How to Find Your Ring Size

One of the most important things about designing or preparing to buy a ring is how to find your ring size. There are such a wide range of sizes for all types of people so naturally, this can be a lot of trouble for someone who has no idea of how to do such a thing. No worries, there are a lot of ways to determine this tiny yet crucial bit of information. First you need to decide on which finger you are going to be wearing this future piece of jewelry. I like to trace both of my hands next to one another on a piece of paper with the sizes written on the fingers to be filed away for future use. If you for some reason gain or lose dramatic amounts of weight or have deforming injuries to one of your digits, this will need to be reconfigured. Sizes for the same fingers on different hands will be surprisingly drastically different; usually the dominant hand will have larger sizes based on the amount of muscle buildup in that hand. Your fingers will also slightly fluctuate in size between warmer and colder temperatures so it is important to allow a fraction of a size in the ring for this to happen comfortably. The ring should not be so tight as to cut off circulation to the fingertips, or so loose as to fall past the knuckle where you might lose it all together. The style of ring you are preparing to wear will also be vital in determining your finger size. A wider style band will be a slightly larger size than a much thinner band.

The most accurate way to determine your size is to have a professional jeweler size your finger for you, but I understand the desire to do it yourself in other situations. There are ring sizing tools available out there that look like a cluster of metal rings in increasing half sizes attached to a larger key ring. There are usually two different styles you can buy, a wide style, and a thin style, and the difference does play a major part. When using this process, find the ring that fits you perfectly and comfortably. Try the half size up and half size down to be sure of the best size for you. Push on the ring sizer under the softer side of your finger to see how much space you can create on the top of your finger; you should be able to see a few millimeters. This should create enough room for your fingers to fluctuate in alternating temperatures and seasons comfortably.

There are ways to size your fingers for a ring at home without having to go into a jewelry store or buy a ring sizer yourself. You can easily click on the ring sizer image and print it out at home on card stock.  Cut it out and fold accordingly around your finger to determine your size. It is important to set your printer to print the image at 100% or the ring sizer will be inaccurate.

Most of the time when the need arises to find out a ring size, it’s for someone else’s finger and usually needs to be kept rather secret, such as an engagement or wedding ring. There is only one way to figure this out without giving away the secret. Obviously you can’t shove ring sizers on your partner’s fingers while they sleep, but this process does involve you to be a little sneaky none the less. Notice which rings your partner wears on a daily basis, on the correct finger of course. Wedding and engagement rings traditionally belong on the finger next to the pinky, always on the left hand. Once you’ve noticed a specific ring your partner wears on this finger, you have to find a way to “borrow” it. Maybe your partner takes it off before showering when you can possibly snag it for the day without it being noticed. Maybe he or she removes it whilst they sleep. If they notice it missing, play along in trying to find it and encourage your partner that it will turn up and they most likely have just misplaced it. Once you’ve “borrowed” the ring, take it into a jewelry store. They can quickly determine the ring size by sliding the ring onto a tapered ring mandrel where the sizes are engraved along the side. Hopefully the ring is round and not squished in any places so the size can be discovered accurately. Then you can quickly return the ring to a place not too obvious, for your partner to excitedly rediscover.

If your partner does not regularly wear rings it will be nearly impossible for you to discover your partners ring size without them trying on a ring or ring sizer. Although if you guess a size, and it doesnÂ’t fit, IÂ’m certain the thought will still be as potent as an accurately fitting ring. Then you can return the ring or have it accurately sized after it has been given as a gift.