Getting someone a coordinates necklace, bracelet or ring with wrong location rather than the one you want to celebrate is like getting a misspelled tattoo. Both make for a cringe-worthy experience that takes time and money to correct.

HOW CAN I FIND COORDINATES FROM AN ADDRESS/SEARCH FOR AN ADDRESS USING COORDINATES?

Our Coordinate Jewelry uses different formats of coordinates depending on the design. 

If you are short on time, and just need to look up the coordinates quickly, this is the only section you need to read. However, if you have some time, I recommend reading on to other sections to understand the different formats of coordinates and which one to choose for your jewelry.

We recommend Google Maps as the easiest and most accurate coordinates finder. You can get the coordinates of a location you have in mind or search for a place using its latitude and longitude coordinates.

a. Get the coordinates of a place:

To get coordinates in numbers-only DS format:

1. Open Google Maps.
2. Right-click the place or area on the map.
3. Select What’s here?
4. A card appears at the bottom of the screen with the coordinates in numbers-only DS format.

To get coordinates in DMS with letters format:

1. Follow all the steps above
2. Paste the DD coordinates into the top left box on the same Google Maps screen.
3. Press “Enter”
4. A card will appear on the left showing the coordinates in DMS with letters format

Remember you can alway just send the address or GPS coordinates in any format to us and we will convert it to the GPS format best suited for your jewelry.

b. Find a place using coordinates:

This is useful for checking if the coordinates mark the place you want.

1. Open Google Maps.
2. In the search box at the top, type your coordinates. It accepts any coordinates format:
   • Degrees, minutes, and seconds (DMS)
   • Degrees and decimal minutes (DMM)
   • Decimal degrees (DD)
3. A pin will be dropped at the place corresponding to the coordinates.

WHAT ARE GPS COORDINATES?

GPS coordinates are two sets of numbers that help specify the unique position of any address point on the Earth surface. One set is the latitude, marking the horizontal position. The other is the longitude, marking the vertical position.

Note that the address has to be a point on the map to have GPS coordinates. This means a district, a city, a state or a country do not have GPS coordinates. They are too big to be pinpointed using coordinates.

For example, the Golden Gate Bridge’s GPS location can be precisely marked as

37.8199°N (latitude) 122.4783°W (longitude)

However, the entire city of San Francisco cannot be pinpointed to one set of GPS coordinates.

WHAT ARE LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE?

Latitude

Latitude shows the horizontal position of a place relative to the Equator. The Equator is a latitude line that divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres. It is considered the 0° latitude.

Moving north or south of the Equator, the value of latitude increases from 0° to 90°. Any place North of the equator are denoted with letter N. South of the equator, letter S.

For example, the latitude of Golden Bridge is 37.8199°N, meaning it is 37.8199 degrees north of equator.

                                                                                                Longitude

Similarly, longitude shows the vertical position of a place relative to the Prime Meridian.The Prime Meridian is a longitude line that divides the globe into the Eastern and Western hemisphere. It is considered the 0° longitude.

Moving east or west of the Prime Meridian, the value of longitude increases from 0° to 180°. Any place east of this line are denoted with letter E. West, letter W.

For example, the longitude of Golden Bridge is 122.4783°W, meaning it is 122.4783 degrees west of the Prime Meridian.

WHAT ARE THE COMMON GPS COORDINATES FORMATS?

GPS coordinates formats differ in 2 ways: how you divide a degree and how you denote direction.

a. Degree division

To precisely pinpoint a location, the degree of latitude and longitude are further divided. There are three ways to divide a degree, using Golden Bridge coordinates as an example:

 1. Decimal Degrees (DD)

The GPS coordinates are written as decimals of degree:

37.8199°N, 122.4783°W

Our Slim Coordinates Bangle uses this format as seen below.

 2. Degrees and Decimal Minutes (DDM)

The degree is broken down into minutes, where 1 degree = 60 minutes. Minutes are divided into decimals:

37°49.196’N, 122°28.696’W

3. Degrees, Minutes and Seconds (DMS)

The degree is broken down into minutes and seconds. 1 degree = 60 minutes, and 1 minute = 60 seconds. Seconds are further divided into decimals:

37°49’11.8″N, 122°28’41.8″W

Our Skinny Drop Bar Coordinates Necklace uses this format as seen below:

b. N/S E/W or -?

Sometimes, you might also see Golden Bridge coordinates written in a numbers-only format: 37.8199°, -122.4783°.

The sign – is another way of indicating directions instead of letters. You either use letters N/S E/W or -, but not both together.

Here’s a simple table showing you how to convert:

HOW DO I KNOW WHICH GPS COORDINATES FORMAT TO USE FOR LONGITUDE LATITUDE JEWELRY?

Whichever format you use, they should all mark the same address, and are easily converted to each other.

Just make sure you recognize that there are differences. Do not enter one format on an website/converter that uses another, e.g. check a DMS coordinates on a DD website. Do not round up a minute or degree decimal – it could bring you to a different city or state!

Our Coordinates Bracelet

Also, consider how the format looks on your jewelry or gift. In our experience, DMS coordinates are popular due to its beautiful and balanced mix of letters, signs & numbers (see our best-seller Slim Coordinates Cuff). But DD format is the shortest, and suits small jewelry such as our Vertical Bar Coordinates Necklace.

At Centime Gift, we can convert any format to one that suits your jewelry best. If you are not sure, the simplest thing to do is to give us the address – we will convert to GPS coordinates for you.

SHOP OUR RANGE OF COORDINATES PRODUCTS HERE:

From Left to Right, Top to Bottom: Disc Coordinates Necklace – Tapered Coordinates Cuff
– Coordinates Ring – Bar Coordinates Necklace

Still have any question? Feel free to leave a comment below or send me an email at [email protected].