Print the free Carat Club Co. A4 Bracelet Size Guide at 100% scale, cut out the paper ruler, and wrap it around your wrist. It reads your size directly. Without a printer, measure the widest part of your wrist and add 1cm to 1.5cm. A 16cm wrist takes 17cm. Then check that the bracelet you want offers that length.
What is the printable size guide?
It is a one-page A4 PDF with a paper measuring strip built into the right-hand edge, marked from 15cm to 23cm. You print it, cut out the strip, wrap it around your wrist and read your size where the tab meets the scale. No tape measure, no string, no arithmetic. Any office printer will do, which is the point: most people have one at work even if they do not have one at home.
Download the Carat Club Co. Bracelet Size Guide (PDF)
The printing is the part that goes wrong, so get these three settings right:
- A4 paper only. Letter size will shrink the scale.
- Scale to 100%.
- Do not use "scale to fit" or "fit to page". This is the setting that quietly ruins the measurement, and it is on by default in most print dialogs.
There is a built-in check so you never have to trust the printer. The guide has a rectangle marked "place credit card here". Put any credit card or bank card on it. If the card fits the rectangle exactly, the scale is correct. If it does not, reprint with the settings above. Cards are the same size worldwide, so this works wherever you are.
The guide also carries a carat weight reference showing how wide each stone size actually sits: 0.25ct is 4.1mm across, 0.50ct is 5.2mm, 1.0ct is 6.5mm, 1.5ct is 7.4mm and 2.0ct is 8.2mm. Useful if you are deciding stone size and length at the same time.
How do you measure without a printer?
Use a flexible measuring tape or a piece of string. Do not use a metal tape measure, and do not use anything elastic.
- Take off your watch and any bracelet. The measurement has to be of the bare wrist.
- Wrap the tape around the widest part of your wrist, usually across the wrist bone.
- Pull it until it touches the skin all the way round without pressing into it.
- If you used string, mark where it meets and measure that length against a ruler in millimetres.
Do it twice and take the larger reading if they differ. Measure the wrist you will actually wear it on, because most people's two wrists are not the same. Wrists also read slightly larger in heat and later in the day, which in Hong Kong covers most of the year, so a late-afternoon measurement is a fair average. If the format itself is new to you, What Is a Tennis Bracelet? explains what separates it from an ordinary diamond bracelet.
Why is the number you measured not the number you order?
A tennis bracelet is a line of stones on a flexible track. It is meant to drape and to rotate a little as you move, so the stones sit facing outward, and it should rest just below the wrist bone. It is not meant to grip like a watch strap. Order your exact wrist measurement and you get a bracelet that is locked in place and reads tight in photographs.
The Carat Club Co. fit adds 10mm to 15mm to your wrist measurement. Here is the conversion the printable guide uses:
| Your wrist measures | Order this bracelet size |
|---|---|
| 14cm | 15cm |
| 15cm | 16cm |
| 16cm | 17cm |
| 17cm | 18cm |
| 18cm | 19cm |
| 19cm | 20cm |
| 20cm | 21cm |
| 21cm | 22cm |
| 22cm | 23cm |
If you want a deliberately looser, more fluid drape, going up to 2cm over your measurement is still within a normal range. It will sit lower toward the hand and move more.
There is also a physical check that beats any table, called the rule of pinky. Once the bracelet is on, you should be able to comfortably slip your little finger between the bracelet and your wrist. If you cannot, it is too tight. If there is a large gap, it is too loose.
What if you land between two sizes?
You are not stuck with whole centimetres. Carat Club Co. makes tennis bracelets in half-centimetre increments. For a 15.5cm fit, select the 16cm option and leave a note in the shopping cart, and custom lengths are accommodated up to 22.5cm. It costs nothing extra and it is the reason a measurement of 14.5cm or 16.5cm does not have to be rounded to something that almost fits.
Current Diamond Tennis Bracelet
Lengths: 15cm, 16cm, 17cm, 18cm, 19cm, 20cm
From HK$6,999, up to HK$14,500. S925 sterling silver, platinum-plated. Stones 0.05ct to 0.2ct.
View productWhich size ladders can reach your number?
This is where people get caught. The bracelets do not offer the same lengths, and they differ at both ends. Read this as the range of bare wrists each one can serve, after the 1cm is added.
- Current Diamond Tennis Bracelet: 15cm to 20cm, so wrists of about 14cm to 19cm
- Seamless Diamond Tennis Bracelet: 15cm to 23cm, so wrists of about 14cm to 22cm
- Paradigm Men's Diamond Tennis Bracelet: 18cm to 23cm, so wrists of about 17cm to 22cm
- Meridian Men's Emerald-Cut Tennis Bracelet: 15cm to 21cm, so wrists of about 14cm to 20cm
- Token of Love Diamond Cord Bracelet: no length to choose at checkout
Work the two edges. A 21cm or 22cm wrist needs 22cm or 23cm, which only Seamless and Paradigm Men's reach. Going the other way, Paradigm Men's starts at 18cm, so any wrist of 16cm or under is outside it entirely, which leaves Current, Seamless and Meridian.
Seamless has the widest ladder in the range, nine lengths from 15cm to 23cm, which makes it the safest starting point if your number sits near either extreme. On Seamless the certificate is not included in the base price. IGI certification is available on request at HK$350 per stone, and it is worth settling at the same time as the length, since both are fixed before the piece is made.
Seamless Diamond Tennis Bracelet
Lengths: 15cm, 16cm, 17cm, 18cm, 19cm, 20cm, 21cm, 22cm, 23cm
From HK$13,500, up to HK$75,500. 9K white gold, 18K white gold or PT950 platinum. Stones 0.05ct to 1.0ct.
View productParadigm Men's sits entirely on the long half of the ladder. If your order length is 18cm or above, it is in range. Below that, it is not, and no amount of preference changes that.
Paradigm Men's Diamond Tennis Bracelet
Lengths: 18cm, 19cm, 20cm, 21cm, 22cm, 23cm
From HK$13,000, up to HK$75,500. Platinum-plated S925 sterling silver or PT950 platinum. Stones 0.2ct to 1.0ct.
View productShould it sit snug or loose?
Both are legitimate. They simply look different, and you should decide which you want before you convert your measurement into an order.
At the tight end of the allowance, around 1cm over the bare wrist, the bracelet sits higher up the arm and stays roughly where you place it. The line of stones faces you straight on, which is how a tennis bracelet reads across a table and how it photographs.
At the loose end, 1.5cm or more, the bracelet slides toward the hand and turns as you move. The stones catch light from changing angles rather than one fixed angle, and the bracelet rests over the wrist bone when your arm is down. It also reads as a larger piece, simply because more of it is visible from any given position. Length is not the only fit variable worth thinking about; The Tennis Bracelet, Explained: Fit, Stones, and the Clasp Nobody Checks goes further into the parts most people skip.
The choice is more visible on emerald cuts. Meridian's stones read as one continuous line rather than a row of separate points, so how the bracelet sits and turns is easier to see. Its ladder runs 15cm to 21cm, which covers most wrists but not the longest.
Meridian Men's Emerald-Cut Tennis Bracelet
Lengths: 15cm, 16cm, 17cm, 18cm, 19cm, 20cm, 21cm
From HK$31,000, up to HK$52,500. 0.25ct per stone. 9K, 14K or 18K white gold, or PT950 platinum.
View productWhat if it is a gift and you cannot measure them?
There is no reliable way to read a wrist from a photograph, and ring size tells you nothing about wrist circumference. You have three options, in order of how much evidence they rest on.
Measure a bracelet they already wear. Not the person, the bracelet. Lay it flat and fastened, then measure end to end including the clasp. That number is a length they have already chosen to live with, which is better evidence than anything you can estimate across a dinner table.
Use the benchmark sizes. If you cannot get near their jewellery, Carat Club Co. names two crowd favourites for exactly this situation: 17cm for her, 20cm for him. On the printed guide, 16cm and 17cm are the two most-chosen women's sizes, and most men take 20cm or 21cm. These are the sizes to pick when you are guessing, because they are where most wrists actually land.
Remove the decision. The Token of Love Diamond Cord Bracelet has no length to select at checkout, so the only choices are the gold and the cord colour.
Token of Love Diamond Cord Bracelet
No length to choose at checkout
HK$6,000. 18K yellow, rose or white gold. Cord in Signature Red, Classic Black or Soft Pink.
View productWhy is length the one decision worth five extra minutes?
Every bracelet here is made to order over two to three weeks, so nothing is pulled off a shelf in your size. Carat Club Co. does not take returns. The one-year free repair covers workmanship defects, and there is a 7-day exchange if a piece arrives faulty. Neither of those covers a change of size or a change of mind, and resizing is not something to assume is available or free. If there is any chance you will want a different length, raise it with Carat Club Co. before you order, while the specification can still be changed. Delivery is to Hong Kong and 14 other Asian markets. (Pendants ship at a set chain length, so all of this applies to bracelets only.)
Five minutes with a printed sheet of paper is the cheapest insurance available on a purchase like this.
Questions people ask before ordering
How do I print the bracelet size guide accurately?
Print it on A4 paper at 100% scale, and turn off "scale to fit" or "fit to page", which is on by default in most print dialogs and will silently shrink the ruler. Then place any credit card or bank card on the marked rectangle. If the card fits it exactly, your print is correctly scaled. Any office printer works.
How much should I add to my wrist measurement for a tennis bracelet?
The Carat Club Co. fit adds 10mm to 15mm to your bare wrist measurement, so a 16cm wrist orders 17cm. A tennis bracelet is built to drape and rotate rather than grip. Once it is on, you should be able to comfortably slip your little finger between the bracelet and your wrist. If you cannot, it is too tight.
What size tennis bracelet should I order for a 16cm wrist?
17cm. Current, Seamless and Meridian all offer 17cm. Paradigm Men's does not, because its ladder starts at 18cm, so a 16cm wrist falls outside that piece entirely. If you want a looser drape on a 16cm wrist, 18cm is still within a normal range.
What if my wrist measures a half centimetre?
Carat Club Co. makes tennis bracelets in half-centimetre increments at no extra cost. Select the next size up, so 16cm for a 15.5cm fit, and leave a note in the shopping cart with the length you want. Custom lengths are accommodated up to 22.5cm.
What if I cannot measure the person I am buying for?
Measure a bracelet they already own, laid flat and fastened, end to end including the clasp, and order that length. If that is not possible, use the benchmark sizes: 17cm for her, 20cm for him. Or choose the Token of Love Diamond Cord Bracelet, which has no length to select at checkout. Guessing from a photograph is not a method, and there are no returns.
