Agarwood Bead Size Chart: Choosing 6–20 mm by Look, Wrist, Wear and Weight

An agarwood bead size is not a fit. Choose 8 mm or 18 mm, and either can fit a 16 cm wrist. The number of beads changes, while the inside of the ring stays close to what you asked for.

However, agarwood bead size changes almost everything else. It decides how far away you can see the grain, and whether the strand slips under a cuff. It also decides how it feels when you type, and how much wood you buy.

Oudbracelet is the retail shop of AgarwoodTown, and we weigh every strand on camera before we quote it. So we see daily how differently one design reads at 10 mm and at 16 mm. The numbers here come from the same bead geometry as our wrist fitter. Also, we label every weight as an estimate.

First, start with the agarwood bead size bands below. Then narrow things down with two questions, and read the parts that matter to you. For the wood itself, see our guide to buy an agarwood bracelet, because this article stays with size.

According to the USDA Wood Handbook, the weight of wood depends on its density, and density differs from piece to piece.^{(USDA 2010)} First, that means a larger agarwood bead size adds weight quickly, since volume grows with the cube of the diameter. Finally, doubling the bead size from 6 mm to 12 mm makes each bead about 8 times heavier.

Choosing an agarwood bead size is mostly a choice of look, and the wrist then fixes the count. First, pick the look: under 8 mm reads as texture on a multi-wrap strand, 8–10 mm is quiet, 12–14 mm is a statement and 16–20 mm is bold. Second, measure the wrist, because the wrist size turns the look into a bead count. For example, 10 mm beads on a 16 cm wrist need 20 beads at a standard fit. A multi-wrap strand forgives more, which helps when the strand is a gift.

Think about where the strand will sit in your day, rather than about the number. 6 mm beads read as texture. Below 8 mm, we string round beads as multi-wrap, because a single thin turn gets lost among other bracelets.

Next, 8–10 mm is quiet. It sits beside a watch and draws the eye only up close. At 12–14 mm, however, each bead shows its own streaks and flecks from across a table. Finally, an agarwood bead size of 16 mm and above is bold, so the beads read as individual objects.

Grain is the other half of the look. Resin forms unevenly inside a wounded Aquilaria tree, in streaks and patches around the damage.^{(Tan 2019)} So a small bead catches only a fragment of a pattern, while a large bead can hold a whole streak. As a result, the same batch of wood can look plain at 8 mm and striking at 16 mm. Also, a large agarwood bead shows every pale patch as clearly as every dark line.

The bead count is pure geometry. Agarwood beads on a strand touch their neighbours, so bead size and count fix the inside of the ring, not cord length. We choose the count that brings the inside closest to your wrist plus the room you asked for: snug (about 0.5 cm), standard (about 1 cm) or relaxed (about 2 cm).

For example, with an agarwood bead size of 12 mm on a 16 cm wrist, the counts are 17 beads snug, 17 beads standard, 18 beads relaxed. Fits move in whole beads, so two can land on the same count.

Finally, read across a row below. A centimetre of wrist is roughly one extra bead at 10–12 mm. At 18–20 mm, however, the count often stays the same between neighbouring wrists.

For example, at 10 mm a 14 cm wrist takes 18 beads and a 19 cm wrist takes 23. At 20 mm, the same two wrists take 11 and 13 beads. So the range narrows sharply as the beads grow.

The reason is simple: a strand can only hold whole beads, so a large agarwood bead size fits in steps. You cannot add a third of an agarwood bead. With 6–10 mm beads, one bead moves the inside length by well under a centimetre. With 20 mm beads, however, one bead moves the inside length by about two. For example, on a 14 cm wrist, 11 beads of 20 mm give 16.0 cm inside, while 10 would give 14.0 cm, too tight to wear. So if you fall between counts, tell us which way you would rather err.

The steps matter most on a slim wrist. On a 14–15 cm wrist, 18–20 mm beads make a short ring of about a dozen beads, and the forced extra room lets the ring turn and slide. In practice, 12–14 mm beads often sit better on a slim wrist. Finally, the wrist fitter draws each count at true size before you ask for a strand.

Weight is where agarwood bead size has its biggest effect. A bead’s volume rises with the cube of its diameter. So one 20 mm agarwood bead holds about 8.4 times the wood of a 10 mm bead.

Fewer large beads fit round the wrist, but not nearly few enough to compensate. For example, on an 18 cm wrist a 20 mm strand carries about 5.0 times the wood of a 10 mm one. You feel that every time you lift a cup. Also, since we sell agarwood by weight, it shows in the quote too, as our guide to agarwood bracelet price explains.

Density matters as well. Most woods are lighter than water, and any wood’s density varies with its structure and what it contains,^{(USDA 2010)} as the Wood Handbook sets out. In agarwood, that is resin. So the table uses 0.60–0.95 g/cm³, our working range for floating-grade wood, on a slim and a larger wrist.

The real test of an agarwood bead size is an ordinary day with the strand on. First, at a desk, 8–10 mm agarwood beads rest flat and rarely knock as you type. By contrast, 16 mm and up sit higher and meet the desk first. Second, small agarwood beads stack beside a watch, while large beads crowd the watch face. Third, up to about 12 mm slides into a fitted cuff, whereas bigger beads want a loose sleeve.

A heavier strand also pulls harder on the cord each time your arm swings. For example, a 20 mm strand on an 18 cm wrist carries about 5.0 times the wood of a 10 mm strand. Finally, a strand with a large agarwood bead size is worth checking a little more often than a light strand, both for gaps and for a tired cord.

Small agarwood beads are the easier everyday choice, and large beads are the bolder choice with far more wood per bead. One 20 mm bead holds about 8.4 times the wood of a 10 mm bead. In practice, small beads suit a watch and a fitted cuff, while large beads suit a loose sleeve and a wearer who wants the grain to show.

Below 8 mm, the question becomes “how many turns”. A traditional mala has 108 beads. At 6 mm it is about 65 cm long, and it wraps roughly 3.4 times round a 16 cm wrist. Each extra millimetre of agarwood bead size adds about 11 cm of strand. So size decides whether a mala is a triple wrap or a necklace.

Small beads do not mean a small scent, however. What you smell comes from aromatic compounds in the resin.^{(Naef 2011)} So resin-rich 6 mm beads can smell stronger than pale 16 mm ones. In short, agarwood bead size sets the look and weight, while resin sets the scent.

For example, a 108-bead mala in 8 mm beads is about 86 cm long, so the strand reads as a necklace rather than a wrist wrap. A 5 mm mala, at about 54 cm, wraps more tightly and suits a slim wrist.

Confirming an agarwood bead size is quick once you know the look and the wrist. First, everything we sell is plantation agarwood. CITES Appendix II lists wild Aquilaria and Gyrinops,^(CITES) so we sell no wild wood in any agarwood bead size. Also, if paperwork applies to your country, we confirm the paperwork with your quote. The whole Aquilaria genus has sat in CITES Appendix II since 2004, so international shipments travel with export permits. Finally, the four steps below take you from a size on a screen to a strand you have seen on the scale.

The right agarwood bead size is the one that suits your wrist and the way you live; no size is correct for everyone. Small beads disappear into a day, while large beads make the day about the strand. Neither is better wood, and the count takes care of fit. For example, 12 mm round beads with a standard fit make a balanced first strand, and 10 mm suits a slim wrist.

First, choose the look, and check the look at true size in the wrist fitter. Second, remember that weight rises much faster than diameter. Finally, ask to see the strand. A size that seemed right on a screen can feel different in the video, and the video is the moment to change your mind.