How to Measure Your Ring Size at Home
Measuring at home gets you within half a size, which is close enough to order. The mistakes that cause a ring to come back are almost never about the measurement itself — they are about measuring the wrong finger, at the wrong time of day, or converting between sizing systems without checking the chart. Here is the method that avoids all three.
What you need
A strip of paper about 10cm long and 1cm wide, or a piece of non-stretchy string. A pen. A ruler with millimetres. An existing ring that already fits is better than either, if you have one.
Do not use a tape measure that flexes, and do not use dental floss — it stretches and it cuts into the finger, both of which read small.
Method one: measure the finger
Wrap the paper around the base of the finger, just below the knuckle. It should slide over the knuckle but not fall off. Pull it snug, not tight — a finger swells slightly through the day and a ring sized to a cold morning will be uncomfortable by evening.
Mark where the paper overlaps, lay it flat, and measure the length in millimetres. That number is the finger circumference.
Now match it: 16.5mm circumference is US size 6. Each US size is about 0.4mm of circumference apart, so 15.7mm is a 5, 16.1mm is a 5.5, 16.9mm is a 6.5, and so on. Our sizing spans US 3 (14.1mm) to US 13.5 (22.6mm).
Method two: measure a ring that already fits
This is more accurate, because the ring already accounts for how that person wears it. Lay the ring on a ruler and measure the inside diameter — the distance across the opening, from inner edge to inner edge, not the outside of the band.
An inside diameter of 16.5mm is US size 6. 15.7mm is a 5. 17.3mm is a 7. The diameter steps about 0.4mm per half size.
If the band is wide (6mm or more), the ring will feel tighter than the same size in a narrow band, because more metal contacts the finger. On a wide band, size up half a size.
The four mistakes that cause returns
Measuring the wrong hand. The dominant hand is typically a half size larger than the other. If you are guessing at a partner's size, measure the hand they write with, and check which hand they wear rings on now.
Measuring cold. Fingers are smallest in the morning and in cold weather, largest in the evening and in heat. Measure at room temperature, in the afternoon, and take the average of two or three attempts.
Measuring the knuckle instead of the base. The ring sits at the base of the finger, below the knuckle. If the knuckle is much wider than the base, size for the knuckle — a ring that will not pass over it is unusable no matter how it fits at the base.
Converting without a chart. UK, EU and US sizes do not convert with a simple formula. A US 6 is a UK L½ and an EU 52. Guessing the conversion is how people end up a full size out.
Our sizing range and what can be adjusted
Most designs run US 3 to 13.5, and because the rings are made in our workshop rather than pulled from stock, most can be produced to measure at no extra cost — you order the size, we build to it.
Resizing after the fact depends on the style. A silver or gold band with plain metal at the back can usually be taken in or out by half a size without thinning the shank. Full eternity bands cannot be resized at all, because stones run the whole way around and there is no plain section to cut and rejoin — that is the single biggest reason to be sure of the size before ordering an eternity ring.
Halo and pavé settings can usually be resized, but the jeweller has to be careful around the small stones, so it costs more than a plain band.
If you are between sizes
Go up. A ring that is slightly loose can be worn on a different finger or fitted with a sizing bead later. A ring that is too tight cannot be worn at all.
A 2mm comfort band can be sized a little more freely than a 6mm wide band, so on wide bands the half-size-up rule applies in both directions.
When to ask instead of guess
If you are buying as a surprise and cannot measure the finger, the safest route is a ring they already wear. Borrow one for an hour, measure the inside diameter, put it back. That single number is worth more than any estimate from height, weight or shoe size, all of which correlate poorly with finger size.
If there is no ring to borrow, message us before ordering — we can talk through the likely size range and, where the design allows, ship a plain silver sizing band first so the real ring is made once and correctly.
Sizing questions before you order: sales@holycome.com, Monday to Saturday 09:00–18:00 GMT+8. Every ring is made in our Wuzhou workshop in 925 sterling silver or solid 9K, 14K and 18K gold, with GRA or IGI certification and 30-day returns. Start with rings or the women's ring index.