A proposal is one of the most exciting moments in anyone’s life. It’s a promise to spend every day with your best friend, to build a life together, to experience adventures together, and, of course, it’s a chance to show off a beautiful sparkling ring! One worry that shouldn’t cloud the special day’s enjoyment is whether or not the ring will fit.
That’s why the experts at Diamonds Factory Ireland have created a handy guide to relieve some of the pressure. Once you’ve settled on the shape and size of the ring you want, you’ll need to measure (or try to sneakily work out) your partner’s ring size. Ideally, an engagement ring should be tight enough that it doesn’t fall off but loose enough to take it off if need be. By following the steps below, you should be able to find a ring that fits your partner perfectly.
1. Have a peek in your partner’s jewellery box.
If you’re planning a surprise and think that measuring your partner’s finger with a string might be a little too obvious, consider borrowing one of your partner’s existing, well-fitted rings to measure the diameter.
The diameter is the measurement across the inner width of the ring. To measure this, grab a tape measure or a ruler and measure the widest points of the inside of the ring, from edge to edge. If possible, try to use a circular ring for the most accurate reading. If your partner doesn’t have a circular ring and you are instead trying to measure a ring of a different shape, measure the shortest distance across.
Once you have the diameter, match this with the closest measurements on the ring size chart to learn the correct size. Alternatively, you could take the ring they already own to a jeweller, who will gladly size it for you.
Of course, do bear in mind that most people don’t wear a ring on their wedding finger before they are engaged, and most fingers are usually different sizes. But, while it may not be entirely accurate, it should be pretty close.
2. Take unpredictable changes in climates into consideration.
When measuring for the correct ring size, something else to remember is that fingers expand and contract depending on the temperature. Too hot, and they’ll often swell up; too cold, and they’ll be slightly smaller than usual. They can also expand throughout the day, depending on factors like activity and water consumption.
If you decide to measure your partner’s finger yourself, or even if you go to a jeweller to have them professionally measured, try and do this on a mild day and toward the end of the day too. Also, keep in mind that the fingers on the dominant hand are usually larger. So, if your partner is left-handed for instance, their ring size could be a little bigger.
3. As a last resort, you can always give it a guess!
While guessing your partner’s ring size may sound risky, it’s actually not unusual. Generally speaking, our fingers are proportionate to the rest of our bodies. If your partner is petite, they’ll likely have a smaller ring size. Likewise, if they have a bigger build, you could assume that their ring size may be on the larger side.
The average engagement ring size for women is L-O (an inside circumference of 51.2mm to 52.5mm). For men, the average engagement ring size is S-T (an inside circumference of 60.2mm to 61.4mm).
If you can’t get away with borrowing their ring for a day, another way to make an educated guess of your partner’s ring size is to playfully slide a ring they are already wearing onto your own finger and quickly mark with a fine pen where on your finger it gets stuck. This is dependent on whether your partner’s finger is smaller than yours. You can then measure your finger at this point or ask a jeweller to measure it for you.
What if you order the wrong size?
Tony French, Regional Sales Manager at Diamonds Factory, tells us it’s not the end of the world! “First of all, don’t panic. Mistakes happen, and when buying an engagement ring as a surprise, you can never be certain your measurements or guesses are completely accurate. Plenty of people don’t get the size right the first time. But, usually, both you and your partner are in such a happy bubble at the time that it doesn’t really matter. Especially as you can always take your partner’s ring to be resized after the romantic proposal!”
