Chain lengths - which to choose when buying personalized jewelry?

Last Updated: January 04, 2026 •
Originally Published: February 16, 2012 •

When shopping for personalized jewelry, one of the options you get to decide on is chain length for your necklace. You can of course opt for no chain and put your personalized charms on your own existing chain, but if you're buying a chain on the internet, it can be difficult to determine what length would look best on you. We here at Heart On Your Wrist get questions all the time about which chain length is best! So when deciding, you should consider a couple things.

1) Are you petite or tall?  Funny question but do you have a thin or thick neck?  Or a regular sized neck?  These answers will all make a difference on how a chain will lay on you.

2) Do you like necklaces high up on your neck or lower down over a shirt, or somewhere in between?

Just thinking about these two simple questions will help you determine the best chain length for you.   For example, if you have a thin neck and are tall, and you like to wear your necklaces long, I would go with a 20" or 24" chain.  If you have a thicker neck but like to wear necklaces closer to your face, I would go with an 18" chain (or 16" if you have a regular sized neck).

If you are still unsure. take a piece of string and put it on you like it's a necklace and place it just where you'd want it.  Then measure the string. This will tell you what length you like!  Take a look at our "model" here - she represents a regular sized neck - hopefully this photo will help a bit with your decision as well.  Happy shopping.