details

View more +

So as to properly guide you on the hunt for your next gold necklace, I — WWD Shop’s senior fashion commerce writer — tested out the most coveted gold necklaces of the year from hot-right-now brands. I’ll be rounding up options for every budget and sartorial inclination here, because the start of fall demands a jewelry box update that doesn’t put your wallet in the crosshairs.

Remember Robert Frost’s poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay”? Turns out, these gold beauties don’t follow the rules.

affordable necklace

Raiz Salvador Snake Chain Choker

$68

Buy Now at raiz

I first got acquainted with the Raiz brand via its custom photo charms, which are described as a “modern take on a vintage locket” and can be personalized with dear-to-you imagery: be it a family photo or that of a furry friend. The charms’ level of detail is striking, and the same can be said for Raiz’s lineup of gold necklaces — with this Salvador Snake Chain Choker being an especially high-quality buy at under $70.

Meant to sit close to your neck, the 16-inch strand is composed of 24-karat PVD-coated brass, which implies that Raiz vaporized gold particles and bonded them to the base metal when producing the jewelry (so that it could be more scratch-resistant and durable, as compared to standard plating procedures). “This chain is such a staple piece when layering. I love the quality and how great it looks stacked!” shares one reviewer. Pro tip? Buy in multiples, to keep a few and give away the rest.

meaningful necklace

Iskra Personalized 3 Little Heart Necklace

$850

Buy Now at iskra jewelry

This right here is one of the best presents my mom ever received from me, in her own words. Iskra’s 14-karat solid gold (across yellow, white, or rose tones) takes center stage in the trio of hearts, suspended by a thin yet supportive chain. Crucially, each tag can, and should, be engraved with an initial of choice, in cursive or regular print. Other elements to look forward to: the chain’s built-in, adjustable sizing, Iskra’s generous, five-year warranty, and the possibility of next-day delivery for all the last-minute shoppers in our midst.

$850 is certainly not a walk in the park, but this purchase will let the giftee keep her loved ones close to heart, literally, and so, in my book, it’s worth every penny.

My lovely mom and her lovely Personalized 3 Little Heart Necklace from Iskra. Courtesy WWD/Stacia Datskovska

best necklace set

En Route Waterdrop Necklace Set

$51.30 $54 5% off

Buy Now at en route

New York City–based jewelry brand En Route can be counted on to supply feminine, playful, and budget-friendly pieces marked by what it calls “atelier aesthetics.” Proof of concept is this necklace set that simplifies stacking — coming to you with an 18-karat gold-plated Waterdrop Necklace, blessed by a sumptuous shade of green, and a texture-rich Mini Metal Beads Necklace (also 18-karat gold-plated). Guaranteed to be both tarnish-resistant and waterproof, the duo can be worn around the clock, inclusive of whenever you shower.

The Waterdrop’s central glass bead is “made to play with light” and will thus surprise you with its subtle variations throughout the day, making it conducive to versatile styling (read: darker gowns, neutral knits, and everything in between). Also on the table? A 100-day warranty, free returns within a month, and no-exceptions complimentary shipping. It’s like Christmas came early.

En Route’s Waterdrop Necklace showcased solo as it catches the morning light. Courtesy WWD/Stacia Datskovska

chunky necklace

Jennifer Fisher Chelsea Chain

$550

Buy Now at jennifer fisher

The cat’s out of the bag: This is the gold necklace I relied on most in the past month, letting it transition my early fall getups from work to happy-hour drinks to date-night dinners while racking up many a compliment along the way.

What I love most about Jennifer Fisher’s Chelsea Chain is its seemingly effortless ability to make a statement. The piece, after all, takes a page from the slithering, scaly serpent — being chunky, well-built, textural, and fluid. When wearing it with my go-to gold watch (from Shinola), I felt like the chronometer’s links and the gold necklace’s intertwining strands were in perfect synchronicity, which contributed more put-togetherness to my ensembles du jour.

At 16 inches, the necklace is, as far as I’m concerned, the ideal length — skimming the collarbones without extending too far down the chest or alternatively being as tight as a choker. Word to the wise: Its magnetic closure secures peace of mind, but I personally found it a bit tough to figure out from the get-go, so cultivate some patience before the darling accessory arrives to your door.

Stacking a Jennifer Fisher Chelsea Chain with my gold cross and continuing the gold theme with a Blue Nile tennis bracelet plus Shinola’s Runabout Watch. Courtesy WWD/Stacia Datskovska

best for charms

Gorjana Parker Necklace

$78

Buy Now at gorjana

I came back from a styling appointment at Gorjana with an all-new, charm-clad outfit booster: in the form of the Parker Necklace, dotted with baubles like the Turquoise Evil Eye Parker Charm, Shimmer Cross Parker Charm, and Coral Parker Charm. Usually, I’m charm necklace–averse, but this one made me a convert, what with its attractive and unusual circular hinge closure; ultra-modern paperclip style; high-shine allure, courtesy of that 18-karat gold plating; and dozens of options for infusing the chain with some personality.

All of the TikTok-viral brand’s charms link seamlessly to the necklace, also operating by way of hinges, and it’s a saving grace that the bestseller comes in 18-inch or 20-inch iterations. My suggestion? Going with the latter, since you can always easily adjust it to be shorter, which is not the case the other way around.

I’ve been able to show off my Gorjana masterpiece with jewel-toned cardigans, white denim jackets, and oversized T-shirts tucked into baggy jeans during warmer days. It’s only a matter of time before it makes an appearance with my trench coats, sweater vests, and other autumnal must-haves. Bottom line: There won’t be a season or even week in which I’m not seen with my Parker Necklace, testament to its wear-everywhere appeal.

Assembling the charms on Gorjana’s Parker Necklace in-store before taking it home with me. The theme I settled on? Clearly, all things nautical. Courtesy WWD/Stacia Datskovska

sculptural necklace

Alexis Bittar Asterales Gold Floating Collar Necklace

$275

Buy Now at neiman marcus

A standout example of the aforementioned torque necklace style that curiously dates back to the Iron Age, Alexis Bittar’s Asterales Gold Floating Collar Necklace checks all the boxes when it comes to wearability and visual interest. The first thing that struck me was the gold necklace’s incredibly light weight, clocking in at just 25 grams. The renowned designer’s modus operandi here was to “create a ripple of motion across the neckline,” and you better believe he succeeded; the molten metalwork has slight ridges that make the necklace more dynamic, escorting the eye down its length before it reaches the pear-shaped pièce de résistance.

As pictured, I enjoyed donning this popular gold necklace for women with V-neck tops, whose cut effectively echoed the creation’s own curvature. The best part? It’s malleable, so you’ll be in full control of how the objet d’art fits around your neck.

Trying out the Alexis Bittar Asterales Gold Floating Collar Necklace for the first time (peep the label’s Molten Bangle Bracelet, too). Courtesy WWD/Stacia Datskovska

best for gifting

Mejuri Zodiac Pendant Necklace

$228

Buy Now at mejuri

In the age of incessant self-expression, astrological credentials are of peak importance, with younger individuals treating zodiac jewelry in particular as a kind of status symbol (erm, character-trait symbol). We’ve been spotting zodiac necklaces on the likes of Meghan Markle, Rihanna, and Bella Hadid, so it’s safe to say you’ll be in good company after grabbing Mejuri’s in-demand Zodiac Pendant Necklace: a white sapphire and 18-karat gold vermeil stunner. So far, all the signs — from the independent Aries to the intense Scorpio — are fully stocked on Mejuri’s site, but we still urge you to move quick, as the gift-ready pendant won’t be around forever. Per the brand, it’s “compatible in all 12 houses of your birth chart” (those who know, know) and prioritizes recycled materials.

What I appreciated: The Mejuri Zodiac Pendant Necklace is the dictionary definition of the words “delicate” and “soft-spoken,” while still being more than capable of bolstering that spinning disk at center. Also: Its gemstone-paved constellation is a demure way of signaling your sign and all that it stands for, prompting friends, lovers, and coworkers alike to lean in for a closer inspection.

The gold necklace’s glossiness was hard to keep my own gaze away from, and I caught myself wearing it nonstop for days at a time: while hitting legs at the gym, attending weekly work meetings, and strolling to the Saturday farmers market.

Me and my Mejuri Zodiac Pendant Necklace. (No, I’m not an Aquarius, but I’m planning on giving this to my Aquarius friend). Courtesy WWD/Stacia Datskovska

maximalist necklace

Ben-Amun Gold Toggle Coin Necklace

$170

Buy Now at neiman marcus

Founded by Egyptian-born designer Isaac Manevitz, the circa-1980 accessory destination Ben-Amun has outfitted stars such as Lady Gaga, Chrissy Teigen, Addison Rae, Paris Hilton, the previously noted Swift (who’s partial to its Giovanni Necklace), and Jackie Kennedy in the ’80s. This under-$200 exemplar of the brand’s mastery features not one but two cable chains for more impact and an intricately engraved French franc connected by a toggle clasp.

It was created using a special electroplating technique, which involves applying a thin layer of metal onto an object’s surface with an electric current. The end result? A gold-plated composition that balances affordability and luxury (yes, this necklace looks way more expensive than it really is).

solid gold necklace

David Yurman Sculpted Cable Chain Necklace

$2,450

Buy Now at nordstrom

Consider this four-figure David Yurman selection an heirloom and a half. Precious as can be, equipped with the jewelry maker’s signature cable spirals, and crafted out of 18-karat gold (pure gold and not just gold plating this time), the item boasts elegant curves that “highlight the sensuality of the body,” according to marketing copy. Functionality-wise, it also hits all the high notes: thanks to a two-inch chain extender and dependable lobster clasp that will ensure you and the Sculpted Cable Chain Necklace are inseparable for decades to come.

What to Look for in the Best Gold Necklaces for Women

Material: You might assume all gold necklaces have identical material makeups, but nothing could be further from the truth. Most often, they come in either 14-karat gold, 14-karat gold-plated, or vermeil varieties. The first is a precious metal that’s made by combining pure gold (58.3 percent of it, to be precise) with alloys like silver or nickel (the other 41.7 percent). Out of the three, it’s the priciest gold necklace material.

In contrast, gold plating entails coating a metal in a layer of 14-karat gold, meaning you’ll be getting a reduced amount of it. This disparity is practically imperceptible to the naked eye, yet it directly translates to 14-karat gold-plated necklaces’ status as the most wallet-friendly of the bunch.

The process of making vermeil mimics that of gold plating, but it utilizes a thicker gold layer and a more premium base metal (sterling silver), whereas gold-plated jewelry relies on affordable alternatives like brass or copper.

The necklace constitution you ultimately settle on should correlate with your budget. Skin sensitivities and how often you intend on wearing your new purchase are equally important considerations, though. Vermeil, like solid gold, is hypoallergenic, tarnish-proof, and water-resistant. Gold-plated jewelry, on the other hand, deteriorates in quality when exposed to things like moisture, lotions, and chlorine.

Occasionally, an 18-karat gold necklace selection will come along and take your breath away (the David Yurman Sculpted Cable Chain Necklace is that rare bird). Being 75- versus 58.3-percent pure, this necklace type is softer, deeper in color, and, of course, more expensive.

Style: There has never been as much gold necklace diversity as there is right now. Styles at your disposal include but are not limited to thin chains (beaded, paperclip, etc.); chunky-and-heavy strands that are often doubled up; torque necklaces, as pointed out earlier; pendant necklaces; charm necklaces; gemstone-embedded gold necklaces; and more.

Not emphasized in this article are some necklace “genres” that are no less worthy of your attention, like Y-shaped lariat necklaces (working overtime to elongate the neck while doing wonders alongside deep-cut shirts) and tennis necklaces that take gold to new heights vis-à-vis crystals and diamonds.

Investing in pared-back and minimalist gold necklaces is a good idea if you’re going to don them all day long. For something more “special occasions only,” lean on fancier head turners with oversized amulets, shiny jewels, and inherent sculpturality.

Clasp type: From S hooks and lobster claws to box clasps, magnetic clasps, and spring clasps, there’s no shortage of closures in the necklace world. This isn’t a make-or-break detail for most shoppers, but if you’re worried about the piece falling off on your daily commute or during a run, don’t do spring clasps (the most common type of closure and also the flimsiest). The no-less-popular lobster claws are a safer bet, with box clasps and push-button clasps doling out the highest level of security — a match made in heaven for your heavy-and-valuable gold necklaces.

How We Selected the Best Gold Necklaces of 2026

Since 1910, WWD — often referred to as “the fashion bible” — has been the leading industry voice of authority for senior executives in the global women’s and men’s fashion, retail, and beauty communities, while also informing the consumer media that cover the market. Today, WWD’s breaking news and trend coverage continues to be a trustworthy resource for both fashion insiders and consumers alike. Our shopping editors continue to uphold WWD’s editorial standards and values with quality, expert-backed product selections.

To find the best gold necklaces for women, we carefully assessed the specifications of every last pick on this list, including material composition, chain type, the presence of precious gemstones, length, and customization options. We supplemented this research with an intimate look at online reviews, dove deep into this year’s biggest gold jewelry trends, and tested multiple gold necklaces for close to a month. Learn more about us and our work.

Meet the Author

Stacia Datskovska is a Senior Commerce Writer at WWD. Previously, she worked at ELLE DECOR as an assistant digital editor, covering all things luxury, culture, and lifestyle through a design lens. Her bylines over the past five years have appeared in USA Today, Baltimore Sun, Teen Vogue, Boston Globe, Food & Wine, and more. Prior to joining ELLE DECOR, Datskovska learned the ins and outs of e-commerce at Mashable, where she tested products, covered tentpole sales events, and curated gift guide roundups. She graduated from NYU with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and international relations. Datskovska regularly reports on the top accessory trends of the year and how to shop them.

WWD Recommends

Most Popular

WWD

Get all the top news stories and alerts straight to your inbox.

Enter your Email

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

The Best Gold Necklaces for Women to Wear This Fall

Recent Articles by Stacia Datskovska

In this article

View More

Related Articles

Best Gold Necklaces to Shop This Fall

Raiz Salvador Snake Chain Choker

Iskra Personalized 3 Little Heart Necklace

En Route Waterdrop Necklace Set

Jennifer Fisher Chelsea Chain

Gorjana Parker Necklace

Alexis Bittar Asterales Gold Floating Collar Necklace

Mejuri Zodiac Pendant Necklace

Ben-Amun Gold Toggle Coin Necklace

David Yurman Sculpted Cable Chain Necklace

Raiz Salvador Snake Chain Choker

Iskra Personalized 3 Little Heart Necklace

En Route Waterdrop Necklace Set

Jennifer Fisher Chelsea Chain

Gorjana Parker Necklace

Alexis Bittar Asterales Gold Floating Collar Necklace

Mejuri Zodiac Pendant Necklace

Ben-Amun Gold Toggle Coin Necklace

David Yurman Sculpted Cable Chain Necklace

What to Look for in the Best Gold Necklaces for Women

How We Selected the Best Gold Necklaces of 2026

Meet the Author

Tags

WWD Recommends

Ferran Torres Talks World Cup and That Hat

Most Popular