How To Work Out Your Ring Size
Whether you are buying a ring for yourself or for somebody else, getting the size right is terribly important. After all, there is nothing worse than spending your days worrying that your precious jewel is about to slip from your finger and be lost forever, or that your blood supply is about to be cut off every time the sun comes out.
Ring sizing, it has to be said, can never be an exact science. During the course of the day and night, our fingers are constantly changing size as they warm up and cool down. It is possible, however, to come to a very close approximation and there are a number of effective ways to do this which we will come to in a moment. Before we look at this though, here is a handy chart which shows the standard ring size measurements.
| RING SIZE (UK) |
INNER DIAMETER IN MM |
INNER CIRCUMFERENCE IN MM | RING SIZE (UK) |
INNER DIAMETER IN MM |
INNER CIRCUMFERENCE IN MM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 11.97 | 36.25 | Q | 18.27 | 57.49 |
| B | 12.36 | 38.64 | R | 18.68 | 58.75 |
| C | 12.75 | 39.90 | S | 19.09 | 60.00 |
| D | 13.14 | 41.15 | T | 19.50 | 61.26 |
| E | 13.53 | 42.41 | U | 19.91 | 62.52 |
| F | 13.92 | 43.67 | V | 20.32 | 63.77 |
| G | 14.31 | 44.92 | W | 20.73 | 65.00 |
| H | 14.70 | 46.18 | X | 21.14 | 66.29 |
| I | 15.09 | 47.44 | Y | 21.55 | 67.51 |
| J | 15.48 | 48.69 | Z | 21.96 | 68.77 |
| K | 15.87 | 49.95 | Z+1 | 22.29 | 69.99 |
| L | 16.26 | 51.24 | Z+2 | 22.69 | 71.31 |
| M | 16.65 | 52.46 | Z+3 | 23.06 | 72.57 |
| N | 17.04 | 53.72 | Z+4 | 23.47 | 73.83 |
| O | 17.45 | 54.98 | Z+5 | 23.87 | 75.08 |
| P | 17.86 | 56.23 | Z+6 | 24.27 | 76.34 |
Although the best way to determine your ring size is to have your finger professionally measured, this is not always practicable. If this is the case, any of the methods below will give you a very good guide as to the size required, although it is important to remember not to carry out the measurement when your hands are cold. You also need to take into account that if you intend buying a ring with a particularly wide band, it will need to be of a slightly larger size because of the natural shape of your finger.
Commercially available ring gauges
Very inexpensive little gadgets, commercially available ring gauges come in two main forms. The first is similar to the set of pre-cast ‘rings’ that professional jewellers use, although is typically made from plastic. Rather than having to use a measuring stick to work out the size, each of the ‘rings’ is manufactured and marked with one of the standard UK sizes and it is simply a case of finding the ring that fits and noting its size.
The second type of gauge is a simple strip of narrow plastic, similar to a cable tie, with the various sizes marked along its length. All you need to do is slip it on, tighten it (remembering of course to leave enough room to allow you to remove it), and then note the ring size indicated on the gauge.
The string or paper method
This simple method requires nothing more than a piece of string or a narrow piece of paper, a pen and a ruler.
- Wrap the string or paper around the base of the ring finger
- Mark the string or paper where it overlaps the leading end
- Measure the length of the string or paper from the leading end to the pen mark in millimetres
- Use the measurements in the column marked ‘Inner Circumference’ in the ring conversion chart above to work out the size
The tracing method
This method is particularly useful if you are buying a ring as a surprise gift for a partner or friend and only takes a few seconds to do.
- Discretely borrow another ring belonging to your partner or friend and trace the inside of the ring on a piece of paper
- Later, simply measure the inside circumference using a tape measure or, easier still, measure the inside diameter, and work out the size from the measurements in the relevant column of the conversion chart above