SIZE GUIDE

Finding your size

Two minutes with a tape measure settles it. This page covers how to measure your wrist, how many beads that takes at each diameter, and which bead size tends to suit whom.

Measure your wrist

With a tape measure

Wrap a soft tape around the narrowest part of your wrist, flat against the skin. The length where it meets itself is your wrist measurement. Do not add anything for slack — the allowance belongs in the bracelet, not in the measurement.

With a strip of paper

Wrap a strip of paper or a length of string around the narrowest part of your wrist, snug against the skin.
Mark where it crosses itself.
Lay it flat against a ruler and read off the length to the mark.

Bead sizes, to scale

Diameter changes the character of a bracelet more than anything else: the same stones read delicate at 6 mm and substantial at 14 mm. These are drawn against each other at true relative size.

6 mm8 mm10 mm12 mm14 mm16 mm18 mm25 mm

A 25 mm bead is about the width of a coin. As a rule of thumb, 6–12 mm is the usual range for a woman’s bracelet and 12–16 mm for a man’s, though nothing stops you going either way.

How many beads you need

Read down to your bead diameter and across to your wrist. Where the answer falls between two whole beads, round up.

Bead	13 cm5.1″	14 cm5.5″	15 cm5.9″	16 cm6.3″	17 cm6.7″	18 cm7.1″	19 cm7.5″	20 cm7.9″
4 mm	38	39	40	43	45	48	50	53
5 mm	30	31	34	36	38	40	44	48
6 mm	25	27	29	30	31	33	35	37
7 mm	22	23	25	26	28	29	30	32
8 mm	19	20	22	23	24	26	27	29
9 mm	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
10 mm	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23
12 mm	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
14 mm	12	13	14	15	15	16	17	17
15 mm	12	12	13	14	15	15	16	16
16 mm	11	12	12	13	14	14	15	16
18 mm	10	11	11	12	13	13	14	14
20 mm	10	10	11	11	12	12	13	13
22 mm	10	10	10	10	11	11	12	12

Why the bracelet measures more than your wrist

The beads sit around the outside of the strand, so the ring they make is always wider than the opening through the middle of it. The bigger the bead, the bigger that difference: a 12 mm strand needs about 17 cm of cord to wear on a 16 cm wrist, while an 8 mm strand of the same 16 cm wears on a 15 cm one.

Bead	Strand length	Beads	Fits a wrist of
4 mm	16 cm	40–42	≈ 14.5–15 cm
5 mm	16 cm	32–34	≈ 14.5–15 cm
6 mm	16 cm	28–29	≈ 15 cm
7 mm	16 cm	23–25	≈ 15 cm
8 mm	16 cm	22–23	≈ 15 cm
10 mm	16.5 cm	18–19	≈ 15.5 cm
12 mm	17 cm	16–17	≈ 16 cm
15 mm	18.5 cm	14–15	≈ 17.5 cm
18 mm	21 cm	13–14	≈ 19 cm
20 mm	23 cm	12–13	≈ 20 cm

A few things worth knowing

Round beads are finished by hand, so a diameter runs to about ±0.3 mm. It is within tolerance and you will not see it on the wrist.
Between two sizes? Go up. A slightly loose strand turns on the wrist and wears evenly. A tight one pulls at the cord through every bead hole, which is the usual reason an elastic bracelet gives out early.
Everyone’s proportions differ. These tables are a starting point; your own measurement beats any of them.