How To Tell if Your Engagement Ring Fits
How do you know if your engagement ring fits? We are glad you asked.
It’s kind of one of those things, you just know when you know…and you definitely know when it doesn’t. Unless you’ve worn a ring on your left ring finger you may not know your exact size. Often the same finger on each hand varies drastically – our hands are likely, not symmetrical.
It’s best to talk to a jewelry expert to get your ring sized and adjusted.
Once you do find the perfect fit, rings are never going to fit perfectly, 24/7 365 days because our fingers swell from exercise, drinking, sleeping, elevation, and salty foods; and you’re probably doing at least one of the five on the reg.
At the end of the day, everyone’s fingers are different (really), but there are criteria we use across-the-board to figure out if your ring is too big, too small, or just right.
Read on to see which category you fall into, and what you can do if your ring is the wrong size.
Is my engagement ring too big?
If someone else can pull your ring off without much resistance, that is a sign it is too big and needs to be sized down. When you take the ring off yourself, you’ll be rougher than someone else would be, so if a ring slides off with a gentle touch, it’s too big and you need to have it sized down.
Occasionally, we have clients (myself included) with knuckles that are much larger than the base of the finger. This means that your ring is going to move at the base of your finger because it has to be big enough to get over your knuckle, but then it has too much extra room once it makes it over the hump. This is totally normal but it takes getting used to.
Some women have a really hard time living with a ring that moves. There are ways we can augment a ring to help with knuckle/finger size problems but none of them is a perfect fix.
1. Sizer balls are metal balls that are soldered to the inside of the ring to help fill space at the base of the finger, but leave enough room to slide past your knuckle skin. These can be uncomfortable over time or cut into your finger skin.
2. A sizer hump is a hump of metal we add to the inside of the ring to fill space at the base of your finger but allow the skin to move past. A hump is more comfortable than sizer balls but it’s not aesthetically pleasing, and can make the ring fit too tightly.
3. We can change the shape of the ring to be more oval than round so that it can be turned to the widest part to make it over the knuckle, than positioned correctly so that the sides of the ring hug the finger and keep the ring upright. This will not work for rings that have diamonds going down the side of the band because augmenting the shape of a band can cause the diamonds to fall out. Oval shaped bands tend to bother most women because it makes your ring oblong and can look kind of weird.
Humps sometimes don’t work, balls can be painful, and an oval ring may bug you. Augmenting a ring in any of these ways is a risk, so if your ring moves, try wearing it for a few months before making any of these changes.
Is my engagement ring too small?
If your ring is creating a permanent indent on your finger, that is a sign that it’s too tight and needs to be sized up. If you wear your ring to bed and you can’t get it off in the morning, that’s normal. If your ring is uncomfortably tight after exercising, traveling, or drinking alcohol, that’s also normal.
There are some restrictions when it comes to sizing your ring up. The more simple your band is, the better your chances of getting it sized up. If you have a pave diamond band or intricate metal work, changing the shape could hurt the structural integrity of the overall design.
How is your engagement ring supposed to fit?
Your engagement ring should be easier to put on than it is to take off. A lot of women think their ring is too tight at first, but they’re just not used to wearing a ring every day. Your engagement ring will probably be a tighter fit than off-the-rack fashion jewelry that you’re used to wearing, and this is a good thing. You don’t want your engagement ring to accidentally fall off or fly off when exercising, swimming, and other activities where you wave your hands around.
If you think your ring might be too big or too small, give it at least a month before you resize it. Resizing can’t be done for every single engagement ring and even for the ones it can, sizing can put stress on the ring and should be done minimally. There are some women who size down their rings in winter and then want to size up in summer when it’s hot out and their fingers swell. Don’t do this!
If you’re still not sure, go to a jeweler and get their opinion. When you’re designing a ring with Abby Sparks Jewelry we will walk you through each step of the ring design process and help you figure out the perfect size for your engagement ring. Ready to design something new? Book an appointment with Abby Sparks Jewelry today!
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