Wire Length For Jewellery Calculator

Work out wire length for jewellery instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Wire Length For Jewellery Calculator

Wire use is loops times wire per loop times the number of wraps, with a waste allowance added for the tails trimmed off each piece. Trimmed tails are pure loss on precious metal wire, which is why the waste percentage matters as much as the design length.

Formula

Wire length

cm = loops x wire per loop x wraps x (1 + waste allowance)

Worked example

With the default values below, Wire Length For Jewellery Calculator returns Wire to buy of 331.2. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Number of loops or linksminimum 1: 24
Wire per loopminimum 0.1 cm: 4 cm
Wraps per loopminimum 1: 3
Waste allowanceaccepts 0–100 %: 15 %

Results

Wire to buy: 331.2 cm
Wire in metres: 3.312 m
Wire actually used: 288.0 cm
Wire per finished loop: 13.80 cm

Step by step

1Values used
2Wire length
3Wire to buy= 331.2 cm
4Wire in metres= 3.312 m
5Wire actually used= 288.0 cm
6Wire per finished loop= 13.80 cm

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the Wire Length For Jewellery figure worked out?

cm = loops x wire per loop x wraps x (1 + waste allowance). Wire use is loops times wire per loop times the number of wraps, with a waste allowance added for the tails trimmed off each piece.

Why does this matter?

Trimmed tails are pure loss on precious metal wire, which is why the waste percentage matters as much as the design length.

What do I need to enter?

Enter number of loops or links, wire per loop, wraps per loop, waste allowance. The defaults shown are a realistic worked example — swap in your own figures to get a result you can use.