Why everyone's quietly choosing 16" Tennis Necklace?

Everyone talks about carat weight and setting when picking a tennis necklace, but length is honestly the thing that decides whether you actually wear it or not.

16 inches is the length most people end up gravitating toward. It sits right at the collarbone, which just works with almost any neckline, so it's not something you have to think twice about pairing with an outfit. It goes from a shirt in the morning to something dressier at night without looking out of place either way. Shorter lengths like 14 inches sit higher and read more like a choker, which is a great look but leans more toward a statement piece than something you throw on every day. Go longer, like 18 inches, and it dangles lower with more of a relaxed, layering feel.

Length also plays a bigger role than people expect if you've ever dealt with a tennis necklace flipping around to the back of your neck. It usually comes down to the necklace not having enough room to sit properly against your neck. This is a big part of why Gem Jewelers Co.'s non-flip tennis necklace styles specifically recommend staying at 16 inches or longer, since anything shorter doesn't give the design enough slack to actually do what it's built to do.

At the end of the day it depends on how you want to wear it, but 16 inches is the length that works for the widest range of necklines and occasions without much overthinking.