Bracelet Size Chart: How to Measure Your Wrist, Style by Style
A bracelet size chart for every wrist, how to measure, why size guides disagree by half an inch, and how to size tennis bracelets, chains, charms and bangles.
To find your bracelet size, measure around your wrist just below the wrist bone and add about half an inch for a close fit, or up to an inch if you like a bracelet that moves. The most common lengths are about 7 inches for women and 8 inches for men.
The chart below does the adding for you. After it: how to measure, why size charts don't all agree, and the right size for each kind of bracelet, because a bangle is sized in a completely different way.
Bracelet size chart
| Your wrist | Close fit (add ½ inch) | Relaxed fit (add 1 inch) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 in (12.7 cm) | 5½ in | 6 in |
| 5½ in (14.0 cm) | 6 in | 6½ in |
| 6 in (15.2 cm) | 6½ in | 7 in |
| 6½ in (16.5 cm) | 7 in | 7½ in |
| 7 in (17.8 cm) | 7½ in | 8 in |
| 7½ in (19.1 cm) | 8 in | 8½ in |
| 8 in (20.3 cm) | 8½ in | 9 in |
| 8½ in (21.6 cm) | 9 in | 9½ in |
Whatever the chart says, the fit test is the same: once it's on, you should be able to slide one finger under the bracelet, and no more.
How to measure your wrist
- With a soft tape measure: wrap it around your wrist just below the wrist bone, where a bracelet sits, snug but not tight. Read the number where the end meets.
- With a strip of paper or a piece of string: wrap it the same way, mark where it meets, then lay it flat against a ruler.
- With a bracelet you already own: if it fits the way you like, lay it flat in a straight line and measure it from end to end, clasp included. That's your size.
Measure the wrist you'll wear it on. Many people wear bracelets on the hand they don't write with, and the two wrists can differ a little.
Why size charts don't all agree
Look at a few size guides and you'll find different answers for the same wrist. One popular chart adds almost nothing to your wrist measurement. Another adds half an inch for link bracelets and a full inch for charm bracelets. Both can be right, because they're sizing different bracelets.
A flat, flexible bracelet, like a tennis line or a fine chain, can sit close to the wrist. A bracelet with thicker links, or charms hanging from it, takes up room on the inside, so it needs extra length to fit the same wrist. That's why the one-finger test matters more than any chart: it works for every style.
Sizing by bracelet style
| Style | Measure | Then | How it should sit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tennis bracelet | Your wrist | Add about ½ inch | Close, with room for one finger |
| Chain or link bracelet | Your wrist | Add ½ inch | Close; heavier links may want a little more |
| Charm bracelet | Your wrist | Add about 1 inch | Loose enough for the charms to hang |
| Slip-on bangle | Your hand, across the knuckles, thumb tucked in | Choose a bangle that clears that measurement | Loose on the wrist, since it has to pass over the hand |
| Hinged bangle | Your wrist | Choose a close size | Close; it opens on a clasp, so it doesn't need to clear the hand |
| Cuff | Your wrist | Match the cuff's size | The opening sits on the narrow side of the wrist |
The bangle row is the one people get wrong. A slip-on bangle has no clasp, so it has to fit over the widest part of your hand, and that's the measurement that decides the size, not your wrist. A hinged bangle opens, so you size it to the wrist like any other bracelet. Our diamond bangles come in both kinds.
For a tennis bracelet on a small wrist, the close-fit column is the one to use. A tennis bracelet that's too long slides around and puts the clasp on top. Our guide to what a tennis bracelet is explains how it should fit and how the clasp works.
Average bracelet sizes for women and men
Guides put the average women's bracelet at about 6½ to 7 inches and the average men's at about 7½ to 8 inches. Seven inches is the single most common women's length, and eight inches the most common men's. Use these only when you can't measure, because wrists vary more than the averages suggest.
Buying a bracelet as a gift
The easiest way to get the size right is to borrow a bracelet they already wear and measure it end to end. If that's not possible, 7 inches for a woman and 8 for a man are the safest guesses.
If it turns out wrong, a jeweler can usually shorten a chain or tennis bracelet by removing links, but making one longer means adding links that match, which isn't always possible. So when you're unsure, choose the longer size. Our lab grown diamond bracelets come with 30 days from delivery to return them, with a free, prepaid, insured return label in the US. Resized and custom pieces are final sale.
If you're buying a necklace too, our necklace length chart works the same way.
