It feels amazing to receive an engagement ring from the love of your life. And while you will always cherish that moment, you can’t guarantee that your ring will fit you for the rest of your life. In fact, it may not even fit well on day one of your engagement! Fortunately, getting an engagement ring (or any ring for that matter) resized is not a big deal. You can take your ring to a jeweler and get it resized without spending a fortune.
The tricky part is knowing whether or not you need your ring resized in the first place. For some people, it may be an easy decision. If the ring won’t even fit past the knuckle or it’s so loose that it slides right off, then you know you need to get it resized. For others, the ring may be very close to the right size, but just slightly off. In these situations, it may not be quite as clear what should be done.
So, how do you know if your engagement ring is a good fit? Should you get your ring resized? If so, should you get it sized up or down? Can your ring size change over time? How do you measure your current ring size? Are there any ways to make a ring fit better without taking it to the jeweler? Finally, where can you find high-quality engagement rings at affordable prices?
In today’s guide, we will answer all of these questions and more, but first, let’s take a closer look at how rings should fit:
How Should A Ring Fit?
It is typically best to judge the fit of an engagement ring using the left ring finger. While you can always choose to wear your engagement ring on a different finger, the left ring finger is the place where engagement rings and wedding bands are traditionally worn. Therefore, if you want to judge how well a ring fits, it’s a good idea to start with the left ring finger. That said, if you know for sure that you want to wear it on another finger, you should test the fit of a ring using the desired finger.
Generally speaking, a ring should pass over the finger (including the knuckle) with relative ease and rest snugly on the part of your finger nearest to the palm of your hand. However, “snug” is a rather vague description. What feels snug to one person may not feel snug to someone else. This is another reason why testing how well a ring fits is difficult and subjective.
How Snug Should A Ring Fit?
A snug ring should feel tight enough that it does not slide around on your finger, but not so tight that it causes the surrounding skin to bulge outward. Just as importantly, the ring should not leave any substantial mark or indentation when you take it off (not to be confused with a tan line). You can usually tell that a ring fits if it is easy to take on and off without hurting your knuckle, while at the same time fitting tightly enough that it is not at risk of sliding off your finger.
How Do You Know If Your Engagement Ring Is Too Loose?
A ring is too loose if it does not naturally stay in one place as you go about your day. It’s acceptable if a ring gravitates from one part of your lower finger to another part over a few hours’ time. But if your engagement ring is always moving around as your hand changes positions, it is a clear sign that it is too loose. While tight rings are often uncomfortable, loose rings can be a liability, as a loose ring can easily fall off and be lost forever.
Measuring Your Ring Size
If you want to make sure that you get the right size for your ring before a purchase has been made, you should try to measure your ring size first. Any jeweler can do this for you in a matter of seconds using a tool called a mandrel. Alternatively, you can measure your ring size at home with a piece of string or ribbon by following these steps:
- Cut a piece of string or ribbon that is long enough to wrap around your finger multiple times.
- Setting one end of the material against the base of your finger, wrap the rest of the material around your finger once.
- Mark the string or ribbon with a pen at the point where it intersects with the end of the string that you set against your finger.
- Measure the marked segment of the string or ribbon with measuring tape.
- Use a ring size chart to convert your measurement into the correct ring size.
Do Ring Sizes Change?
So, you measured your ring finger and told your fiancé the right size. You get your engagement ring and it fits great. Fast-forward to your wedding day and your fiancé gets the same ring size for the wedding band. Now, you find that both your engagement ring and the wedding band don’t fit very well. What happened?
The truth is that everybody’s fingers fluctuate in size over time. Everything from your weight to the weather can affect ring size, and there’s not always much you can do about it. Oftentimes, heat causes your fingers to swell, which means that a ring that fits great in the winter may not even get past your knuckle in the summer.
That said, the kind of variation you get from seasonal swelling is usually not enough to prevent you from wearing a ring. However, weight gain or weight loss can be enough to make a ring become too tight or too loose. This can happen naturally with age, during pregnancy, or even following stressful life events. So, don’t worry if your ring doesn’t fit all of the sudden. You may just need to get it resized.
Is It Better To Have A Ring Sized Up Or Down?
As a general rule, it is better to size a ring up than to size it down. This is true whether an old ring doesn’t fit anymore or you discover that your real size is somewhere between the standard ring sizes. Why? Because if you resize a ring and find that it’s too large, it is pretty easy and inexpensive to have it changed to a smaller size. On the other hand, if you need to have your ring sized up after having it sized down, it may cost you more, as you will need to use more of the underlying material (gold, titanium, etc.) to make it larger again.
How To Make A Ring Fit Tighter
The best way to make a ring fit tighter is to take it to the jeweler and have it sized smaller. Unfortunately, there are very few at-home solutions that can actually make a ring fit tighter. The most expedient short-term solutions are running your hands under cold water before putting on the ring to reduce swelling or investing in plastic ring guards. Ring guards adhere to one side of your ring to make it fit more snugly without actually changing the size of the ring.
We hope you found this guide on how an engagement ring should fit both useful and informative! Are you in the market for a diamond engagement ring? Do you want beautiful, certified diamond jewerly at competitive prices? If so, be sure to check out the luxurious products available at Liori Diamonds today!
