How Millimeters Translate into American
What's an mm? I didn't know this was so small

A few days ago I became a 10 year vet of the jewelry industry. One of things I've learned during that time is what an mm is and that it is really small. I realize not all jewelry buying Americans work in the jewelry industry. Many of our products that have dimensions listed show them as mm's. These are millimeters. We do not write in millimeters to confuse our customers into purchasing items they think are larger. It is the standard measurement in the jewelry industry and yes, many jewelry items are very small or very thin and measuring them in inches can be extremely difficult.

MM to American Translation:
3mm = 0.12 inch = Super tiny. Falls into the where is it category.
4mm = 0.16 inch = Small
5mm = 0.20 inch = Average size stud earring
6mm = 0.24 inch = Average size stud earring
7.5mm = 0.30 inch = Average size solitaire pendant
10mm = 0.39 inch = Tiny hoop earring or large solitaire pendant or Puffy's stud earrings
25mm = 0.98 inch = Small hoop earrings
40mm = 1.57 inches = Average size hoop earrings
50mm = 1.97 inches = Large hoop earrings
60mm = 2.36 inches = Larger hoop earrings
80mm = 3.14 inches = Super huge hoops

When I used to design clothes, it was all about fractions of an inch. 1/8". 5/16". 1/4". I heard and thought about them constantly. I do not know why jewelry and clothes measure differently. It took a while to get used to. Similar to clothing, a fraction of an inch, or a few millimeters, can make a BIG difference.

Before SkyeSterling.com was launched, we knew that dimensions were going to be difficult to express online. We have begun to post new styles with additional views with rulers in inches next to the piece to try to give you a better idea of size and proportion. Please note that our images are not at actual size. This is not done to decieve you. It is standard practice for online jewelry presentation and is done to allow you to see detail. Also, images appear at different sizes on different monitors so there is no way (at least that I know of) to show an image at actual size online.

So, I'm sure you feel very worldly now that you've had this not so indepth intro to how the rest of the world measures things. FYI, Google does math now. If you type "50mm in inches" into the Google search, it will give you the conversion.

If you have any questions about a product's dimensions, please feel free to email us at service@skyesterling.com or call us at 1-800-216-6093 and we will be happy to measure an item for you or translate the mm's into inches.

And if you buy those 3mm earrings and didn't know they were so small, we offer free return shipping labels and have a 30 day money back guarantee... just in case.

Don't you feel smarter now?