Stars love ‘em. So do housewives. For this Miami workshop, Cuban links are gold

Bad Bunny wears them. So do Daddy Yankee and Jay Z. Al Pacino had one slung around his neck in Scarface.

Those thick, heavy gold (10 or 14 karat) chains have become the accessory of choice for many urban celebrities — not to mention regulars at cafecito windows through Hialeah.

Miami Cuban links, as they are often called, can cost thousands of dollars, making them as much a symbol of status as luxury cars and fast yachts. While many local tiendas sell them, few make them on site.

One that does is Tazita de Oro in Westchester. Behind the showcase counters filled with engagement rings, delicate bracelets, diamond-studded rings — and of choice, shining gold chains — is the workshop led by a family of master jewelers who brought their craft from Cuba.

Owner Jean Campos purchased the decade-old shop two years ago with his wife, Zayda Cuesta. Campos’ father, Ramón, and his cousin Janner Báez, also work in the atelier.

Campos explains the manufacturing process: first the chain mold is put in an oven. The links are then sanded to achieve a hammered look — one of the details that makes them so popular.

“Most of the buyers are Cubans and Puerto Ricans,” said Campos.

Chains accented with diamonds can weigh several pounds and cost more than $10,000. The links Daddy Yankee wore in the 2013 video for his song La Rompe Carros weighed in at 22 pounds. (Tazita de Oro offers financing.)

There are also Cuban-link chains for women, like those preferred by Venezuelan television host Carolina Sandoval, who is a client of Tazita de Oro, Campos says.

They are more delicate, simpler and look like a choker, shows Cuesta, who is wearing one, indicating in turn that the jewelry has personalized garments that became a lifeline during the 2020 lockdown.

When the pandemic broke out in March 2020, Cuesta and Campos were still in the early days of their business.

Purchasing it and renovating the store cost them about $50,000.

“I used to see all jewelers with a Ferrari,” joked Campos. “But I still have an old Chevrolet.”

To boost business, Cuesta made a video from his home kitchen about a new pandemic-era item: chains with letter charms priced between $120 and $260. The personalized necklaces became messages of support and love in difficult times.

Sales took off. On the busiest days, the company mailed out as many as 100. “We spent until 5 in the morning making packages,” recalls Cuesta.

Chains with dolls — representing members of the family — have also been a hit. As a family grows, those who own them usually add another doll.

The shop also sells Tous bears, made famous by a Catalan jewelry firm. The originals cost more than $500, but Tazita de Oro offers Italian versions that cost $100 that are popular with Miami residents who have lived in Europe, Cuesta says.

Tazita de Oro’s collaboration with two Cuban celebrities, reggaetonero Baby Lores and actress and singer Yory Gómez, have also helped sales.

Both are active on social media. Lores, with 149,000 followers on Instagram, and Gómez, with 158,000, divide the days that they promote Tazita de Oro.

“I like to help small businesses,” Gomez told el Nuevo Herald. She is paid for her work.

The actress, a graduate of the National School of Art in Cuba, has a YouTube channel, Yory en su salsa, and also works on the TN3 program on America Tevé.

“I am the face of Tazita de Oro on social media,” said Gomez. When she started promoting the shop, it had only had 100 Instagram followers; today it has 21,000.

Many people buy them as an investment, because when they need money they can sell them at shops — including Tazita de Oro.

Tazita de Oro Jewelry, 7954 SW 8 St, Miami. (305) 519-1881