October 7, 2024

Bracelet Size Guide Pt.1: Find Your Bracelet Size And Wrist Size

This guide will tell you how to find your wrist size and bracelet size. If you are buying bracelet for someone else, refer to our Bracelet Size Guide Pt.2: How to Find Someone Else’s Bracelet Size Without Their Wrist Measurement.

BEFORE YOU START

A common misunderstanding is that there is one designated bracelet size (say, M) for you. Unfortunately, unlike clothes, there is no universal bracelet size chart across different brands. You can’t say “My bracelet size is size M”. Instead, you need to figure out your bracelet size each time using these 3 factors:

1. Wrist measurement, which can be small on a curvy person and vice versa. In order to get the right bracelet size, you must know your exact wrist measurement (also called wrist size), then use that to select the right bracelet size.

2. Bracelet design and brand size chart. If you know your chain bracelet size, it doesn’t mean that your cuff or bangle size is the same. You can also be a Pandora’s size M, but a Tiffany’s size S.

3. Fit. Whether you want it to fit snugly or loose

You can only get an accurate bracelet size if you know each factor correctly.

HOW TO FIND YOUR OWN BRACELET SIZE: 2 STEPS

Step 1: Get your wrist measurement
1. Measure your wrist. Using a measuring tape, measure tightly just above the wrist bone as below.

If you do not have a measuring tape, you can use a thin strip of paper. It is important to use a thin, flat paper strip. If you use a thick string, you will end up with a measurement ½” – 1” longer than your actual wrist size.

Wrap the strip around your wrist, and mark with a pen or marker where it starts to overlap. Lay the strip flat and measure its length up to the marker with a ruler.

2. Round up the measurement. Take the measurement from either the measuring tape or paper strip and round it up to the next ⅛”. This shall be your wrist size.

Step 2: Convert your wrist measurement into bracelet size
You can only convert it using the brand size guide for that particular design. Brand size guides typically fall into 2 categories:

1. With a wrist size column:

This is the most common and easiest bracelet size guide. The size chart should have a column labelled “wrist measurement”, “wrist circumference” or “fits wrist size” such as the example above. They all refer to your wrist size.

Based on this size chart, if your wrist size as measured from step 1 is 6 ⅝, your size should be Medium for this brand and style.

Notice that the chart has overlapping area in which a 6-inch wrist fall into both XS and Small. This means it can wear both XS and Small. If your measurement fall into both sizes, choose the smaller size if you want a tight fit and choose the bigger size for a looser fit.

2. With no wrist size, only bracelet size or circumference

This type is a bit trickier. If the bracelet size chart only have columns labelled: “Bracelet size”, “Bracelet length”, “Inside circumference” without mentioning anything about wrist, you will need to add measurements to your wrist size to find out your bracelet size.

How much to add depends on the bracelet design and is almost always recommended by the seller. If the seller does not provide this, it is best to email them.

If you absolutely cannot get it, here’s a general guideline:

The thicker the “body” of the bracelet is, the more you should add to your wrist size. The minimum should be ½” for thin chain bracelet, flat cuff or expandable band, about ¾” for medium-size beaded bracelet, medium curb chain bracelet and about 1” for belcher or large cable link bracelet.

The final number you get after adding measurements to your wrist size is your bracelet size (or circumference). Compare this to the seller’s bracelet size chart to find which size you should order.

If you still have questions or prefer a close fit or loose fit, you can always email the seller and ask them to recommend you a size. Don’t decide on your own and end up with something that doesn’t fit.