Necklace reference

The classic length names are ranges, and they are defined for pearl strands

Six names, six centimetre bands, and a clause number for each one. This page reproduces the definitions as the book states them, keeps the source's own approximation for rope, and marks the two spans the book leaves unnamed.

The names are ranges, and the ranges were written for pearl strands

A length name in a listing behaves like a measurement, but it is not one. In the CIBJO Pearl Book the necklace length terms are numbered entries in the terms and definitions clause, and each entry states a span in centimetres with an inch equivalent printed beside it.

Every one of those entries opens the same way: a strand of natural pearls, cultured pearls or imitation pearls. The subject of the clause is the strand. A metal chain sold as princess length is using a word from a document that was not written about metal chains, and this page does not extend the definitions to cover them.

The figures below are taken from the 2024 edition of the CIBJO Pearl Book, clause 5, read on 19 August 2026. The clause number is given beside each band so that any line here can be checked against the document rather than against this page.

The six bands, with the clause each one comes from

The centimetre range is the figure the clause states. The inch range is the equivalent the same clause prints alongside it, reproduced here rather than recalculated.

Name	Centimetres	Inches	Clause
Collar	25 to 33 cm	10 to 13 inches	5.45
Choker	35 to 40 cm	14 to 16 inches	5.39
Princess	43 to 48 cm	17 to 19 inches	5.169
Matinee	50 to 60 cm	20 to 24 inches	5.118
Opera	70 to 90 cm	28 to 35 inches	5.148
Rope	about 115 cm and longer	about 45 inches and longer	5.171

Three things the definitions carry besides a number

A band is the visible part of each clause. Three of the entries say something further that is easy to lose when the numbers are copied out on their own.

Choker carries a second condition: Clause 5.39 defines a choker as a strand of uniform sized pearls measuring 35 to 40 cm (14 to 16 inches). Uniform size sits inside the definition, not beside it.
Rope is written with an approximation: Clause 5.171 reads about 115 cm (45 inches) and longer. Reproducing it as a hard threshold at 115 cm removes a hedge the book chose to keep.
Sautoir is defined, and the five-name grouping leaves it out: Clause 5.176 defines a sautoir as any pearl necklace longer than opera length, 70 to 90 cm (28 to 35 inches), and states that a sautoir is about 90 cm (36 inches). Both statements sit in the same clause and are reproduced here as written.

The figures did not move between the two editions

A definition that changes quietly between editions is a problem for anyone who quoted the earlier one. Two of the bands were read against the earlier edition dated 1 April 2020.

Matinee is 50 to 60 cm (20 to 24 inches) there as well, under clause 5.116 rather than 5.118. Rope carries the same wording in both, about 115 cm (45 inches) and longer. On the two figures that were checked, the numbers on this page are not a 2024 revision.

Both editions were read on 19 August 2026. This page records what those two documents said on that date; it makes no claim about a later edition.

What these clauses do not settle

Each line below is a question the source was checked for and does not answer. None of them is filled in from elsewhere on this page.

Where a length sits on the body. The clauses give centimetres and inches and nothing else; a drop position for any of these names comes from a different source and is treated on the companion page about where each necklace length falls.
Whether the measurement includes the clasp. Nothing read for this page states whether the figure is taken with the clasp counted in or left out.
Metal chains, pendant chains and any piece that is not a strand of pearls. Each clause is written for natural, cultured or imitation pearls.
A manufacturing tolerance. The clauses state ranges and state no permitted deviation from them.
What kind of document this is and how far its naming reaches. That question is treated on the companion note about who defines these names; the word standard is not attached to any figure here.
Anything about a generated image. Nothing on this page says that an image made in the app reproduces a stated length in centimetres.

Questions

What length is a collar, choker, princess, matinee, opera or rope necklace?

In the CIBJO Pearl Book: collar is 25 to 33 cm (10 to 13 inches, clause 5.45), choker is 35 to 40 cm (14 to 16 inches, clause 5.39), princess is 43 to 48 cm (17 to 19 inches, clause 5.169), matinee is 50 to 60 cm (20 to 24 inches, clause 5.118), opera is 70 to 90 cm (28 to 35 inches, clause 5.148), and rope is about 115 cm (45 inches) and longer (clause 5.171). Each definition is written for a strand of natural, cultured or imitation pearls.

Why is rope written as about 115 cm rather than 115 cm?

Because that is how clause 5.171 states it: about 115 cm (45 inches) and longer. The approximation is the source's own, and this page keeps it rather than turning it into an exact cut-off.

Do these definitions apply to a metal chain?

The clauses do not say so. Every one of them describes a strand of natural pearls, cultured pearls or imitation pearls, so a metal chain named with one of these terms is borrowing the word from a document written about pearl strands.

What is a sautoir, and why is it not in the five-name grouping?

Clause 5.176 defines a sautoir as a pearl necklace longer than opera length, 70 to 90 cm (28 to 35 inches), and states that a sautoir is about 90 cm (36 inches). The grouping of choker, princess, matinee, opera and rope does not contain it, although the book itself defines it.

My strand measures 65 cm. Which name is that?

No numbered band in the book covers 60 to 70 cm, so that measurement has no name in this document. The same is true of 90 to 115 cm. This page leaves both spans unnamed rather than assigning them to the nearest band.