Necklace length chart: collar to rope

Choose a necklace by where you want it to fall, then read its length. The names below are the usual jewelry names, from the short collar that sits high on the neck to the rope that can be worn doubled.

The chart is copied from Ruban Size's Necklaces and chains template, a starting point that each store adjusts to the chains it sells. Neck size and build move where a chain falls, so the last column is a guide, not a promise.

Necklace length chart

From collar to opera, each style is 5 cm (2 in) longer than the one before. After the opera, the steps grow to 15 cm (6 in).

The inches are rounded

The two length columns are the round numbers of each system, not exact conversions of each other. A chain is cut to one or the other, and the difference shows as the chain gets longer:

Up to the opera, the gap between the round centimeters and the round inches stays under 1 cm. At opera long it is 1.2 cm, and at rope 1.4 cm. If your chains are cut in inches, publish the centimeters computed from the inches (45.7 cm for an 18 in chain), not the round 45. More on the arithmetic in centimeters to inches for size charts.

How to choose a length

1. Take a string or a chain you own and lay it around your neck, as the template's note suggests: "Where a chain falls depends on your neck size and build: a string laid around your neck shows it best."
2. Let it hang to where you want the necklace, in front of a mirror, wearing a top with the neckline you have in mind.
3. Mark the string where the ends meet and measure it flat against a ruler or tape.
4. Find the closest length in the chart. Between two, the longer one sits lower and the shorter one closer to the neck: choose by the neckline you'll wear.

The same length falls differently from one person to the next. A thicker neck or broader shoulders take up more of the chain, so a 45 cm princess can sit higher than "on the collarbone". For a collar or a choker, measure the neck itself where the necklace will sit, the way a shirt's collar size is taken: the chain has to be longer than the neck at that point, with room to breathe.

Pendants, layers and extenders

A pendant hangs below the chain, by the height of its bail and the pendant itself. The chain length tells you where the chain falls; the pendant adds its own drop below that.

To layer necklaces, pick lengths at least one row apart in the chart, 5 cm (2 in) or more, so the chains don't sit on top of each other.

An extender chain changes the length by the few links it adds. If you sell necklaces with one, give the length without and with it, in both units.

How a Shopify store should show necklace lengths

1. One row per length you sell, with the length in centimeters and inches side by side.
2. Where it falls, in words, and if you can, a photo of each length on a person or a bust.
3. How a chain is measured: end to end, clasp included, so shoppers can compare with a chain they own.
4. Extenders and pendants spelled out: the length range with the extender, and the pendant drop.
5. The chart on necklaces only, not on rings or bracelets, which have charts of their own.

How Ruban Size does it

The Necklaces and chains template has the eight styles above, a length in centimeters and one in inches, a "Where it falls" column in words, and the note about the string. It opens as a draft, with typical values, and shows nowhere until you save it and choose its products. With the display rules, it goes on products of the type you choose, a tag or a collection, and stays off the rings and bracelets.

Necklaces and socks are the two templates without Find my size. A chain fits every neck: the choice is where it falls, so the chart is a table to read, not a size to compute.

The size chart editor adds what the table can't say on its own. An image block or an "image and text" block shows a photo of the lengths worn, and a gallery takes 2 to 5 images. The template's texts come translated in the store's languages, and with translations every word of the chart can be changed per language, while the lengths stay as they are: sizes and numbers are never translated.

For other jewelry, the ring size conversion chart and how to measure your wrist for a bracelet cover the two other templates of the Jewelry category.

Questions

How long is an 18 inch necklace?

45.7 cm. In the template it is the princess length, written 45 cm and 18 in, and it sits on the collarbone.

What is the difference between a collar and a choker?

The length. A collar is 35 cm (14 in) and sits high on the neck; a choker is 40 cm (16 in) and sits at the base of the neck.

How long is an opera necklace?

60 cm (24 in), falling on the bust. An opera long is 75 cm (30 in) and falls below the bust.

How do I find my necklace length?

Lay a string around your neck, let it hang where you want the necklace to fall, mark where the ends meet and measure the string flat. Then pick the closest length in the chart.