Men's Necklace Length Chart — Where Each Length Sits

By Dmitry Strugovshchikov, founder of STRUGA

The number on a tag is a length, not a position. The same 20 in (50 cm) chain sits high at the base of the throat on a 43 cm neck and rests on the collarbone on a 38 cm neck. Chains for men sell from 16 to 30 in (40 to 76 cm), and the right one is your own neck circumference plus the drop you want, not a popular size like “22 inches.”

Updated September 28, 2026

Men's chains run 16 to 30 in (40 to 76 cm), and most men start at 20 in (50 cm), on the collarbone.

Take your neck circumference and add the drop: +5 cm sits at the collar, +10 cm on the collarbone, +15 cm at the top of the chest, +20 cm mid-chest.

Above a 41 cm neck, add 2–3 cm. A pendant hangs its full height below the point where the chain ends, so choose the chain for where the bail should sit.

The Thorn Links Chain is made in 40, 45, 50 and 75 cm, 11 to 18 g, $353 to $564, made to order in Bali in about two weeks.

This guide gives the full length chart in inches and centimetres, the arithmetic for your own neck, and where each length sits on different builds.

STRUGA makes chains and chokers in 925 sterling silver in five lengths: 40, 45, 50, 75 and 120 cm. The 55 cm the trade calls the men's standard is not among them. All five leave in bright Living Silver, without plating or blackening, and darken with air and skin as they are worn. The full line sits in the silver chains collection.

Men's necklace length chart — Where does each length sit?

The common men's lengths run from 16 to 30 inches; our 120 cm chain adds a seventh, worn wrapped. The chart gives each length in inches and centimetres, where it lands on an average men's neck, and which STRUGA pieces come in it.

Length	Where it sits	Best for	At STRUGA
16 in · 40 cm	Base of the neck, above the collarbone	Chokers, slim necks under 36 cm	Yes — the three chokers and the Thorn chain
18 in · 45 cm	At the collar, just above the collarbone	Minimalist wear, under shirts	Yes — the same four pieces
20 in · 50 cm	Across the collarbones	The default first chain	Yes — the same four pieces
22 in · 55 cm	Top of the chest, just below the collarbone	Medium pendants of 3–5 cm	No — we do not make this length
24 in · 60 cm	Upper to mid-chest	Statement pendants of 5 cm and up	No
30 in · 75 cm	Below the sternum, or doubled at the collarbone	Long wear, the bottom layer of a stack	Yes — Thorn Links Chain, size L
47 in · 120 cm	Waist level, worn wrapped or doubled	One long chain worn as the whole look	Yes — Long Chain with Signature Asymmetric Links

Every position in this chart assumes a men's neck of 38–43 cm — roughly the 20th to 90th percentile of the US Army men measured in the ANSUR II survey, where the median is about 39.5 cm (anthropometric table, bioRxiv). That assumption is the whole reason two of our own pages read the same numbers differently: our general chain and necklace size guide works from a 33–38 cm neck, so 45 cm lands lower there and at the collar here. A thicker neck consumes more of the chain, and the same length sits higher on the body.

What length fits your neck size?

Neck circumference decides everything else, so measure it first, at the base of the neck where a shirt collar sits. Add 5 cm for a collar fit, 10 cm for the collarbone, 15 cm for the top of the chest. The table does that arithmetic for the five neck sizes that cover most men.

Neck	Collar fit	Collarbone	Top of chest
36 cm	41 cm	46 cm	51 cm
38 cm	43 cm	48 cm	53 cm
40 cm	45 cm	50 cm	55 cm
42 cm	47 cm	52 cm	57 cm
44 cm	49 cm	54 cm	59 cm

Read the middle row and the trade standard explains itself: 45, 50 and 55 cm are the three positions of a 40 cm neck. That is the size the industry designed around, and every centimetre your own neck differs from it moves the chain up or down your chest. On a 44 cm neck the collarbone length is 54 cm, not 50 — which is why a stock 50 cm chain sits close to the throat on a heavy build. The additions are a rule of thumb, not a measurement of your body: the string test below confirms them.

Where does each length sit on the body?

18 in (45 cm) — The collar length

Nobody wears a 45 cm chain by accident. It reads as a deliberate choice, and it fails in two places: above a 41 cm neck it tightens toward a choker, and under a large pendant it presses the pendant against the throat.

20 in (50 cm) — The collarbone length

The most versatile men's length, and the default first chain. It shows above any open collar, half-shows above a buttoned shirt, and carries a small pendant without crowding the throat. At 50 cm the Thorn Links Chain weighs 13 g — light enough to forget under a shirt.

22 in (55 cm) — Top of chest

This is the pendant length. A pendant of 3–5 cm lands on the upper chest, visible without sitting dead centre, and the chain shows below the collar opening of most polos. We do not make 55 cm: on a slim 35 cm neck our 50 cm chain lands in the same place.

24 in (60 cm) and longer — Mid-chest, pendant territory

A bare 60 cm chain reads odd on most men — too long to carry itself, so this length almost always takes a pendant of 5 cm and up. It suits broad chests and works against thin builds and buttoned shirts, where it shows through the placket.

How do you measure for the right chain length?

Method 1: a chain you already own

If you own a chain that sits where you want, lay it flat, closed, and measure the whole length from end to end, clasp included. That is your number; order new chains within 2 cm of it.

International retailers state length with the clasp included — Blue Nile tells buyers to measure “from end to end, including the clasp” — but there is no single standard, and some sellers state it without. When a listing does not say, ask before you compare numbers.

Method 2: the string test

1. Take a length of string about 70 cm long.
2. Tie the ends together to make a loop.
3. Put the loop over your head so it hangs in front.
4. Pull the knot to the back and adjust until the lowest point sits where you want the chain to land — collarbone, top of chest, or mid-chest.
5. Mark the string at the knot, take it off, untie it, lay it flat and measure the full length.

That number is your chain length; order within 1 cm of it.

Method 3: neck circumference plus drop

Measure the neck and read the length off the table in the section above — it does the same arithmetic for five neck sizes.

How should your build change the length you order?

Thicker necks (over 41 cm)

Standard chain lengths run 2–3 cm short on a thick neck. A 50 cm chain on a 43 cm neck sits like a 47 cm chain on a 40 cm neck. Order one step longer than the stock size; a heavy upper body absorbs length the same way.

Thinner necks (under 36 cm)

On a neck under 36 cm every chain runs long. A 55 cm chain on a 34 cm neck looks oversized — too much drop, and the chain swings. Order one step shorter.

Tall men and broad shoulders

Height moves the chain less than the neck and shoulders do. Retail guides usually suggest 22–24 in for men over 6 ft (183 cm); the reason is proportion, not the neck. On a long torso or wide shoulders a 50 cm chain can look short, so try the string 5 cm longer than the table suggests before you order.

How does a pendant change the chain length you need?

A pendant hangs its full height below the point where the chain ends. Lengthening the chain lowers that point only by about half of what you add, because the extra splits between the two sides of the loop — sizing guides put it as two more inches of chain hanging about one inch lower (Invicta). So a 4 cm pendant moves the lowest point down by roughly as much as 8 cm of extra chain would.

That turns the choice into two separate questions:

• Where should the bail sit? Pick the chain for that point from the neck table: collarbone, top of chest or mid-chest.
• How far below should the pendant reach? Add the pendant's own height, from the top of the bail to its lowest edge.

On a 40 cm neck the arithmetic comes out like this:

• a 50 cm chain puts the bail on the collarbone, and a 3 cm pendant ends just above the sternum notch;
• a 55 cm chain puts the bail at the top of the chest, and a 4 cm pendant ends on the upper chest;
• a 60 cm chain puts the bail on the upper chest, and a 5 cm pendant ends mid-chest.

A pendant that already hangs from a chain comes as one object. The Big Line Classic Aged pendant on its chain — the longest pendant STRUGA makes — hangs low on the chest, below the collar of a t-shirt, and weighs 27 g with the chain.

Which chain length works with which shirt collar?

How the chain meets your shirt collar matters more than the total length.

Under a buttoned dress shirt

Use 45–50 cm. The chain sits above the buttoned collar; only a glimpse shows when the top button is open.

Open-collar dress shirt or polo

50–55 cm, and the chain shows in the V of the open collar. It goes well with a small pendant or none.

T-shirt

50–60 cm. T-shirt necklines vary; a 50 cm chain shows just below a crew neck, while a 55 cm chain disappears under most crew necks and shows over a V-neck.

Henley or a shirt with several buttons open

55–60 cm, and the chain with its pendant shows in the open chest area. A common look for men who want jewelry visible without being formal.

How far apart should layered chains be?

Two chains should differ by at least 5 cm (2 in), or they tangle and read as one chain badly drawn. Retailers agree on the gap: Blue Nile advises a minimum of 2 to 3 inches between lengths. Common pairings:

• 45 cm + 55 cm: the short one at the collar, the long one at the top of the chest — the classic two-layer.
• 50 cm + 60 cm: an everyday chain plus a pendant statement; it works for men with broader chests.
• 50 cm + 75 cm: the widest gap our own lengths allow, with the long chain as the bottom layer.

Three chains is rarely worth it on a man — the layered look starts to read like a costume after two. See our layering guide for stacking principles.

Does a longer chain need more metal?

Yes — a long drop needs a chain with enough mass to hang straight. Thin metal on a long drop reads as a hanging thread, not an intentional piece. But length alone tells you almost nothing about weight: the link decides it. These are the catalog weights of every STRUGA chain and choker, by length.

Piece	Lengths	Weight by length	Metal
Thorn Links Chain	40 · 45 · 50 · 75 cm	11 · 12 · 13 · 18 g	925 silver
Signature Asymmetric Links Choker	40 · 45 · 50 cm	27 · 30 · 33 g	925 silver
Small Beads with Heart Choker	40 · 45 · 50 cm	27 · 30 · 33 g	925 silver
Blade Mini Links V.1 Choker	40 · 45 · 50 cm	80 · 90 · 110 g	925 silver
Long Chain with Signature Asymmetric Links	120 cm	35 g	925 silver

Read the weight column across and the point is plain: at the same 50 cm, our lightest chain weighs 13 g and our heaviest 110 g — more than eight times the metal on an identical length. Going up one step, from 45 to 50 cm, adds 1 g on the thin Thorn chain and 20 g on the Blade Mini Links. The two 27 g chokers — Signature Asymmetric Links and Small Beads with Heart — weigh the same at every length; what differs is the link, not the metal.

Length usually adds weight, but not when the body isn't metal: the Big Line Classic Aged from the RITUAL world comes to 27 grams with its 925 silver chain, because the body is layered matte carbon with an aged copper inlay. The chain is Living Silver and darkens with air and skin; the carbon stays as it is.

Where do you go from here?

• Chain and necklace size guide — the general chart, measured from a 33–38 cm neck
• Silver chains collection — the five lengths we make
• Men's jewelry collection — every piece in the men's line
• Men's silver chain styles compared — link shapes at the same length
• How to layer men's jewelry — the stacking rules behind the 5 cm gap
• Men's bracelet sizing guide — the same arithmetic for the wrist
• Men's jewelry style guide — minimalist, brutalist, signature
• Oxidized silver care and styling — what darkening does to a chain
• 925 sterling silver complete guide — the metal all five lengths are made in

Length is one axis. What the piece itself is — chains, pendants, chokers, collars.