How to Measure Your Wrist for the Perfect Bracelet Fit

We get the same message a few times a week, usually right after someone's added a bracelet to their cart: "wait, what size am I?" It's a fair question, and honestly, most sites don't make it easy to answer. So before you guess between 15, 17, or 19 centimeters — or wonder whether you even need a custom size — here's the five-minute version of how to actually know.

Why Bracelet Sizing Trips People Up Online

With a ring, you've probably been sized once at some point and remember the number. Wrists are different. Almost nobody knows their wrist measurement off the top of their head, because until you're buying a bracelet online, there's no reason to. A necklace is forgiving — a few centimeters of slack barely changes how it sits. A bracelet isn't. Two centimeters too big and it slides over your hand every time you reach for something; two centimeters too small and it leaves a mark by the end of the day.

The other thing that trips people up is that "size" means different things depending on the style. A rigid cuff needs almost no ease at all, since it's not going anywhere once it's on. A beaded, flexible piece — like most of what we make — needs a bit of room to sit comfortably and move with your wrist rather than sitting like a rigid band. Reading a size chart without knowing which of those you're buying is how people end up guessing.

How to Measure Your Wrist at Home

You need one of two things: a soft fabric tape measure, or a piece of string and a ruler. If you're using string, string actually works slightly better, because it curves around the wrist the way a bracelet will, instead of sitting stiff.

Wrap it around your wrist just below the wrist bone — that's the same spot a watch sits, not further up your arm. Keep your hand relaxed and your palm facing up; this matters more than people expect, because tensing your hand or turning your wrist can shift the measurement by half a centimeter without you noticing. Wrap it snugly enough that it's touching your skin all the way around, but not pulled tight. Mark where the string overlaps, or note the number on the tape, then lay it flat against a ruler if you used string.

That number — in centimeters, since that's what we size in — is your actual wrist measurement, before you add anything for fit.

Most people land somewhere between 14 and 17 centimeters at the wrist itself. If you're outside that, that's completely normal too — it's exactly why we size up to 19 centimeters and offer Custom beyond that.

How Much Room to Add — And Why It Depends on the Piece

Your raw wrist measurement isn't your bracelet size. You need to add a bit of ease, and how much depends on how you like a bracelet to sit.

For a beaded or chain-style bracelet worn on its own, add around 1 to 1.5 centimeters for a fit that sits close but still moves — this is what most people mean when they say "comfortable." If you tend to stack a few bracelets together, or you just prefer things a little looser, add closer to 2 centimeters. If you like a bracelet snug against the wrist with almost no play, stick closer to 1 centimeter, but no less — anything tighter and you'll feel it by the end of a full day of wear.

This is the part a lot of generic sizing guides skip, because it genuinely depends on the piece. A rigid cuff behaves nothing like a beaded bracelet, and sizing them the same way is how people end up with a cuff that won't close or a beaded piece that spins around loose all day.

Reading Our Size Chart Without Guessing

Everything we make in beaded and chain styles — Verdant Whisper, Sylvan Flutter, Serenity Heart, and the rest of the current collection — comes in 15, 17, and 19 centimeters, plus Custom. Roughly, that maps like this:

• 15 cm fits a wrist measuring about 13 to 14 cm on its own — a smaller or more petite wrist.
• 17 cm is the size we sell the most of, and fits a wrist around 15 to 16 cm — this is the average across the pieces we've shipped so far.
• 19 cm fits a wrist around 17 to 18 cm, or anyone who prefers a looser, more relaxed drape.

If your wrist measurement plus your preferred ease lands between two sizes, we'd generally point you toward sizing up rather than down — a slightly loose bracelet is a minor annoyance; a slightly tight one you'll want to take off by afternoon.

What We Do Differently for Custom Requests

Custom exists for exactly the wrists that don't land inside 15 to 19 centimeters — smaller than 13 cm, or larger than 18 cm — and also for anyone who's tried our standard sizes before and knows they need something specific. When you select Custom at checkout, tell us the exact centimeter measurement you want the finished piece to be, not your wrist measurement — that distinction matters, because otherwise we're guessing at how much ease you want added, and it's genuinely different from person to person.

We build Custom pieces individually rather than pulling from stock, which is part of why they're made to order — it's a small extra step on our end, but it's the only way to actually get it right for a wrist outside the standard range instead of forcing a fit that won't work.

Signs a Bracelet Doesn't Fit — Even After You've Worn It a Few Times

Sometimes you don't know until it's on for a full day. A few honest signs it's the wrong size, not just something to break in:

• It rotates around your wrist on its own throughout the day — that's a sign it's too loose relative to your wrist shape, not just "settling in."
• You can see an indent line on your skin after a few hours of wear — that's genuinely too tight, and it won't stretch out the way fabric might.
• You find yourself sliding it up your forearm to keep it out of the way while you work — also a sign it's sitting looser than it should.

None of these mean anything's wrong with the piece itself — beaded bracelets in particular don't really "break in" the way leather does, so if it doesn't feel right in the first day or two, it's a sizing issue, and worth reaching out about rather than living with.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if my wrist measures right between two sizes?
Size up. A looser bracelet is easy to live with; a tight one usually gets worn less, not more.

Do I measure over my wrist bone or below it?
Just below it — the same spot a watch or bracelet naturally rests, not further up the forearm.

Can I exchange a bracelet if I size it wrong?
For made-to-order and Custom pieces, sizing is treated as final since each one is built to the measurement given — so it's worth measuring twice before ordering. Our Refund & Return Policy has the full detail on what's covered.

Should I measure with my hand flat or in a fist?
Flat, palm up, relaxed. Making a fist tightens the tendons in your wrist slightly and can throw the number off.

Is Custom sizing available on every piece?
On our beaded and chain bracelets, yes — you'll see it as a size option alongside 15, 17, and 19 cm on the product page.

One Less Thing to Guess At

We added Custom sizing because we kept hearing from people whose wrists just didn't sit inside a standard chart — and a bracelet that doesn't fit is one that ends up in a drawer, which isn't what any of this is for. If you've measured and you're still unsure which way to round, our studio is a faster answer than a guess.