I wear rings on different fingers all the time and I’ve noticed something.
There is a big ring size difference between fingers.
Are you thinking about wearing rings on a different finger too?
Ring Size Difference Between Fingers
Most people have a 1/2 to 1 size difference between each finger excluding the thumb and pinky. The thumb is usually the same size as your pointer finger, and the pinky is 2 sizes smaller than your ring finger. Fingers on the dominant hand are also a 1/4 size bigger.
How To Work Out Your Ring Size
If you want to work out the exact ring size of each finger you should pop into a jewelry store.
The jeweler will be able to measure your ring size using a special tool within seconds.
Ask if you can measure the ring size of all your fingers and thumbs on each hand. You never know when you’ll want to wear something on a specific finger.
Write down the sizes and keep them somewhere safe at home.
How Can You Measure Your Ring Size At Home?
It’s also possible to measure the exact size of all your fingers and thumbs at home. To do it properly you’ll need a cheap ring resizer measuring tool from Amazon.
For around $5 you’ll be able to measure any digit within seconds. It’s a great tool to have going forwards if you want to order rings online.
You’ll find a much bigger selection than any jewelry store in your city at unbeatable prices.
How To Guess Ring Size Of Each Finger
The average person’s ring size is going to increase 1/2 to 1 size per finger. A lot of jewelers recommend using a 3/4 size difference per finger. So someone with a size 6 ring finger would have a size 6.75 middle finger and size 7.5 pointer finger.
There is also a 1/4 size difference between your dominant hand and submissive hand. This can be as much as a 1/2 size difference too.
Over the years our dominant hand tends to grow a little bigger because it’s used constantly daily.
Take off a ring you’re wearing at the moment and measure it against the chart below. Once you know the size of the ring you’ll be able to work out the size of your other ringers.
There is also a simpler way to measure the size of your ring finger at home, but it might give you slightly worse results than the chart you just examined.
In the ring size guide above the ring size goes up 1 size per finger from the ring finger to the pointer finger.
The pinky finger is 2 sizes smaller than your ring finger, and the thumb is the same size as your pointer finger.
On your less dominant hand, everything will be the same except all the sizes will be a 1/4 size smaller.
If you want a good starting point when trying to find the right ring size for each finger we’ll take a look at the average ring size for women and men.
It should let you know whether or not you’ve made a mistake working out your ring size if it’s way off.
What Is The Average Ring Size For A Woman?
The average ring size for women in the US is a size 6.
What Is The Average Ring Size For A Man?
The average ring size for men in the US is a size 10.
Does Ring Size Change With Age?
If you’ve looked into your ring size in the past it might be worth checking again before you buy any jewelry.
Ring size changes as we get older due to various reasons, so the size you might be used to work out the size of your other fingers and thumbs could be wrong.
There are a few other reasons why your ring size might change on a more regular basis:
- Weather
- Weight gain
- Pregnancy
- Medication
- Exercise
Weather is the most common reason why your fingers and thumbs change size. Blood vessels expand in summer and constrict during winter.
Before you attempt to work out the size of any finger or thumb it might be worth seeing what size you’ll be throughout summer and winter.
In winter, you can reduce the size of your digits by exercising or relaxing in a hot tub at the gym.
In summer, you can increase the size of your digits by holding them against a bag of frozen veg for a few minutes.
It will give you even more data to come up with an accurate estimate for the ring size of each one of your fingers and thumbs.
Is It Better To Size A Ring Up Or Down?
Once you’ve estimated the ring size of your fingers and thumbs you should always size up instead of down.
It’s much easier and cheaper to make your ring smaller if it needs to be resized. A slightly larger ring is better than a slightly smaller one.
If you wear multiple rings on each finger it’s even more beneficial to size up. When two rings are on the same finger they’ll fit more snugly.
Tapered vs Knotted Knuckles
Everybody comes in a different shape and we don’t always have the same fingers. Here is the difference between tapered and knotted knuckles:
Tapered knuckles = fingers bigger than knuckles
Knotted knuckles = knuckles bigger than fingers
People with tapered fingers will have fingers that slowly taper down from the base of the finger until they reach the tip.
If you have knotted knuckles the base of your finger where the ring sits will be thinner than your chunky knuckles.
In most cases, it’s not going to make too much difference. You just need to be careful because each one comes with a slight disadvantage.
If you have a tapered finger your ring should be snug enough that it won’t move because it can slide off much easier.
It’s harder to get a ring over your knotted knuckle, so sometimes you’ll have a hard time getting it on and off. At least you won’t lose it as easily.
Questions + Answers
Does 1/4 Ring Size Make A Difference?
A 1/4 ring size doesn’t make a big difference, so don’t be too worried. If you put too much salt on your popcorn your finger could be a 1/4 size bigger the following day. Your ring finger is constantly going to change size throughout the year anyway.
Just follow what we’ve talked about by sizing up when necessary. Once your ring is off by a 1/2 size you might need to think about resizing and ring resizing beads.
Ring Size Difference Between Fingers
There will only be roughly 3 ring sizes between your thumb and pinky finger. All your other fingers will fall in between those sizes. Your ring finger is around 1 size smaller than your middle finger. The middle finger is around 1 size smaller than your index finger.