Which Box Chain Length Suits You Best? 18, 20 or 22 Inches
A box chain at 45 cm (18in) and the same chain at 55 cm (22in) are not two flavors of one piece of jewelry. The first sits snug at the base of your neck and shows above an open collar. The second falls on the top of your breastbone and is the first thing anyone sees. Ten centimeters apart, two completely different necklaces.
The Carpe Ice box chain, also known as the Venetian chain, comes in 45 cm (18in), 50 cm (20in) and 55 cm (22in), in 2 mm and 3 mm, in gold tone and silver tone. This guide is about which of those combinations is yours. In centimeters and inches, not adjectives. Looking for the length of another link, or up to 75 cm (30in)? Read the chain length guide.
1. Where 45, 50 and 55 cm (18, 20 and 22in) actually sit
45 cm (18in), sits snug at the base of your neck. With an open collar or a V neck you see all of it, under a buttoned shirt it disappears. This is the length for wearing the chain high and close to the neck.
50 cm (20in), falls just below the collarbone. This is the length that works on most necks, and the answer if you are unsure and wear no pendant.
55 cm (22in), falls on the top of the breastbone. It works both under and over a T shirt and gives a looser, more outspoken line.
We do not carry the box link longer than 55 cm (22in). If you want 60 cm (24in) or more, move to a wider link type: look at a Cuban link chain or a king's link chain, which stay in proportion at that length.
2. Count back from your pendant, not from your neck
This is the mistake that leads to returns more than any other, and it is pure arithmetic. A chain is a loop. Everything you add in length is split over two sides. Eight centimeters of extra chain therefore buys you only four centimeters of extra drop.
A pendant works the other way around: it adds its full height to the lowest point. A pendant of 4 cm on a 50 cm (20in) chain therefore finishes where a bare 58 cm (23in) chain would end.
In practice that means anyone wearing a pendant should size down, not up. If you want a compass pendant or a dog tag in the middle of your sternum, 50 cm (20in) is almost always right. The same pendant on 55 cm (22in) lands at the height of a bare 63 cm (25in) chain, and for most people that is too low.
3. 2 mm or 3 mm: the other half of the choice
Length gets all the attention, but width decides just as much whether a box chain works. The difference between 2 and 3 mm is one millimeter on paper and very visible in real life.
The 2 mm is the classic pendant chain. It does not draw attention itself and lets the pendant do the work. The 3 mm is heavier and can also be worn alone without looking thin.
The rule that actually matters: if you wear a larger or heavier pendant, choose 3 mm. A heavy piece on too fine a chain pulls the line out of shape and loads the clasp at a single point. An iced out cross pendant belongs on 3 mm, a flat name plate is fine on 2 mm.
What actually leaves the warehouse supports that picture: roughly three in four box chains we sell are 2 mm, and almost everything goes out in 50 or 55 cm (20 or 22in). The 45 cm (18in) is a deliberate choice, not a default.
4. Why a box link does not twist
There is a concrete reason this link is the default choice as soon as something hangs from the chain. A round or woven link rolls with your movements, and then a pendant hangs crooked or backwards within half an hour. The box link is made of square blocks with four flat sides. Those do not roll, so the pendant keeps facing forward.
On top of that, the closed construction is stronger than an open link of the same thickness. At 2 mm that is the difference between a chain you dare to wear every day and one that stays in the box.
Both versions are stainless steel. The silver tone version is polished steel with no coating. The gold tone version has a finish applied in five layers of PVD: the color is bonded to the steel at molecular level inside a vacuum chamber rather than electroplated, which makes it harder and more scratch resistant than an ordinary plated layer. It is not solid gold, and it should not sound like it either.
5. Measuring in thirty seconds
You do not need a tape measure if you already own a chain that sits well. Lay it down closed and flat, measure from the clasp to the furthest point and double it. That is your length.
Nothing to hand? This works: lay a tape measure loosely around your neck, let it hang at the height where you want to see the piece and read it off. Measure on skin and not over a T shirt, because fabric pushes the chain forward and then you measure a few centimeters too many.
If you wear a pendant, measure it from the top of the bail to the bottom, and subtract double that height from your measured length. A 3 cm pendant therefore means 6 cm off. Still unsure? The full chain size chart is ready for you.
6. Four mistakes you spot immediately
- Not counting the pendant. By far the most common mistake, and the reason a 55 cm (22in) chain suddenly seems to reach halfway down your stomach.
- Measuring over clothing. Adds 2 to 4 cm as standard.
- A heavy pendant on 2 mm. The chain starts hanging crooked and all the strain lands on the clasp.
- Two chains with too little difference. With a fine link like this you want at least 10 cm apart, and a clearly broader chain beside it. Otherwise they cross and tangle.
7. Care: the seams are the point
On a box link dirt sits between the blocks, and that is exactly what dulls the shine. Lukewarm water, mild soap and a soft toothbrush lift it out. Dry it afterwards with a soft cloth. You will not need a polishing cloth, because no tarnish forms of the kind you get on real silver.
The silver tone version can go under the shower and out in the rain, because there is no coating on it. It does come off for the pool, because chlorine is harsher than shower water; rinse it under the tap after seawater. Take the gold tone off before the shower, swimming and sport, and store it dry. Put both on once fragrance or aftershave has dried, because alcohol attacks the finish.
Where do you start?
Wearing the chain on its own, without a pendant? Take 50 cm (20in) in 2 mm. That is the combination that works on most necks and that you will not need to correct later.
Wearing a pendant on it? Also 50 cm (20in), and choose the width on the weight of the pendant rather than on taste. Want to wear two chains? Go for 45 and 55 cm (18 and 22in) and keep the second one clearly broader.
See the gold box chain and the silver box chain, or browse the full necklace collection. Looking for a pendant to go with it? You will find one in the iced out pendants or the engravable jewelry.
Frequently asked questions
Which box chain length is the most worn?
50 cm (20in). It falls just below the collarbone and works on most necks. 45 cm (18in) sits snug at the neck, 55 cm (22in) falls on the top of the breastbone.
Which box chain lengths does Carpe Ice carry?
45, 50 and 55 cm (18, 20 and 22in), in 2 mm and 3 mm, in gold tone and silver tone. For 60 cm (24in) and longer, choose a wider link type such as Cuban or king's link.
How much shorter should my chain be if I wear a pendant?
Subtract double the pendant height. A 4 cm pendant on a 50 cm (20in) chain finishes where a bare 58 cm (23in) chain would end, because extra length splits over two sides while the pendant adds its full height.
Do I choose 2 mm or 3 mm?
2 mm if the chain mainly has to carry a pendant. 3 mm if you also wear it alone or the pendant is heavy, because a heavy piece on 2 mm pulls the line out of shape and loads the clasp.
Why does a box chain not twist?
The links are square and have four flat sides, so they do not roll. That keeps a pendant facing forward instead of turning sideways within half an hour.
Can a box chain go in the shower?
The silver tone version can: it is bare, polished stainless steel with no coating, so no tarnish forms. The gold tone version has five layers of PVD and comes off before the shower, swimming and sport. Both come off for the pool, because chlorine is harsher than shower water.
%20and%20the%20same%20chain%20at%2055%20cm%20(22in)%20are%20not%20two%20flavors%20of%20one%20piece%20of%20jewelry.%20The%20first%20sits%20snug%20at%20the%20base%20of%20your%20neck%20and%20shows%20above%20an%20open%20collar.%20The%20se...){kind=link}