Pendant Hole Too Small for the Chain? Here Is the Fix

If the jump ring on your chain is thicker than the hole in your pendant, you do not need a new necklace and you do not need tools. You open the ring, pass the bare chain through the hole, and close the ring again. It takes about a minute. Photos of every step below.

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The one-minute fix, step by step

This is the chain and the oversized ring that will not go through:

1. Find the joint in the ring

Hold the chain so the ring faces you and you can see the groove where the two ends of the ring meet. That groove is where it opens.

2. Twist the ring open

With your other hand, twist the ring sideways so the two ends move past each other. Twist, do not pull the ends apart: pulling deforms the ring and it will never close cleanly again.

3. Slide the ring off the chain

4. Thread the bare chain through the pendant

Without the ring in the way, the chain itself is thin enough to pass through the hole.

5. Put the ring back on the last link

6. Twist it closed

Twist the ring back the other way until the two ends meet flush. Run a fingernail over the joint: if it catches, the ring is not fully closed and the chain will come off in a pocket or a jumper.

Done. The clasp works as normal and the pendant sits where it should.

If the ring will not twist by hand

Thicker rings, and anything in stainless steel, usually will not move with fingers alone. Use two pairs of flat-nose pliers, one on each side of the joint, and twist in opposite directions. Wrap the jaws in a strip of masking tape first, or they will leave marks on the metal.

Avoid needle-nose pliers with serrated jaws. The teeth bite into soft metals like sterling silver and gold plate, and the scratches do not polish out.

If you do not own a pair, the cheapest thing that does this job properly is a two-piece chain-nose and flat-nose set, around eight dollars: this 2-piece jewellery plier set on Amazon. Smooth jaws, small enough for chain work. You do not need a ten-piece kit for this.

If the chain itself is too thick

Sometimes the ring is not the problem and the chain simply will not fit. Two ways out:

• Add a smaller jump ring as an adapter. A 4 to 6 mm open jump ring goes through the pendant hole, and the chain clips onto that instead. Match the metal so the two do not react and discolour. An assortment in both silver and gold tones, with the open-and-close tool included, runs about nine dollars: open jump ring assortment on Amazon.
• Change to a thinner chain. Snake and box chains at 1 mm or under pass through holes that a cable or rope chain never will, and they hang straighter under a heavy pendant. If you want one that will last, a solid 925 sterling snake chain at 1 mm is the safe choice: 1 mm sterling silver snake chain on Amazon. Plated chains at this thickness wear through at the clasp within a year.

Which chain fits which hole

Pendant hole	What will pass through
Under 1.5 mm	Cord or thread only, or a small jump ring as an adapter
1.5 to 2.5 mm	Snake or box chain up to 1 mm
2.5 to 4 mm	Most cable and curb chains up to 1.5 mm
Over 4 mm	Rope, figaro and most statement chains

Measure the hole, not the chain: it is the narrowest point that decides. Prices mentioned above are approximate and were correct at the time of writing.

A note on our opal necklaces

The first batch of opal necklaces we shipped went out with the wrong chain, one whose ring does not fit through the pendant hole. If that is why you are here, the fix above is the one we recommend and it takes under a minute. If you would rather have a replacement chain, write to us.