Every length in the table below lands somewhere on this map: neckline, collarbone, upper chest, sternum. Learn the map once and the inches explain themselves.
Checked and updated October 2026
The ruling: chain length is set by your neck, not your height. On an average neck, 16.5 to 17 inches around, a 20 inch chain lands on the collarbone and a 22 inch reaches the upper chest. Buying one length first? Buy the 22, plain. It clears a crew neck, takes a pendant later, and sits right on most builds.
In this guide
The landing table: 18 to 30 inches
Compiled by our data team from the standard jeweller references (Blue Nile, Helzberg and the trade length charts agree on these landings) for an average neck of 16.5 to 17 inches, which is a size 16.5 to 17 collar. Where a length lands is a fact about your neck first and your chest second, so read the adjustments under the table before you order.
| Chain length | In cm | Where it lands | Plain chain or pendant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 in | 45.7 | Base of the neck, at the top of the collarbone | Plain only. A pendant at this length crowds the throat. |
| 20 in | 50.8 | On the collarbone, between the first and second shirt buttons | Plain, or a small pendant worn close. |
| 22 in | 55.9 | About two inches below the collarbone, upper chest | The pendant length. Plain reads relaxed. |
| 24 in | 61.0 | Mid chest, at the top of the sternum | Pendants and dog tags. Plain goes quiet under a shirt. |
| 26 in | 66.0 | Centre of the sternum, at the armpit line | Larger pendants. Worn over knits and layers. |
| 30 in | 76.2 | Low chest, above the nipple line | Statement length. Over clothing, or the anchor of a layered pair. |
The quick answers everyone lands here for: the standard first chain is 20 or 22 inches, and your collar size decides which. The pendant lengths are 22 and 24. Anything under 18 is a choker on an adult neck, and anything over 30 leaves the chest and becomes a styling piece rather than a fit. Two inches is one zone: every step down the table moves the chain exactly one landing lower, which makes the table easy to adjust once you know your neck.
Measure your neck, then do the one sum
Your collar size is your neck measurement, and most men already own it: it is printed inside every dress shirt they have ever bought. If you do not know it, wrap a soft tape or a phone cable around the base of your neck, snug against the skin with one finger of slack, and read the inches. Then the one sum our sizing desk uses: neck plus 4 inches is the chain that lands on your collarbone; neck plus 6 is the one that reaches the upper chest. A 16.5 inch neck plus 4 gives 20.5, and the 20 inch chain is the collarbone length the table promises. No tape at all? Loop string around your neck, let it fall to the landing you want, pinch the join, lay it flat and measure the loop. That number is a chain length, because jewellers measure chains the same way: end to end, clasp included, laid flat.
Build and height adjustments
Neck size rules first. Every inch of collar size above 17 takes roughly an inch of drop back: the same 20 inch chain that lands on the collarbone of a 16.5 neck sits at the base of the neck on an 18 neck, and reads as a near choker. Necks under 16 gain the inch instead, which is why slim builds wear 18 well and broad builds should not try it. Build second. A wide chest and shoulders consume length in the drape across the chest, so at the same collar size a broad build steps one length up for the same landing: buy the 22 where the table suggests 20. Height last. Height stretches or compresses the chest zones slightly, about a half step at the extremes (under 5 ft 8, or over 6 ft 2). It is a nudge, never the deciding measurement. Anyone who sold you a chain length off your height alone sold you a guess.
Chains against collars: crew neck vs Oxford
Crew neck. The collar sits high and closed, so the chain has two honest options. Under the shirt, 18 and 20 inches read as a clean metal line at the neckline and nothing more. Over the shirt, the chain must clear the collar and lie on the chest, which starts at 22. Between those, a short chain worn over a crew neck bunches at the collar and rides up all day. One warning for thin tees: a pendant under light cotton prints its outline through the cloth. Oxford and button-downs. Worn open at the top button, the shirt makes a V roughly four to five inches deep. A 20 inch chain sits inside that V at the collarbone; a 22 with a pendant hangs the pendant at the second button, framed by the placket. Buttoned to the top, with or without a tie, the chain is hidden entirely, so wear 18 or 20 under the shirt for the neckline line, or skip it. Knits and high collars. A shawl collar or a roll neck swallows 18 and 20 whole. The chain goes over the knit at 24 or 26, or it does not go on. Our Oxford explainer covers the collar itself; the rule here is simpler: the higher the collar, the longer the chain, or the chain stays home.
Pendant rules
A pendant changes the geometry in two ways. It adds one to two inches of visible drop, and its weight pulls the chain into a V, so the pendant comes to rest lower than the chain's own landing: a pendant on a 20 inch chain hangs where a plain 22 would sit. So buy the chain about two inches longer than your plain-chain preference, and keep the pairing in proportion: most pendants sit honestly on a chain of 2 to 4 mm, and a pendant much wider than the chain is thick reads top-heavy and twists. Dog tags and larger medallions start at 24 inches, where the sternum gives them a flat plate to rest on. Plain chains invert the logic: with no pendant, the chain is the whole piece, and it reads best at 20 or 22, close enough that the links themselves are the detail.
The five length mistakes
1. Buying by height. Height moves the landing by half a step; neck size moves it by whole zones. 2. Forgetting the pendant drop. A 20 inch chain bought for a pendant lands the pendant at the collarbone, where it twists and crowds. 3. Measuring a chain without its clasp. Listed lengths include the clasp; a chain measured open and laid flat, clasp to clasp, is the only honest comparison. 4. The accidental choker. An 18 inch chain on a 17.5 inch neck is not a close fit, it is a collar, and it will feel like one by noon. 5. A heavy pendant on a fine chain. The V collapses, the chain stretches its links over time, and the pendant ends up pointing at the floor instead of lying flat.
The Ruling
Measure the neck, add 4 for the collarbone or 6 for the upper chest, and let height argue afterwards if it must. Buy one chain first: the 22 inch, plain, in a medium width. It is the only length that works under a shirt, over a crew neck, and with a pendant added later. The exceptions are printed, not hidden: a collar of 16 or under takes the 20, and a collar of 18 or over starts at 24. Our full sourcing standard is on the Methodology page.
FAQ
What is the most common necklace length for men?
20 inches. It lands on the collarbone on an average neck and is the length jewellers sell most. It is also the length most men outgrow as a choice, because 22 inches clears more collars and takes a pendant without crowding. Common and correct are different answers; this guide prints both.
What chain length is best for a pendant?
22 to 24 inches. A pendant adds one to two inches of drop and pulls the chain into a V, so the pendant itself comes to rest where a plain chain two inches longer would sit. At 22 the pendant rests on the upper chest; at 24, mid chest. Below 22 a pendant crowds the collarbone and twists.
Does neck size or height matter more for chain length?
Neck size, by a distance. The chain leaves from your neck, so every inch of collar size moves the landing about an inch. Height changes the proportions of the chest below the landing, not the landing itself. Size the chain off your collar size; use height only as a final nudge of one step.
Should a chain go over or under a crew neck t-shirt?
Both work, at different lengths. Under the shirt, an 18 or 20 inch chain reads as a clean line at the neckline and stays private. Over the shirt, wear 22 or 24 so the chain clears the collar and lies flat on the chest. The failure is the middle: a short chain worn over a crew neck rides up and bunches at the collar.
How do I measure chain length at home without a chain?
Loop a piece of string or a phone cable around your neck and let it fall to where you want the chain to rest. Pinch the meeting point, lay the loop flat, and measure it end to end. That loop length is the chain length to buy, because listed chain lengths are measured the same way, clasp included.
Next
The same hand that wears the chain wears the ring: our Ring Size Guide, Utility No. 04, converts US, UK and EU sizes and prints the home measurement with its error bars stated. The wrist is covered by the Watch Case Size Guide, Utility No. 05. And the family started with feet: the Shoe Size Conversion Chart, Utility No. 01, converts four shoe systems by the one honest measurement, centimetres.