An 30" (76.2 cm) necklace is a opera length. On a 13" women’s neck it drops about 9.5" and sits at the top of the bust; on a 16" men’s neck it drops 8.1" and sits mid chest. 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 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18.0" | 9.9" · 25.2 cm | at the bust line | ||
| 17.0" | 9.5" · 24.1 cm | at the top of the bust | ||
| 16.0" | 9.1" · 23.0 cm | at the top of the bust | ||
| 15.0" | 8.6" · 21.8 cm | at the top of the bust | ||
| 14.0" | 8.1" · 20.7 cm | at the top of the bust |
| Actions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15.0" | 8.6" · 21.8 cm | mid chest | ||
| 14.0" | 8.1" · 20.7 cm | mid chest | ||
| 13.0" | 7.7" · 19.5 cm | mid chest | ||
| 12.0" | 7.2" · 18.4 cm | mid chest | ||
| 11.0" | 6.8" · 17.2 cm | mid chest | ||
| 10.0" | 6.3" · 15.9 cm | mid chest |
05 / Field guide
Where an 30" 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 30" or a neighbour suits you.
On a 12" neck it drops 9.9" and sits at the bust line; On a 13" neck it drops 9.5" and sits at the top of the bust; On a 14" neck it drops 9.1" and sits at the top of the bust; On a 15" neck it drops 8.6" and sits at the top of the bust; On a 16" neck it drops 8.1" and sits at the top of the bust. With a pendant, this length clears a crew neckline on most necks.
15" neck: 8.6" drop, mid chest; 16" neck: 8.1" drop, mid chest; 17" neck: 7.7" drop, mid chest; 18" neck: 7.2" drop, mid chest; 19" neck: 6.8" drop, mid chest; 20" neck: 6.3" drop, mid chest. From about a 28.25" neck upward, a 30" chain closes to a choker, so men with larger necks should add 2 inches.
On a 13" neck, a 28" chain drops 8.5" and a 32" chain 10.5", against 9.5" for 30". Each two inches of chain moves the low point about an inch, so if a 30" 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 30" chain drops 10.8", 10.4", 9.9", 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 32" (81.3 cm): on a 13" neck the low point moves from 9.5" to 10.5", and on a 16" neck from 8.1" to 9.2". Going the other way, a jeweller can shorten a 30" chain to 28" (71.1 cm): on a 13" neck that hangs 8.5" below the throat, and on a 16" neck it hangs 7.1" below the throat.
A pendant hangs below the chain by its own height. On the 30" chain and a 13" neck, a 0.5" pendant ends 10.0" below the throat (at the bust line), a 1" pendant ends 10.5" below the throat (at the bust line), a 1.5" pendant ends 11.0" below the throat (at the bust line). On a 16" men’s neck the same pendants end at 8.6", 9.1", 9.6".
Against a shirt or top, the question is whether the chain shows. A crew sits about 1" down: on a 13" neck the 30" chain clears it by 8.5", on a 16" neck it clears it by 7.1". A open collar sits about 3.5" down: on a 13" neck the 30" chain clears it by 6.0", on a 16" neck it clears it by 4.6". A v-neck sits about 6" down: on a 13" neck the 30" chain clears it by 3.5", on a 16" neck it clears it by 2.1". Necklines are averages, so check the drape diagram with your own neck size and collar.
For layering, a 28" chain sits 1.0" above the 30" 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 9.5" and sits at the top of the bust. On a 16" men’s neck it drops 8.1" and sits mid chest.
30 inches is 76.2 cm. It is a opera length.
On a 16" neck it drops 8.1" and sits mid chest, long enough for a larger pendant.
About 8.6" (21.8 cm) below the base of the throat, at the top of the bust for most women and mid chest for a man with a 15" neck.
On a 13" neck the 28" sits at the top of the bust and the 30" at the top of the bust. Measure your neck and set it on the diagram to compare.