Also called: Metric method · Imperial method · 1 mm = 1 year

Where on the hand: Measured along the Life line itself, following its curve rather than a straight chord, on a printed impression of the hand.

What it looks like: A ruler or measuring tape laid along the course of the line, marked off in millimetres or sixteenths of an inch.

A literal measurement system: each millimetre of line length stands for one year, or each sixteenth of an inch in the imperial version. Only usable on a print, and only after calibrating against a dated event already known on that hand.