An 20" (50.8 cm) necklace is a matinee length. On a 13" women’s neck it drops about 4.3" and sits just below the collarbone; on a 16" men’s neck it drops 2.8" and sits on the collarbone. 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 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.0" | 4.8" · 12.2 cm | just below the collarbone | ||
| 7.0" | 4.3" · 11.0 cm | just below the collarbone | ||
| 6.0" | 3.9" · 9.8 cm | just below the collarbone | ||
| 5.0" | 3.4" · 8.5 cm | on the collarbone | ||
| 4.0" | 2.8" · 7.2 cm | on the collarbone |
| Actions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.0" | 3.4" · 8.5 cm | on the collarbone | ||
| 4.0" | 2.8" · 7.2 cm | on the collarbone | ||
| 3.0" | 2.3" · 5.8 cm | on the collarbone | ||
| 2.0" | 1.7" · 4.3 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 |
05 / Field guide
Where an 20" 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 20" or a neighbour suits you.
On a 12" neck it drops 4.8" and sits just below the collarbone; On a 13" neck it drops 4.3" and sits just below the collarbone; On a 14" neck it drops 3.9" and sits just below the collarbone; On a 15" neck it drops 3.4" and sits on the collarbone; On a 16" neck it drops 2.8" and sits on the collarbone. With a pendant, this length clears a crew neckline on most necks.
15" neck: 3.4" drop, on the collarbone; 16" neck: 2.8" drop, on the collarbone; 17" neck: 2.3" drop, on the collarbone; 18" neck: 1.7" drop, at the base of the neck, choker style; 19" neck: 1.0" drop, at the base of the neck, choker style. On a 20" neck a 20" chain is too short to fasten at all. From about a 18" neck upward, a 20" chain closes to a choker, so men with larger necks should add 2 inches.
On a 13" neck, a 18" chain drops 3.3" and a 22" chain 5.4", against 4.3" for 20". Each two inches of chain moves the low point about an inch, so if a 20" 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 20" chain drops 5.7", 5.3", 4.8", 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 22" (55.9 cm): on a 13" neck the low point moves from 4.3" to 5.4", and on a 16" neck from 2.8" to 3.9". Going the other way, a jeweller can shorten a 20" chain to 18" (45.7 cm): on a 13" neck that hangs 3.3" below the throat, and on a 16" neck it hangs 1.7" below the throat.
A pendant hangs below the chain by its own height. On the 20" chain and a 13" neck, a 0.5" pendant ends 4.8" below the throat (just below the collarbone), a 1" pendant ends 5.3" below the throat (just below the collarbone), a 1.5" pendant ends 5.8" below the throat (just below the collarbone). On a 16" men’s neck the same pendants end at 3.3", 3.8", 4.3".
Against a shirt or top, the question is whether the chain shows. A crew sits about 1" down: on a 13" neck the 20" chain clears it by 3.3", on a 16" neck it clears it by 1.8". A open collar sits about 3.5" down: on a 13" neck the 20" chain clears it by 0.8", on a 16" neck it hides 0.7" under it. A v-neck sits about 6" down: on a 13" neck the 20" chain hides 1.7" under it, on a 16" neck it hides 3.2" under it. Necklines are averages, so check the drape diagram with your own neck size and collar.
For layering, a 16" chain sits 2.2" above the 20" and a 18" chain sits 1.1" above the 20" and a 22" chain sits 1.0" below the 20" and a 24" chain sits 2.1" below the 20" 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 4.3" and sits just below the collarbone. On a 16" men’s neck it drops 2.8" and sits on the collarbone.
20 inches is 50.8 cm. It is a matinee length.
On a 16" neck it drops 2.8" and sits on the collarbone, a popular length for men.
About 3.4" (8.5 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 18" sits on the collarbone and the 20" just below the collarbone. Measure your neck and set it on the diagram to compare.