Ring sizing sounds like it should be simple, and then you start looking into it and realise fingers change size through the day, band width changes the fit, and half the charts online disagree with each other.
Here is what actually works, whether you are measuring your own finger or trying to work out someone else’s without saying why.
Measuring your own finger
Use a ring you already wear
The most reliable method. Take a ring you wear comfortably on the finger in question, place it on a printed size chart, and match the inside edge of the band to the circle.
Make sure it is a ring you wear on that finger. Sizes vary between fingers, and between your left and right hand.
Print a sizer at home
If you have a printer, this is the quickest option. Download this free printable ring sizer — it gives you both a cut-out paper strip to wrap around your finger and a set of circles to lay an existing ring on.
One thing matters more than anything else here: print it at 100% scale, with “fit to page” and “shrink oversized pages” turned off. A 2% scaling error is a full ring size. The sheet has a credit-card outline and a ruler bar printed on it so you can check the scale came out right before you measure anything.
Measure the finger directly
No printer? Wrap a strip of paper or a length of string around the base of the finger, mark where it overlaps, then lay it flat and measure that length in millimetres. Compare it against a circumference chart.
Do not pull it tight. It should sit the way a ring would.
Buy a physical sizer
The most accurate thing you can do at home is actually slide rings onto the finger, which is what a gauge set lets you do. This steel ring sizer set is inexpensive and does the job properly — 27 steel rings covering US sizes 1 to 13, plus a mandrel you can slide an existing ring onto to read its size.
Worth it if you are buying something that cannot be resized, or if you want to double-check a paper measurement before we commit.
A word on the cheap flexible plastic sizers: they are better than guessing, but they stretch, and they are not precise. Use one to get in the neighbourhood, not to make the final call.
Finding someone else’s size quietly
Borrow a ring
By far the most reliable. Take one they already wear on the correct finger, then either trace the inside circle onto paper, press it into a bar of soap, lay it on the printed circle chart above, or measure it against a ruler.
Put it back before it is missed.
Ask someone who would know
A parent, a sibling, a close friend. Someone who wears rings alongside them often knows their size.
Or do not worry about it
Your first resize with me is complimentary. Getting the moment right matters considerably more than getting the size right on the first attempt.
Getting an accurate measurement
- Measure at the end of the day. Fingers swell as the day goes on, and a ring that fits at 8am can feel tight by evening.
- Avoid extremes of temperature. Cold hands measure smaller, warm hands measure larger. Skip it straight after a workout, a hot shower, or coming in from the cold.
- Measure more than once, on different days if you can.
- The right fit slides on with light resistance and needs a small tug to come back over the knuckle.
- Large knuckles change the maths. If the knuckle is noticeably wider than the base of the finger, size to clear the knuckle and we can add sizing beads or a fitted bar so the ring does not spin.
Things that change the fit
Band width
Wider bands fit more snugly. On anything over about 6mm, consider going up a half size rather than matching the size of a thinner ring.
Stacking
If the ring will be worn against another ring, day in and day out, mention it. Two bands sitting together fit differently from one on its own.
Everyday life
Fingers change over the years — with heat, cold, exercise, medication, pregnancy, weight, and simply time. This is normal and it is not a sizing failure. It is one of the reasons resizing exists.
What size will it be?
US ring sizes generally run from about 3 to 13, and it depends entirely on the individual finger rather than anything else about the person. A larger hand does not always mean a larger ring size, and a slim build does not always mean a small one.
Which is a long way of saying: measure, do not assume.
A note on resizing
Every piece I make comes with a complimentary first resize.
Some designs cannot be resized once made — full eternity bands where stones run the whole way round, certain pavé settings, and some tension or inlay designs.
If you are unsure, just ask before you order. Tell me which piece you are looking at and I will let you know whether it can be resized later, so you can decide whether to adjust the design or take extra care with the measurement now.
Still unsure?
Send me what you have — a measurement, the size of a ring you already own, or just a question. I would rather spend five minutes on this with you now than resize something later.