An 18" (45.7 cm) necklace is a princess length. On a 13" women’s neck it drops about 3.3" and sits on the collarbone; on a 16" men’s neck it drops 1.7" and sits at the base of the neck, choker style. Set your own neck size below to see it drawn.
Where each chain falls on a 13" neck: tap a length. Below it, chain widths are drawn at true 1:1 size: lay a chain on the glass to read its width.
1:1 chain width. Each bar is the real width; the strip shows the chosen style at 3 mm.
Sort any column, download it as CSV or print it. Click a row to show it at 1:1.
| Actions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.0" | 3.8" · 9.6 cm | just below the collarbone | ||
| 5.0" | 3.3" · 8.3 cm | on the collarbone | ||
| 4.0" | 2.8" · 7.0 cm | on the collarbone | ||
| 3.0" | 2.2" · 5.7 cm | on the collarbone | ||
| 2.0" | 1.7" · 4.2 cm | at the base of the neck, choker style |
| Actions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0" | 2.2" · 5.7 cm | on the collarbone | ||
| 2.0" | 1.7" · 4.2 cm | at the base of the neck, choker style | ||
| 1.0" | 1.0" · 2.6 cm | at the base of the neck, choker style | ||
| 0.0" | — | too short to fasten | ||
| -1.0" | — | too short to fasten | ||
| -2.0" | — | too short to fasten |
05 / Field guide
Where an 18" chain lands depends on the neck it goes round. Below, the drape model is run on women’s, men’s and children’s neck sizes and against the lengths either side, so you can see whether 18" or a neighbour suits you.
On a 12" neck it drops 3.8" and sits just below the collarbone; On a 13" neck it drops 3.3" and sits on the collarbone; On a 14" neck it drops 2.8" and sits on the collarbone; On a 15" neck it drops 2.2" and sits on the collarbone; On a 16" neck it drops 1.7" and sits at the base of the neck, choker style. A pendant hangs below that point by its own height, so a small pendant on this length shows just above most necklines.
15" neck: 2.2" drop, on the collarbone; 16" neck: 1.7" drop, at the base of the neck, choker style; 17" neck: 1.0" drop, at the base of the neck, choker style. On a 18" neck or larger a 18" chain is too short to fasten at all. From about a 16" neck upward, a 18" chain closes to a choker, so men with larger necks should add 2 inches.
On a 13" neck, a 16" chain drops 2.2" and a 20" chain 4.3", against 3.3" for 18". Each two inches of chain moves the low point about an inch, so if a 18" sits slightly too high, the next length down the chart, not two, is usually right.
For a child’s neck of 10 to 12 inches, a 18" chain drops 4.7", 4.2", 3.8", long enough to catch on play equipment, so choose a shorter chain or a breakaway clasp.
Many chains come with a 2" extender. Fastened at the end of it, the chain is 20" (50.8 cm): on a 13" neck the low point moves from 3.3" to 4.3", and on a 16" neck from 1.7" to 2.8". Going the other way, a jeweller can shorten a 18" chain to 16" (40.6 cm): on a 13" neck that hangs 2.2" below the throat, and on a 16" neck it is too short to fasten.
A pendant hangs below the chain by its own height. On the 18" chain and a 13" neck, a 0.5" pendant ends 3.8" below the throat (just below the collarbone), a 1" pendant ends 4.3" below the throat (just below the collarbone), a 1.5" pendant ends 4.8" below the throat (just below the collarbone). On a 16" men’s neck the same pendants end at 2.2", 2.7", 3.2".
Against a shirt or top, the question is whether the chain shows. A crew sits about 1" down: on a 13" neck the 18" chain clears it by 2.3", on a 16" neck it clears it by 0.7". A open collar sits about 3.5" down: on a 13" neck the 18" chain sits right on its edge, on a 16" neck it hides 1.8" under it. A v-neck sits about 6" down: on a 13" neck the 18" chain hides 2.7" under it, on a 16" neck it hides 4.3" under it. Necklines are averages, so check the drape diagram with your own neck size and collar.
For layering, a 14" chain sits 2.3" above the 18" and a 16" chain sits 1.1" above the 18" and a 20" chain sits 1.1" below the 18" and a 22" chain sits 2.1" below the 18" on a 13" neck; a gap of about an inch keeps layered chains from tangling.
Questions
On a 13" women’s neck it drops about 3.3" and sits on the collarbone. On a 16" men’s neck it drops 1.7" and sits at the base of the neck, choker style.
18 inches is 45.7 cm. It is a princess length.
On a 16" neck it is snug, at the base of the neck, choker style; most men choose 20 to 24 inches.
About 2.2" (5.7 cm) below the base of the throat, on the collarbone for most women and on the collarbone for a man with a 15" neck.
On a 13" neck the 16" sits on the collarbone and the 18" on the collarbone. Measure your neck and set it on the diagram to compare.