Sizing for dress rings.
In my world, dress rings are big, very showy and they have lovely wide bands.
Getting the sizing right for them is a little different than for more delicate affairs - the main issue is that the wider band makes it a less precise fit than for say a wedding ring which at 1 or 2 mms wide, goes on and stays on. A wider band has more contact with the finger and will need to accommodate the broadest part more generously than with a thin band. A tight fit will make a ring that’s snug in cold weather, impossible to wear on the same finger on high summer nights out. So it pays to be flexible - open to wearing rings on the best finger available. The other thing is that if your finger measures comfortably for a dress ring as a size N on normal day, you can get away with a size Q or an L, it really can be that flexible.
Four different ways to find out the best size for your dress ring
If you’re in the area, make arrangement to pop in and see me, I can measure you in person.
If not local, go to any jeweller and ask them to measure you for a broad band. If you’re going to be flexible, have them give you the range of sizes for the fingers you’d want to wear on. Make a note of whether your fingers are cold and small or warm and larger. Choose the size at the top of the range. All that said, if you’re being flexible don’t over think it! Just get the biggest size you think you need.
Take a ring you already love with a wide band. Get a thin piece of masking tape and tape it around the INSIDE of the ring. Make a mark using a fine nibbed pen to indicate the circumference, take it out (without stretching the tape), stick it on a piece of paper and measure it with an accurate ruler - to the .5 of a mm if you can.
Take a chance! You know your hands, if you know the size of a thin ring on a particular finger we can guesstimate a comfortable size. If you are size S with a thin band, then go for at least two (yes two!) sizes up for a thicker one.
If your ring is too loose and re-sizing seems too extreme, there are a few things you can do
You can wear a thin band in front of your ring to hold it on, it can be a smaller size and slip under the bezel of a larger ring.
Use a silicone re-sizer which sits inside your ring and allows it to fit snugly
Or have a couple of sizing beads soldered onto the inside of the ring which will provide some grip.
If in doubt, give me a shout!