# What size chain do I want to get for this necklace?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-size-chain-do-i-want-to-get-for-this-necklace/600975>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 27, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-size-chain-do-i-want-to-get-for-this-necklace/600975 "2011-10-27T15:36:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-size-chain-do-i-want-to-get-for-this-necklace/600975/1 "2011-10-27T15:36:29Z")

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I recently bought a 1mm 16" silver chain on ebay. It will work very well with a few small, delicate pendants that I have, but it is too thin to hang some of my larger pendants from. I know nothing about chain size/gauge and so I can’t picture it when they list numbers.

What is a good size (mm or gauge) chain to hang, say, a 1.5" pendant on? I want something that is sturdy yet not masculine.

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**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-size-chain-do-i-want-to-get-for-this-necklace/600975/2 "2011-10-28T05:55:18Z")

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If you Google ‘silver chain sizes’, there seems to be quite a few sites that have some recommendations, concerning the length.

Here’s a link to one that sells ‘chain by the inch’.

> **[How To Size A Chain, How To Measure A Chain](http://mg-jewelry.com/chainsize1.html)**
>
> Gold jewelry store online to offer amazing gold chains and other beautiful gold, silver, rhodium and stainless steel jewelry

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**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-size-chain-do-i-want-to-get-for-this-necklace/600975/3 "2011-10-28T13:06:03Z")

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16" would seem to me a very short chain. My neck is 16.5", so I wouldn’t even be able to clasp it. Measure your neck with a tape measure. YMMV.

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**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-size-chain-do-i-want-to-get-for-this-necklace/600975/4 "2011-10-28T15:17:37Z")

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I’m not asking about the length. I already know that 16" is the length I want. I got that length by measuring my favorite other necklaces. I’m talking about how fat the chain is.

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**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-size-chain-do-i-want-to-get-for-this-necklace/600975/5 "2011-10-29T10:10:51Z")

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> [@OpalCat](#):
>
> I’m not asking about the length. I already know that 16" is the length I want. I got that length by measuring my favorite other necklaces. I’m talking about how fat the chain is.

I would think that’s going to be determined by the size and type of links used in the chain. The site that I linked to has some examples of different sized (diameter wise) chains of various styles. I couldn’t find anything that suggested a certain size link, that seemed to relate to the strength of the chain.