Short answer. Three pieces, three different measurements. A chain bracelet is sized from your wrist circumference plus a little room. A rigid bangle is sized from the widest part of your hand, because it has to get past your knuckles before it ever reaches your wrist — and that number is bigger than people expect. An open or hinged cuff is sized from neither: it goes on sideways at the wrist, so what matters is the inner diameter and the gap. You need a strip of paper and a ruler. Nothing else.
One: measure your wrist
Cut a strip of paper about 10 mm wide. Wrap it around your wrist just below the wrist bone, on the hand side, which is where a bracelet actually sits. Snug, not tight — you should be able to slide the paper a little. Mark where the end overlaps, unwrap it, and measure to the mark in millimetres.
Do it with your arm relaxed and hanging, not held up. A wrist measured with the hand clenched and lifted reads several millimetres small, and that is the single most common reason a bracelet arrives too tight.
A soft tape measure works too. A rigid metal tape does not, and string stretches; if you use string, measure it against a ruler while it is still under the same tension.
Then add for fit
| You want | Add to your wrist measurement | How it wears |
|---|---|---|
| Close fit | +10 mm | Sits against the wrist, barely moves. Good for a tennis line or anything stone-set that should stay face-up. |
| Everyday fit | +15 mm | Slides a centimetre or so. The default, and what most people mean by comfortable. |
| Loose fit | +20 to 25 mm | Drapes and travels down towards the hand. Suits a fine chain or a stack; poor for a heavy charm. |
A worked example. A 155 mm wrist plus 15 mm is a 170 mm bracelet. On an adjustable chain that runs 160–200 mm, that lands comfortably in the middle of the range, which is where you want to be — an adjustable clasp used at the very last link works, but the extra chain hangs.
Two: measure your hand, for a rigid bangle
This is the step that gets skipped, and it is the one that decides whether a solid bangle is wearable at all.
Bring your thumb across into your palm as if you were about to slide a bangle on, and squeeze the hand as narrow as it will comfortably go. Wrap the paper strip around the widest point — usually across the knuckle of the little finger and the base of the thumb — and measure it. That is your hand circumference.
A rigid bangle has to pass that measurement. Its inner circumference must be equal to or greater than your hand circumference, or it will not go on, and no amount of determination changes the geometry.
Most bangles, ours included, are listed by inner diameter rather than circumference, so one conversion is needed: inner diameter = hand circumference ÷ 3.14.
| Hand circumference (thumb tucked) | Minimum bangle inner diameter |
|---|---|
| 165 mm | 53 mm |
| 175 mm | 56 mm |
| 185 mm | 59 mm |
| 190 mm | 61 mm |
| 200 mm | 64 mm |
| 210 mm | 67 mm |
Round up, never down. And note what the table implies: a bangle that fits a 190 mm hand has a 61 mm inner diameter, which is considerably larger than a 160 mm wrist needs. That gap is why a rigid bangle always slides. It is not a sizing error; it is the price of a piece with no opening.
Three: cuffs, which are sized differently again
An open cuff has a gap, so it never has to clear your knuckles. It goes on sideways at the wrist, and that is not a preference — the edges of a cuff are where a plated surface wears first, and forcing one over the hand works the metal at exactly those edges. Open it across the wrist, settle it, close it.
So for a cuff, compare the inner diameter to your wrist, not your hand. A wrist circumference of 160 mm is about 51 mm across, and a cuff with a 61 mm inner diameter will sit a little proud of the wrist with the gap taking up the difference — which is how a cuff is meant to look. Hinged cuffs and bangles behave the same way: they open at the wrist, so the hand measurement stops mattering.
Repeatedly bending an open cuff to adjust it fatigues the metal, whatever it is made of. Set it once and leave it.
Our own measurements
Every product page carries its own figures in millimetres. Here are the ones people ask for most.
| Piece | Type | Measurement |
|---|---|---|
| Torsade Bar Bracelet | Adjustable chain | 160–200 mm |
| Nacre Baroque Pearl Bracelet | Adjustable chain | 170–210 mm |
| Marée Baroque Pearl Bracelet | Adjustable chain | 155–200 mm |
| Rivière Tennis Bracelet | Fixed chain | 180 mm |
| Portique Cuff | Hinged cuff, adjustable | 61 mm inner diameter |
| Éclat Cuff | Open cuff | 62 mm inner diameter |
| Ocre Tiger's Eye Bangle | Bangle | 61 mm inner diameter |
| Linteau Bangle | Hinged bangle | 60 mm inner diameter |
| Roseau Bangle | Rigid bangle | 60 mm inner diameter |
Read those two columns together. A 60 mm rigid inner diameter is an inner circumference of about 188 mm, so it clears a hand that measures up to about 188 mm with the thumb tucked. If your hand measures more than that, the hinged and open pieces are the ones to look at, because they go on at the wrist and the number stops applying.
The Torsade Bar Bracelet is the adjustable answer to most of this — a twisted bar on a 160–200 mm chain, stainless steel plated in 18K gold, at A$149. The Portique Cuff is the hinged answer: two polished curves meeting at the front, with the hinge behind, so it opens and closes in one movement.
The rest of the bracelets carry their own figures on the page, and if the size you need is not listed, write to us rather than guessing. For rings, the Australian letter-to-US conversion is in how to find your ring size at home. For what the metal under the gold changes about how a cuff holds its shape, read our Australian guide to gold-plated, vermeil and solid gold, and the wear-and-care routine for all of it is on the care page.
Questions
How do you measure your wrist for a bracelet?
Wrap a 10 mm strip of paper around your wrist just below the wrist bone, on the hand side, snug but not tight. Mark the overlap, unwrap it and measure to the mark in millimetres. Keep your arm relaxed and hanging while you do it — measuring with the hand clenched and lifted reads several millimetres small.
How much bigger than my wrist should a bracelet be?
Add 10 mm for a close fit, 15 mm for an everyday fit, and 20 to 25 mm for a loose one. So a 155 mm wrist takes about a 170 mm bracelet as a default. On an adjustable chain, aim to land in the middle of the stated range rather than at the last link, so there is no spare chain hanging.
How do you measure for a bangle?
Not from your wrist. Tuck your thumb into your palm as if putting a bangle on, squeeze the hand as narrow as it comfortably goes, and measure around the widest point across the knuckles. A rigid bangle's inner circumference must be at least that number. To convert to the inner diameter most bangles are listed by, divide your hand measurement by 3.14 and round up.
Why does my bangle slide around when it fits?
Because it had to clear your hand to get on. A bangle sized to pass a 190 mm hand needs roughly a 61 mm inner diameter, which is much larger than a 160 mm wrist. The movement is geometry, not a sizing error, and it is what you accept in exchange for a piece with no opening. A hinged or open cuff avoids it entirely.
How should you put on an open cuff?
Sideways, across the wrist — never forced over the hand. The edges of a cuff are where a plated surface wears first, and pushing one over the knuckles works the metal at exactly those points. Open it at the wrist, settle it, close it, and then leave it alone; repeatedly bending a cuff to adjust it fatigues the metal.
What if I am between sizes?
Choose the adjustable piece. Most of our chain bracelets run across a 40 to 50 mm range, which covers being between sizes without compromise, and a hinged or open cuff sidesteps the question altogether. Where a piece is a fixed length, that figure is on its page in millimetres — measure first, and write to us if the size you need is not listed.
