Everybody form a circle: Careful design of ligand strands and their reaction with Cu2+ ions leads to the formation of the title helicates. Incorporation of differing numbers of N-donor units within a ligand strand containing a phenyl spacer results in a pentanuclear head-to-tail circular helicate, whereas reaction of two different ligands results in a heteroleptic pentanuclear circular helicate (see picture; green: Cu, red and blue: ligands). © 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.