Cuffs are a different measurement entirely

A cuff is an open bangle. It goes on from the side rather than over the hand, which means hand size is irrelevant and two other numbers matter instead: the inner circumference, and the gap.

• Measure your wrist where the cuff will sit, just below the wrist bone.
• Add 1 cm. That is the inner circumference you want — cuffs sit closer than bracelets because they do not hang.
• Check the gap. A 2.5–3 cm opening is standard and lets the cuff pass over the side of the wrist comfortably.
• A gap under 2 cm means you will be flexing the cuff to get it on, and flexing metal repeatedly is how cuffs eventually crack.

Adjusting a cuff, carefully

A cuff can be adjusted a few millimetres by hand and this is normal and expected. The rules: use both hands, apply pressure gradually along the whole arc rather than at the ends, and never open and close the same cuff repeatedly.

Steel tolerates this better than silver, which work-hardens and eventually snaps at the point of most flex. If you find yourself adjusting a cuff every time you wear it, the size is wrong rather than the cuff.

Which suits which wrist

For a gift where you cannot measure the person, buy the cuff. Wrist size is far easier to estimate than hand circumference, and a cuff has a few millimetres of tolerance built in that a bangle simply does not. The wider gifting question is its own guide.

Every bangle that does not fit was bought on a wrist measurement. There is no exception to this and there never has been.

Cuffs are a different measurement entirely

A cuff is an open bangle. It goes on from the side rather than over the hand, which means hand size is irrelevant and two other numbers matter instead: the inner circumference, and the gap.

• Measure your wrist where the cuff will sit, just below the wrist bone.
• Add 1 cm. That is the inner circumference you want — cuffs sit closer than bracelets because they do not hang.
• Check the gap. A 2.5–3 cm opening is standard and lets the cuff pass over the side of the wrist comfortably.
• A gap under 2 cm means you will be flexing the cuff to get it on, and flexing metal repeatedly is how cuffs eventually crack.

Adjusting a cuff, carefully

A cuff can be adjusted a few millimetres by hand and this is normal and expected. The rules: use both hands, apply pressure gradually along the whole arc rather than at the ends, and never open and close the same cuff repeatedly.

Steel tolerates this better than silver, which work-hardens and eventually snaps at the point of most flex. If you find yourself adjusting a cuff every time you wear it, the size is wrong rather than the cuff.

Which suits which wrist

For a gift where you cannot measure the person, buy the cuff. Wrist size is far easier to estimate than hand circumference, and a cuff has a few millimetres of tolerance built in that a bangle simply does not. The wider gifting question is its own guide.

Every bangle that does not fit was bought on a wrist measurement. There is no exception to this and there never has been.