Kada size for men: how to measure it, and the size chart

A kada is a bangle with a heavier build, and it is sized on exactly the same scale. A 2-10 kada and a 2-10 bangle have the same opening: 2 and 10/16 inches, 66.7 mm across the inside. What differs is which sizes the shops carry, and how a kada is worn.

The sizes men usually wear

Men’s kadas are usually stocked from 2-8 upwards, and kada sellers’ guides most often put men at 2-10 to 2-12.

Size	Inner diameter	In mm	Round the inside
2-6	2 3/8 in	60.3 mm	189.5 mm
2-8	2 1/2 in	63.5 mm	199.5 mm
2-9	2 9/16 in	65.1 mm	204.5 mm
2-10	2 5/8 in	66.7 mm	209.5 mm
2-11	2 11/16 in	68.3 mm	214.5 mm
2-12	2 3/4 in	69.9 mm	219.4 mm
2-13	2 13/16 in	71.4 mm	224.4 mm
2-14	2 7/8 in	73.0 mm	229.4 mm
2-15	2 15/16 in	74.6 mm	234.4 mm
3-0	3 in	76.2 mm	239.4 mm

The whole scale, from 2-0, is in the bangle size chart. The rule is the same at every size: 2-N is 2 + N/16 inches, and each step adds 1.6 mm across.

Measuring a kada you already own

The surest way. Lay it on the on-screen sizer after calibrating the screen once with a bank card, and press + or − until the circle just fills the inside. On a phone, a men’s kada is wider than the screen; let the sides hang off and match the top and bottom.

A kada is tall and thick, which brings two cautions:

• Match the narrowest part of the inside. Many kadas are rounded inside, so the opening is smallest halfway up. That is the part that has to clear your knuckles, and it is the edge you see when you look straight down.
• Look from well back. The inner edge of a tall kada sits a few millimetres above the screen, and from close up it looks wider than it is. Hold your head 40 cm or more above the glass. Up close, a tall kada can read as much as half a size large.

A ruler works too: read across the inside, through the centre, twice at right angles. A ruler is good to about a millimetre, which is most of a size, so read carefully.

Measuring your hand

No kada to copy? Measure what it has to pass over.

1. Tuck your thumb in towards your little finger, as you would when putting a kada on.
2. Wrap a string round the widest part of the hand, over the knuckles, snug but not tight.
3. Measure the string and type it into the sizer in cm or inches.

The size is the smallest kada whose inside circumference is at least as long as your hand: up to 199.5 mm is a 2-8, up to 209.5 mm a 2-10, up to 219.4 mm a 2-12. The step-by-step guide has the full method, which is the same for men and women.

How a kada should fit

A solid kada has to go over the hand, so it will always move on the wrist. That is correct, not a sign it is too big. One that is snug at the wrist would never have cleared the knuckles. Between two sizes, take the larger: a slightly loose kada is comfortable, a slightly small one does not go on.

Kadas that open on a screw or a hinge are different. They close round the wrist, not over the hand, so the maker’s own chart for that design is the one to follow.

Before you buy

For a silver or gold kada, give the jeweller the diameter in millimetres as well as the size: the inches are the definition, and millimetres mean the same on every chart. If you can, try the size on in the shop. If you are buying a ring at the same time, the Indian ring size chart explains that scale, and you can find a ring size without asking if it is a surprise.