Ring Sizes

Checking Your Ring Size

IF you don't know your ring size at all, you can find out at any jewelry store or the jewelry counter of any department store. Just tell them you need to get your your finger sized for a ring. They'll be glad to help you. And it's easy.

They'll hand you a ring gauge. It's just a big heap of plain metal (or plastic) bands each marked with a different ring size. Find the one that best fits your finger. A little looser is usually better than a little tighter. That's because your finger can easily vary by a half size or more throughout the year. You might find that rings fit more loosely in the winter and a bit tighter in the summer. Or, if you've been eating a lot of salty food, your body may retain more water and your finger size will go up a bit. The difference probably won't be noticeable to the eye, but you'll feel it when putting your ring on or taking it off.

Another option is to take a ring that you already know fits to the aforementioned jeweler or jewelry counter. They can measure that ring and tell you what size it is.

There are online pages that show you how to measure your size yourself. I do not recommend these! It's way too easy to make a mistake. Or you can find the exact size for the base of your finger where the ring will sit, but get thrown off by a knuckle the ring has to squeeze over to get there. There's no substitute for using a ring gauge. Do so if you can.

Having said that, if you cannot get to a jeweler or jewelry counter, or if you're trying to surprise somebody who doesn't already have a ring you can sneak off for measurement and you have no choice but to measure their finger while they're sleeping, or if you steadfastly insist on doing everything possible for yourself, you can get tips on self-measurement here or here. But if you end up with a ring too small or too large, don't say I didn't warn ya!

Okay, but suppose you already know your rings size — in Great Britain. Or Japan. Or if you know the diameter of your finger but have no idea what that means in terms of ring size. There are a bunch of different ring measurement systems, so it's simply a matter of translating them into US sizes. For that, use the chart below.

Note: The European and Japanese sizes here are rounded to the nearest US half size. While some are not 100% accurate, they should be correct within 1/4 US size. A quarter size is practically imperceptable to most people.

U.S. Size	Diameter, Inches	Diameter, Millimeters	Cirumference, Inches	Circumference, Millimeters	British	French	German	Japanese	Swiss
00000	0.39	9.9	1.22	31
00	0.42	10.7	1.32	33.5
0	0.45	11.5	1.41	36
1/2	0.47	12	1.48	37.5	A
1	0.49	12.4	1.54	39	B			1
1 1/2	0.50	12.8	1.57	40	C
2	0.52	13.2	1.63	41.5	D	41 1/2	13 1/2	2	1 1/2
2 1/2	0.535	13.6	1.68	42.5	E	42 3/4	13 3/4	3	2 3/4
3	0.55	14.1	1.73	44	F	44	14	4	4
3 1/2	0.57	14.5	1.79	45.0	G	45 1/4	14 1/2	5 1/2	5 1/2
4	0.585	14.9	1.84	46.5	H 1/2	46 1/2	15	7	6 3/4
4 1/2	0.60	15.3	1.88	48	I 1/2	49	15 1/4	8	7 3/4
5	0.62	15.7	1.95	49	J 1/2	50	15 3/4	9	10
5 1/2	0.635	16.1	2.0	50.5	L	51 3/4	16	10 1/2	11 3/4
6	0.65	16.5	2.04	51.5	M	52 3/4	16 1/2	12	12 3/4
6 1/2	0.665	16.9	2.09	53	N	54	17	13	14
7	0.68	17.4	2.14	54	O	55 1/4	17 1/4	14	15 1/4
7 1/2	0.70	17.8	2.20	55.5	P	56 1/2	17 3/4	15	16 1/2
8	0.715	18.2	2.25	56.5	Q	57 3/4	18	16	17 3/4
8 1/2	0.73	18.5	2.30	58	R	59	18 1/2	17	19
9	0.75	18.9	2.36	59	S	60 1/4	19	18	20 1/4
9 1/2	0.765	19.4	2.40	60.5	T	61 1/2	19 1/2	19	21 1/2
10	0.78	19.8	2.45	61.5	T 1/2	62 3/4	20	20	22 1/2
10 1/2	0.80	20.2	2.50	63	U 1/2	63	20 1/4	22	23 3/4
11	0.815	20.7	2.56	64	V 1/2	65	20 3/4	23	25
11 1/2	0.83	21.1	2.61	65.5	X	66 1/4	21	24	26 1/4
12	0.845	21.5	2.65	66.5	Y	67 1/2	21 1/4	25	27 1/2
12 1/2	0.86	21.9	2.70	68	Z	68 3/4	21 3/4	26	28 3/4
13	0.88	22.3	2.76	69			22	27