How to Measure Ring Size: Five Steps at Home

Practical and accurate ways to measure ring size at home, even for a surprise gift.

A ring that fits properly matters for both comfort and safety. A ring that is too loose falls off, while one that is too tight squeezes the finger and becomes hard to remove. You can take a reliable measurement at home before visiting us. Here is a five-step method.

1. Choose the right time

Fingers swell in the heat, in the evening and after salty meals, and shrink in the cold and in the morning. The most accurate measurement is taken in the afternoon of a day that is neither too hot nor too cold. If possible measure at two different times and take the average.

2. Prepare your tools

A thin string, a strip of paper without teeth or a jeweller's ring gauge (or an existing ring) is enough. Add a ruler and a pencil.

3. Measure around the finger

Wrap the string around the finger the ring will go on, just below the knuckle, and mark with a pencil where the string ends. Then lay the string flat against a ruler. If it reads 54 mm, the Turkish size is about 14.

4. Verify with an existing ring

If you have a ring that fits well, measure its inner diameter in millimetres and multiply by 3.14 to find the circumference. Compare this value with the string result; if the difference exceeds 1 mm, measure again.

5. Allow for band width

Rings and wedding bands wider than 6 mm wrap the finger more, so choose half to one size larger. The ring must pass over the knuckle without a struggle yet not fall off when the hand is shaken.

Tips for a surprise gift

To measure without letting the recipient know, borrow a ring that fits the finger they wear rings on and measure its inner diameter, or trace the ring on a sheet of paper. If you are unsure, give the gift with a gift card that carries a free size-exchange right; at Lalezar this service applies to every gift ring.

Our size finder

Using the ring size finder on our site you can enter your finger circumference or a ring's inner diameter and see your Turkish and US sizes in seconds. For an exact size we measure free in our boutiques and give one free resizing after delivery.

The three most common mistakes

The first is relying only on the size at the moment you put the ring on, ignoring the knuckle and swelling during the day. The second is measuring with a thick string or a soft strip by stretching it, which gives a wrong result. The third is taking the size from a finger other than the ring finger; fingers of the dominant hand are usually half a size larger.