Practical Guide
Ring Size Is Easier to Get Right Than People Fear
Finger size is not a fixed number. It changes through the day, with the weather, with exercise and with the width of the ring itself. A finger can differ by a full size between a cold morning and a warm evening.
So the aim is not one perfect measurement. It is a measurement taken in the right conditions, cross-checked, and then confirmed against a physical sizer before anything is made. That is why we send a free ring sizer, and why resizing is complimentary for the first year.
If the ring is a surprise, there are quieter ways to work it out. Those are further down.
Three Ways
How to Measure
In order of reliability. The string and paper strip method is popular online and is the least accurate of all, because both stretch and neither tells you whether the ring will pass the knuckle.
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Order a free ring sizer
The most reliable route, and it costs nothing. A physical sizer goes on the finger, sits there for a few minutes, and tells you what a real ring feels like rather than what a piece of paper suggests. Post it back or keep it.
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Measure a ring she already wears
Take a ring that fits the correct finger, measure the inside edge to edge in millimetres, and read that diameter off the chart below. Measure the inside, not the outside, and make sure the ring is not a different finger's size.
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Ask us, and we will help you work it out
Send us a photograph of a ring beside a ruler, or the inside measurement, and we will tell you the size and how confident we are in it. If the answer sits between two sizes we will say so and explain which way to go.
Conversion Chart
UK Ring Sizes, A to Z+6
Inside diameter and circumference are in millimetres. If you have measured an existing ring, find your figure in the diameter column and read the UK size across from it.
| UK | Diameter mm | Circumference mm | Europe | US |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 11.9 | 37.8 | - | 1/2 |
| B | 12.3 | 39.1 | - | 1 |
| C | 12.7 | 40.4 | - | 1 1/2 |
| D | 13.1 | 41.7 | 41 1/2 | 2 |
| E | 13.5 | 42.9 | 42 3/4 | 2 1/2 |
| F | 13.9 | 44.2 | 44 | 3 |
| G | 14.3 | 45.5 | 45 1/4 | 3 3/8 |
| H | 14.7 | 46.8 | 46 1/2 | 3 3/4 |
| I | 15.1 | 48.0 | 47 3/4 | 4 1/4 |
| J | 15.5 | 48.7 | 49 | 4 5/8 |
| K | 15.9 | 50.0 | 50 | 5 1/8 |
| L | 16.3 | 51.2 | 51 3/4 | 5 1/2 |
| M | 16.7 | 52.5 | 52 3/4 | 6 |
| N | 17.1 | 53.8 | 54 | 6 1/2 |
| O | 17.5 | 55.1 | 55 1/4 | 7 |
| P | 17.9 | 56.3 | 56 1/2 | 7 1/2 |
| Q | 18.2 | 57.2 | 57 3/4 | 8 |
| R | 18.6 | 58.9 | 59 | 8 5/8 |
| S | 19.1 | 60.2 | 60 1/4 | 9 1/8 |
| T | 19.5 | 61.4 | 61 1/2 | 9 5/8 |
| U | 20.0 | 62.7 | 62 3/4 | 10 1/4 |
| V | 20.3 | 64.0 | 63 | 10 5/8 |
| W | 20.7 | 65.3 | 65 | 11 1/8 |
| X | 21.1 | 66.6 | 66 1/4 | 11 5/8 |
| Y | 21.5 | 67.8 | 67 1/2 | 12 |
| Z | 21.5 | 68.5 | 68 3/4 | 12 |
| Z+1 | 22.2 | 69.8 | 70 | 12 1/2 |
| Z+2 | 22.6 | 71.1 | 71 1/4 | 13 |
| Z+3 | 23.0 | 72.4 | 72 1/2 | 13 1/2 |
| Z+4 | 23.5 | 73.7 | 73 3/4 | 14 |
| Z+5 | 23.9 | 75.0 | 75 | 14 1/2 |
| Z+6 | 24.3 | 76.3 | 76 1/4 | 15 |
A dash means that scale publishes no equivalent at that size, and European and US sizes do not map exactly onto the UK letters, so a conversion is the nearest match rather than an exact one. If your measurement falls between two rows, send us both figures and we will recommend which way to go. We confirm every size against a physical sizer before making anything.
The One Thing Everyone Gets Wrong
Measure in the Afternoon, Never When Cold
Fingers are at their smallest first thing in the morning and after being out in the cold, and at their largest late in the day, in warm weather, and after exercise or a salty meal. The swing can be a full size.
So measure late afternoon or early evening, at normal room temperature, and take the measurement two or three times on different days. A ring sized to a cold morning finger will be uncomfortable by every evening for the rest of its life.
What Changes the Answer
Four Things That Move Your Size
- The width of the band
A wide ring feels tighter than a narrow one of the same size, because it covers more of the finger. Anything from about 6mm upward usually needs a quarter to a half size larger than a 2mm band.
- A prominent knuckle
If the knuckle is noticeably larger than the base of the finger, the ring has to pass the knuckle and then not spin. That is a fitting problem rather than a sizing one, and it is solved with sizing beads or a slightly sprung shank.
- Temperature and time of day
Cold shrinks, heat swells. Same finger, different size. This is normal and not a fault in the ring, which is why a ring should feel just slightly snug when it goes on in a warm room.
- Life, over the years
Weight change, pregnancy, medication and simply getting older all move finger size. Most people change at least once. Complimentary resizing covers the first year, and after that resizing is a straightforward workshop job.
If It Is a Surprise
Working It Out Quietly
Every one of these has been done successfully by someone we have made a ring for.
- Borrow a ring she already wearsThe single best method. Take it from the correct finger, measure the inside diameter, and put it back the same day.
- Press one into soap or clayAn impression of the inside edge gives us something to measure accurately. A clear photograph beside a ruler works too.
- Ask someone who would knowA sister, a best friend or a mother very often knows, and can usually be trusted with the question.
- Size to the middle, then resize afterIf you truly cannot find out, we make to a considered estimate and resize once it has been given. That is what the complimentary first year is for.
- Do not guess from a shoe or glove sizeThere is no relationship, despite what the internet suggests, and nor is there a reliable one to height or build.
- Avoid string and paper stripsBoth stretch, both compress, and neither accounts for the knuckle. They are the most common cause of a ring arriving wrong.
Free, and Posted to You
Order a Free Ring Sizer
A physical sizer is the only way to know how a ring actually feels on the finger. We will post one out at no charge, with no obligation, anywhere in the UK.
Common Questions
Ring Size Questions
What is the most common UK ring size?
For women, around L to N. For men, around T to V. That is a useful fallback for a surprise rather than a substitute for measuring, and we would still rather help you work out the real answer first.
How should a ring feel when it fits?
Snug enough that it will not fall off, loose enough to turn on the finger with a little effort, and it should need a small amount of persuasion to come back over the knuckle. If it slides off easily it is too big, and it will be lost eventually.
Can any ring be resized?
Most can, within a size or two either way. Full eternity rings set all the way round usually cannot, because there is no plain metal to cut and rejoin, and rings with channel or tension settings are limited. If resizing might be needed later, that is worth discussing at the design stage.
Do you charge for resizing?
Resizing is complimentary for the first year on anything we have made. After that it is a normal workshop charge, which depends on the ring and how far it has to move. We will always quote before doing the work.
Should a wide band be a bigger size?
Usually yes, by a quarter to a half size, because a wide band covers more of the finger and feels tighter. If you are buying a wedding ring to sit alongside an engagement ring, the pair together also feel snugger than either alone. We allow for both.
My measurement is between two sizes. Which do I choose?
Generally the larger, particularly if the knuckle is prominent or the band is wide. A slightly loose ring can be tightened with beads or resized down easily; a ring that will not pass the knuckle cannot be worn at all. Tell us both figures and we will advise on the specific design.
Can you size a ring from a photograph?
We can get close from a clear photograph of the inside of an existing ring beside a ruler, and we will tell you how confident we are. For anything being made rather than bought off the shelf we would still want a physical sizer confirmed first.
The Engagement Ring Guide
Free Download
The Engagement Ring Guide
Sizing in full, plus budget, the Four Cs, shapes, settings, metals and how a bespoke commission works.