Cord or chain, and how long: sizing a pendant before it arrives

Adjustable cords, fixed chains and a two minute way to measure the drop you want.

Length ruins more pendant gifts than design does. A perfect casting on a chain two inches too short lives in a drawer, and nobody ever says why. The fix costs two minutes before ordering.

Cord or chain

Most of our game pieces hang from an adjustable cord: a slide knot moves along the length, so one piece fits most necks and the length question disappears. Chains are the opposite: fixed, measured, unforgiving. The sword crown pendant lists its chain at 23 inches, and that number is the whole story; it will hang exactly there.

Measure in two minutes

Take a necklace that already sits right on you, close the clasp, lay it flat and measure end to end. Double the flat length and you have the size chains are sold by. No necklace at hand? A shoelace around the neck, pinched where the pendant should sit, then measured against a ruler, gives the same answer.

Where a drop lands

Sixteen to eighteen inches sits at the collarbone and suits small charms. Twenty to twenty four rests on the sternum, which is where a casting with real weight wants to hang: low enough to swing clear of collars, high enough to stay visible. A heavy pendant on a short chain pulls; the same pendant four inches lower just sits.

If the neck in question is not yours to measure, cords are the safe pick. When in doubt, filter the charm finder to necklaces and read the listing line: where it says adjustable, the sizing question is already solved.