Tag Archives: ring sizing

Style – Rings

In part one of a series of tips about the basics of jewellery wearing I looked at necklaces. Today I’m going to talk about my favourite pieces of jewellery – rings.

The Silver Forge Gemstone Rings

A ring is traditionally a circular, decorative or symbolic ornament worn on fingers, toes, arm or neck – however today’s understood meaning of the word ‘ring’ is one that is worn on the finger. Rings can be made of many materials, but are commonly made from metal. They can be plain, or ornate; simple, or set with many stones. They are made in many different styles, but I’ll be focusing on bezel set gemstone rings as that is what I make!

Pomegranate Red Drusy Agate and Sterling Silver Ring

First, let’s identify some of the basic parts of a ring. It’s good to know these terms, so that when discussing your ring, we’re on the same page:

Ring Terminology Guide

Next, sizing. When you’re trying to determine the right ring size for you, it is best to have your finger measured professionally by a jeweller. If all else fails, you can use my guide to ring sizing.

Ring Sizers

When deciding what material your ring should be made from, sterling silver is a good choice – as well as being beautiful, it is usually hypoallergenic, so you avoid allergic reactions and green skin (problems usually brought about by the nickel in inferior quality metal).

Tourmalinated Quartz and Sterling Silver Men's Ring

Check out this good Wiki article on ring styles which shows many different kinds of rings – I’d never heard of some of these, so I found it very interesting!

Variscite and Sterling Silver Ring

Although I am happy to make any size ring, my preference is for large statement pieces. Sometimes people say to me that they can’t wear big rings because they have small hands – I say not so! I’m only 5’2″, and have little hands, and I love wearing a big rock! I don’t find large rings impede my hand, either – as fingers only bend inwards, the ring sits on top of the hand and allows you to do most things as usual. Ring size is really a matter of comfort and personal preference of course. Tell me, what’s your favourite ring?

Fossilised Coral Ring

As always, I am happy to create you a made to measure silver ring from any of the gemstones in my collection. If you’re interested, you can contact me about that here! Meanwhile, enjoy a browse through my custom gallery.

Tool of the Month – Ring Sizing Equipment

In order to create rings that fit my lovely customers, I need to know their ring size. I’ve written a post about measuring your own ring size, however  the best way of finding out your ring size is to have your finger measured at a jewellers – this is the easiest and most accurate way of fitting a ring.

Above you can see my ring sizing gauges. The rings are for measuring fingers, and are graded in sizes – here in Australia we use letters of the alphabet (which are followed by numbers), so these go from size H up to Z, and then on from 1 to 6. The stick is for measuring the size of rings, and has different measurements, including the alphabet system, millimetres, and US sizing.

Red Drusy Agate and Sterling Silver Ring

If you’re in Brisbane, I’m always happy to measure you up for one of my custom made rings!

How to work out your ring size for those online orders!

Sterling Silver Satellite Dish Ring

Have you wanted to buy a ring online, but not known your ring size? It’s always best to get a professional to measure with the appropriate gauges, however if you don’t have easy access to a jeweller then you can try the following to work out your size:

Measuring Your Finger

Take a piece of stiff cardboard, plastic or thick wire and wrap it around your finger, then mark the exact spot where the ends join. Do not use a piece of string or paper, as these will bend to the shape of your finger. A piece of cereal box or similar should be about right for most rings. It is best to make the piece of card etc. the width of the new ring. With a ruler measure the length of this piece of card or wire. Read the ring size by circumference from the chart below.

After you have measured the length then tape it together and put it on your finger just like a real ring. Make it a firm fit, but be sure not to push or squeeze it because you won’t be able to do that with a real ring. Make sure it fits over the knuckle. If you have used a thin piece of wire and your new ring is a wide band you must add some size to allow for this. The reverse may also be true. If you use a wide piece of cardboard but the ring is going to be thin then take a quarter size off.

Your ring should fit your finger comfortably; snugly enough so that it will not fall off, but loosely enough to slide over your knuckle. Finger size changes depending on the time of day and the weather. For best results measure your finger size at the end of the day and when your fingers are warm (fingers are smaller in the early morning and when cold.) Measure finger size three to four times to make sure you get a correct reading.

Opal and White Gold Ring

Measuring an Existing Ring

You may already have a ring which fits the finger you are trying to measure.  In this case, measure the inside diameter of the ring. This measurement is taken across the centre of the ring from the inside of one side to the inside of the other side. Measure more than once – the largest measurement will be the correct one. Once you have found that a couple of times you can be fairly sure that it is accurate.

Measure the inside circumference of the ring. Get a stiff rectangular piece of paper as thin as possible, roll it into a tube and slide it inside the ring until it fits perfectly. Keep cutting slivers off the edges of the paper until the ends are just touching. You will then have an inside length that you can measure accurately. Allow a touch extra because the paper will have taken up a bit of space inside the ring. Measure the length of the paper.

You now have two measurements to compare with the chart. You really only need one, but using both will give greater accuracy.  Next, take the length of the inside of the ring, and mark this length on a piece of very stiff paper or thin cardboard. Tape it together so that it looks like a ring. Make it as wide as the real ring. Put this on your finger and then try the real ring on. The paper ring must be the same fit as the real ring. If you are measuring someone else’s ring on your finger, even if the rings don’t actually fit you, they will both fit on the same position on your finger. Check the inside diameter and inside circumference measurements against the chart and read the size.

 Ring Sizing Chart:

Circumference Diameter UK, Europe, United States
(mm) (mm) & Australia & Canada
44.2 14.1 F 3
44.8 14.3
45.5 14.5 G
46.1 14.7
46.8 14.9 H 4
47.4 15.1
48 15.3 I
48.7 15.5 J
49.3 15.7 5
50 15.9 K
50.6 16.1
51.2 16.3 L
51.9 16.5 6
52.5 16.7 M
53.1 16.9
53.8 17.1 N
54.4 17.3 7
55.1 17.5 O
55.7 17.7
56.3 17.9 P
57 18.1 8
57.2 18.2
57.6 18.3 Q
58.3 18.5
58.9 18.8 R
59.5 19 9
60.2 19.2 S
60.8 19.4
61.4 19.6 T
62.1 19.8 10
62.7 20 U
63.4 20.2 10½
64 20.4 V
64.6 20.6 11
65.3 20.8 W
65.9 21 11½
66.6 21.2 X
67.2 21.4 12
67.8 21.6 Y
68.5 21.8 Z 12½
69.1 22
69.7 22.2 13
70.4 22.4 Z+1
71 22.6 13½

(With thanks to Blue Nile and Jewellery Express.)

Ocean Wave Jasper and Sterling Silver Ring