Cuban bracelet: 3, 5 or 7 mm on 18, 20 or 22 cm
You wear a 5 mm cuban chain and you order the same 5 mm for your wrist. Around your neck the proportion works; around your wrist the bracelet disappears between your sleeve and your watch.
That is not a sizing problem. A bracelet is not a short chain: it turns all day long, it catches table edges and door handles, and you look down on it from above. This guide is about the cuban bracelet: which widths exist, which size goes with them, and how to match it to the chain you already wear.
1. Why a bracelet sits differently
Of a 20 cm bracelet you see at most half at any moment: the rest lies against the underside of your wrist or under a sleeve. What you do see, you see from above and close up, because your hand is in view all day.
Movement comes on top of that. A chain hangs still; a bracelet slides over your wrist bone with every hand movement, and the clasp works its way to the heaviest point.
The consequence for width is this: the same millimeter reads bigger on a wrist than around a neck, because your wrist is narrower and you have it right in front of you all day. A 5 mm cuban bracelet therefore looks heavier than the same 5 mm around your neck.
2. The four builds of the cuban bracelet
The same flat, interlocked link exists here in four materials, each with its own widths.
Stainless steel with five layers of PVD. The silver-colored cuban bracelet and the gold-colored cuban bracelet both come in 3, 5 and 7 mm, in 18, 20 and 22 cm. Silver-colored is a finish here, not silver.
Nickel-free copper alloy with five layers of PVD. This carries the iced out versions, set with VVS cubic zirconia, a simulated diamond. The silver-colored iced out cuban bracelet and the gold-colored iced out cuban bracelet are 6, 8 or 10 mm, in 18, 20 and 22 cm.
18K gold plated over 925 silver. The gold plated cuban bracelet is 5 mm in 18, 20 and 22 cm. Under the 1 micron layer of gold sits solid 925 sterling silver. This is the only plain cuban bracelet with a precious metal core.
Solid 925 sterling silver with VVS D moissanite. The 12 mm moissanite cuban bracelet is the widest one we carry and exists only in 19 and 22 cm, with a box clasp and a double safety lock. Anything above 22 cm in this line is a chain, not a bracelet.
3. Width: one step wider than what you already wear
This is where the choice usually stalls, and there is a simple rule for it: look at the chain already around your neck and use that width as your floor.
If you wear a stainless steel cuban chain of 5 mm, then 5 mm on your wrist is the safe match and 7 mm is the statement. At 3 mm around your neck that becomes 3 or 5 mm, and at 7 mm around your neck you stay at 7 mm or move up to iced out in 8 or 10 mm.
What you almost never want is a bracelet narrower than your chain. It then reads as a leftover from the set instead of the second half of it.
If you wear no chain yet, start at 5 mm. That width stays quiet on a wrist circumference between 16 and 19 cm and is still visible above a sleeve. If you want volume right away, the iced out line is available for the wrist too, and 12 mm sits at the upper limit of what a wrist carries.
4. The size: 18, 20 or 22 cm
The size on the label is the total length of the band including the clasp, not your wrist circumference. Measure your wrist and add about 1.5 cm. Under 17 cm wrist circumference you land on 18 cm, between 17 and 20 cm on 20 cm, and above 20 cm on 22 cm.
The cuban line has one exception: the 12 mm moissanite runs in 19 and 22 cm and therefore not in 18. That width needs room to keep lying flat.
The full table is on the bracelet size chart. How to measure without a tape measure is in the sizing guide for bracelets.
5. Tight or loose: the link decides
Here the four builds split into two groups, and this goes wrong more often than the size itself.
A plain cuban bracelet may sit tight. The links move over each other, so the band follows your wrist and stays where you put it. If you fall between two sizes, feel free to take the smaller one with the stainless steel version or the gold plated 5 mm.
A cuban bracelet with stones works the other way around. With the iced out version and with moissanite the effect lies in the row being able to turn along: when your hand moves, each facet catches a different angle. If it sits tight, the same row faces up all day. So take the roomier of two sizes there.
More than about 2 cm of play is too much for both. At 8 and 10 mm the band weighs enough to pull the clasp to the top.
6. Where your cuban bracelet can go
A wrist goes everywhere, so this is a more practical question for a bracelet than for any other piece of jewelry.
For the cuban bracelet in stainless steel with five layers of PVD the advice is: take it off before the pool, the shower and the gym, and put it on once aftershave and hand cream have dried. Chlorine, soap residue and sweat do not settle on the link but in the clasp, and that is where you see wear first.
Keep the iced out versions on copper alloy dry. That alloy is more sensitive to moisture than stainless steel, and water sits under the stones longer than you would think.
The gold plated 5 mm has 1 micron of 18K gold: lukewarm water and a soft cloth are fine, abrasives are not. The 12 mm moissanite is solid 925 silver and can tarnish from air and sweat.
7. Care by build
Stainless steel with PVD. Rinse under lukewarm water and rub dry with a soft cloth. Run the cloth along the lobster clasp as well.
Copper alloy with PVD. Apply perfume, deodorant and hand cream first and let them dry, then put it on. Store it dry afterwards, separately from other pieces.
18K gold plated. Lukewarm water, a drop of mild soap and a soft cloth. No ultrasonic bath and no abrasives, because the gold layer is one micron thick.
Solid 925 silver with moissanite. Remove tarnish with a silver polishing cloth, along the metal and not over the stones. If the stones look dull, that is almost always grease and not wear.
Four mistakes you spot straight away
- Taking a bracelet narrower than your chain. It then reads as a leftover from the set. Equal is the match, one step wider is the statement.
- Taking an iced out cuban into the shower or to the gym. The copper alloy is more sensitive to moisture than steel, and water sits under the stones.
- Taking a bracelet with stones in the tight size. The row cannot turn along and the same stones face up all day.
- Wearing gold-colored PVD next to 18K gold plated on the same wrist. Gold plating is warmer and deeper in color, and side by side that reads as a mistake instead of a choice.
Where do you start?
Measure your wrist first and add 1.5 cm. If you want one that goes with everything, start with the silver-colored cuban bracelet or the gold-colored cuban bracelet of 5 mm in stainless steel.
If you mainly wear it going out, the 8 mm iced out cuban bracelet is the logical choice, and the rest of them sit with the iced out bracelets. If you want precious metal under the finish, the gold plated 5 mm is the quiet entry point and the 12 mm moissanite the heaviest.
The matching links for your neck are ready in the same four builds. All widths are in the cuban bracelet collection, and the other families in the bracelets collection or in the overview of all eight kinds of bracelets.
Frequently asked questions
Which cuban bracelet width goes with my cuban chain?
Take the same width as the safe match or one step wider as the statement. At 3 mm around your neck that is 3 or 5 mm, at 5 mm it is 5 or 7 mm, and at 7 mm it is 7 mm or iced out in 8 to 10 mm. Narrower than your chain rarely works.
Which cuban bracelet size do I need?
Measure your wrist circumference and add about 1.5 cm. Under 17 cm you land on 18 cm, between 17 and 20 cm on 20 cm, and above 20 cm on 22 cm. The 12 mm moissanite is the exception and runs in 19 and 22 cm.
Does the 3 mm cuban bracelet exist iced out as well?
No. The iced out version starts at 6 mm, because below that width there is no room to set VVS cubic zirconia. Plain, the cuban bracelet runs in 3, 5 and 7 mm, iced out in 6, 8 and 10 mm and in moissanite in 12 mm.
Should a cuban bracelet sit tight or loose?
A plain cuban bracelet may sit tight, with about 1.5 cm of play. A version with stones wants a little more room so the row can turn along. Never give more than about 2 cm, because then the clasp pulls to the top of your wrist.
Can I wear an iced out cuban bracelet in the shower?
No. The iced out version sits on a nickel-free copper alloy with five layers of PVD, and that is more sensitive to moisture than stainless steel. Water also sits under the stones. Keep it dry and store it dry.
Is a gold-colored cuban bracelet made of real gold?
Not automatically. On the stainless steel version, gold-colored is a finish of five layers of PVD. Real gold is in the gold plated 5 mm: there 18K gold of 1 micron lies over a core of solid 925 sterling silver.
