How to discover the ring size

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The tips to measure the circumference of a finger of your partner when you want donate a ring ♦ ︎

The time has come: there is Valentine’s Day, or you want to get engaged, or it’s a birthday, or an anniversary, a wedding, you want celebrate the first Nutella together … In short, the reason to give a ring (to her or to him) only you know it. But what you do not know and want to know is the right size of the ring. Because you want to give a gift, but it must be a surprise. Do not be discouraged: millions of men and women have experienced moments of panic like yours.

There is nothing worse, in fact, to donate a ring that does not slip on the finger or rotates around like a rescue donut. So here are some tips on how to get the right size of the ring. The simplest idea is, of course, to go to the jeweler with a ring usually worn by the partner. Easy. But it is not always possible. The alternative is:

get a tapered candle.

That is, one of those candles that end almost like a point. A candle of this type closely resembles the tool that jewelers use to measure the circumference of a ring. When you have the opportunity, put a ring with the right size on the candle. Mark where it stops and, as soon as possible, measure the circumference.
To measure the circumference exactly, use a small length of rope or wool thread.

With a pencil, mark the exact point where the rope or thread overlaps. At that point, just unroll the wire and measure the length with a flat ruler. Stretch the thread well and be careful. If you want to buy a ring using the internet, know that many retailers publish tables with measures. In any case, you can immediately see the measurements in this table.

Circonferenza interna		Taglie dell'anello
(inch)	(Mm)	Usa, Canada, Messico	Gb, Irlanda, Australia, Nuova Zelanda	Cina, Giappone, Sud America	India	Europa continentale
1.44	36.5	0
1.46	37.2	¼
1.49	37.8	½	UN
1.51	38.5	¾	½
1.54	39.1	1	B	1
1.56	39.7	1 ¼	B½
1.59	40.4	1½	C			0.5
1.61	41	1¾	C½		1	1
1.64	41.7	2	D	2	2	1.75
1.67	42.3	2¼	D½			2.25
1.69	42.9	2½	E	3	3	3
1.72	43.6	2¾	E½		4	3.5
1.74	44.2	3	F	4		4.25
1.77	44.8	3¼	F½	5	5	4.75
1.79	45.5	3½	sol			5.5
1.82	46.1	3¾	G½	6	6	6
1.84	46.8	4	H	7		6.75
1.87	47.4	4¼	H½		7	7.5
1.89	48	4½	io	8	8	8
1.92	48.7	4¾	J		9	8.75
1.94	49.3	5	J½	9		9.25
1.97	50	5 ¼	K		10	10
1.99	50.6	5½	K½	10		10.5
2.02	51.2	5¾	L		11	11.25
2.04	51.9	6	L½	11	12	11.75
2.07	52.5	6¼	M	12		12.5
2.09	53.1	6½	M½	13	13	13.25
2.12	53.8	6¾	N			13.75
2.14	54.4	7	N½	14	14	14.5
2.17	55.1	7¼	O		15	15
2.19	55.7	7½	ؽ	15		15.75
2.22	56.3	7¾	P		16	16.25
2.24	57	8	P½	16	17	17
2.27	57.6	8¼	Q			17.5
2.29	58.3	8½	Q½	17	18	18.25
2.32	58.9	8¾	R		19	19
2.34	59.5	9	R½	18		19.5
2.37	60.2	9 ¼	S		20	20.25
2.39	60.8	9½	S½	19	21	20.75
2.42	61.4	9¾	T			21.5
2.44	62.1	10	T½	20	22	22
2.47	62.7	10¼	U	21	23	22.75
2.49	63.4	10½	U½	22		23.25
2.52	64	10¾	V		24	24
2.54	64.6	11	V½	23	25	24.75
2.57	65.3	11¼	W			25.25
2.59	65.9	11½	W½	24	26	26
2.62	66.6	11 ¾	X			26.5
2.65	67.2	12	X½	25	27	27.25
2.67	67.8	12¼	Y		28	27.75
2.7	68.5	12½	Z	26		28.5
2.72	69.1	12¾	Z½		29	29
2.75	69.7	13		27	30	29.75
2.77	70.4	13¼	Z1			30.5
2.8	71	13½			31	31
2.82	71.7	13¾	Z2		32	31.75
2.85	72.3	14	Z3			32.25
2.87	72.9	14¼			33	33
2.9	73.6	14½	Z4			33.5
2.92	74.2	14¾			34	34.25
2.95	74.8	15			35	34.75
2.97	75.5	15¼				35.5
3	76.1	15½			36	36.25
3.02	76.8	15¾				36.75
3.05	77.4	16			37	37.5

If the person you want to give a ring to has already been in a jewels store, it is likely that he recorded the size of his fingers. You just have to go to the same jeweler to find out, but of course it would be embarrassing not to buy a jewel there.

If you can measure directly the circumference of the fingers (but then there isn’t surprise) choose the right time anyway: in the evening. It is the time of day when the fingers are more swollen and, therefore, you do not have risk of choosing a too tight ring size. And more it would be even better to take two measurements: one in the morning and one in the evening.

Another option, especially if you are going to buy other rings, is to buy a tool suitable for measuring the circumference. On Amazon they sell different types: be careful that they show the European measurements (if you are in Europe) or the US ones (if you are in America). There are also kits that allow you to measure rings with both scales. A spindle (the instrument that looks like the candle) and a series of metal rings are a perfect tool to identify exactly the size of the ring. The kit or the single tools (the spindle and the rings) cost a few euros or dollars: a small, very useful investment.