Necklace sizes matter. Especially if you are looking to add a certain style to your look with your necklace, or want a pendant to hang in a specific place. Not to mention that people of different heights and sizes will need varying necklace sizes to achieve the style and look they desire from their necklace. For example, someone who has a thinner neck width and is 5ft 5 in height will need a shorter necklace than someone who has a wide neck and is 6ft 3 if both wanted a necklace that dangles just below the collar bone. There’s no single or accurate answer for a question like “where does a 45cm necklace fit”.

So how to find the perfect necklace size to suit you or a loved one as a gift? Let’s start with the basics:

TIP #1

Know The Circumference Of The Base Of The Neck

Firstly, of course we recommend measuring the circumference of your neck, at the base of the neck. The reason why we recommend measuring at the base is because this is the part of the neck where a Necklace will hang. So there’s really no point in measuring further up the neck.

To measure the circumference of the base of the neck, just use a tape measure to wrap around the base of the neck and take note of where the tape measure meets the beginning. The measurement you come to is the circumference of the base of the neck.

NO TAPE MEASURE? NO PROBLEM

Here’s Another Way

If you don’t have a tape measure, but do have a straight ruler (maybe one from your child’s school pencil case?) you can use a piece of string or ribbon in the exact same way as described above. Only difference is you should mark with a pen or marker where the string or ribbon touches its beginning. From here you can lay out the ribbon or string on a flat surface and use the ruler to measure up to where you have made the mark to find your neck circumference.

Alternatively, if you do not have either a tape measure or a straight ruler lying about at home, you can always use a printable ruler which you can easily find for free online with a quick Google search. A good example is the free printable ruler here: https://www.printable-ruler.net/printable-measuring-tape/

Note that it is important to follow all the instructions listed on the website and use the exact printer settings they recommend to ensure that you get an accurate print out of the ruler.

WHAT STYLE ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?

Determine Where You Want Your Necklace To Dangle To

Once you have the circumference of the neck figured out, you can then start to think about where you want the necklace to hang. Here there can be quite a few variables like whether the necklace is being worn as a part of a stack with different lengths of necklace or just being worn as a single necklace? Is the necklace to be worn with a specific outfit? Or is the necklace just for wearing as a day to day piece, or for adorning a pendant/medallion?

In general, unless you’re sizing for a choker necklace then the most common size of necklace hangs just below the collarbone.

However, in the case of a necklace or chain that will be worn to adorn a pendant or medallion, a slightly longer chain or necklace length may be recommended to let the pendant/medallion hang comfortably.

Once you have the style of necklace you are looking for locked in, we can then move on to the next step of finding your necklace size.

USE OUR SIZE CHART

Figuring Out The Ideal Necklace Size

This chart is based on an average 5ft 9 person with a 14 inch neck base circumference

In the UK, most necklace lengths come in 16 inch, 18 inch, 20 inch, 22 inch, 24 inch and so on… generally, in inches they are found in multiples of 2. At Argemti the majority of our necklace and chains are provided in this way bar a couple of exceptions. For figuring out the ideal necklace size we are going to use the general necklace measurements, measured in inches.

Using the measurement of the circumference of the base of your neck, move two sizes up from that initial neck measurement and you should find a necklace length that sits just below the collar bone. Let me give you an example, just to make this a little bit clearer.

Say the circumference of my neck is 14.5 inches. Using the formula described above, you can work out that the ideal necklace length for me would be an 18 inch chain or necklace length for the necklace to hang just below the collarbone. This is what I like to call your “standard necklace size”. From here it is much easier to play around with different styles to get your desired look for a particular outfit or to start layering chains.

BUYING FOR A FRIEND OR LOVED ONE?

2 Quick Tips For Finding Someone Else’s Necklace Size

The simple method of using a necklace or chain that they already own is probably the easiest & most accurate way to find the ideal necklace size for someone in secret. All you have to do is undo the clasp, lay the necklace out flat at full stretch and measure end to end. It’s really that simple!

Another sneaky way would be to ask directly what length the necklace they currently are wearing is and make up an excuse for asking like “I’m looking to buy a necklace for my mum”. Or it can be an aunty or another close person or family member who won’t raise any suspicions. This is always slightly risky though as you of course run the risk of giving the game away.