Engagement Rings: A Guide to Sizing

How should an Engagement Ring Fit?

An Engagement Ring is a deeply personal piece of jewellery that is designed to be worn and seen - a bespoke ring should have a signature-fit customised exactly to your desires. When beautiful designs and shining diamonds come together, there should be no compromise when it comes to comfort and wearability.

A preference for tighter or looser bands is a matter of opinion. There is no standard fit for an engagement ring. Guiding our clients over the years, at Janai we recommend a ring to fit quite snugly on the finger and have a little bit of resistance to remove. An engagement ring should slide on easily to feel light and comfortable, but should not be loose and moving around when you do.

The ring should feel secure and stay in place so you never have to worry about losing it. To remove, it should take a little pressure to pull the engagement ring over the knuckle. The ring must be physically unimposing and upon closer inspection not leave too deep of a mark on your skin or cause your finger to swell.

Whenever you visit the jeweller, during the consultation you can have your finger measured with a ring sizing kit and also try on samples to see what fits best. You may also measure the circumference of your ring finger and compare against an AU ring sizing chart for an estimate, although nothing will compare to a real life try-on of a ring.

Each ring will have a subtle difference in feel and fit depending on the width and style of the band/setting. Wider bands tend to feel tighter and narrower bands looser. The temperature will also cause a subtle difference in sizing as your finger swells slightly with the heat.

The Engagement Ring may be tighter or looser depending on your comfort and lifestyle, it should be the perfect combination of style and functionality. Engagement Rings can also feel different when worn with a wedding band so it can be worth trying on an intended bridal set together in-store to best understand the fit and comfort.

Can Diamond Rings be resized?

Over the years as life changes occur you may need to resize your Engagement Ring. After pregnancies, weight loss or weight gain the ring may no longer fit as it used to. At the stage when the ring is causing discomfort or no longer wearable, you may consider resizing. And keep in mind full eternity or pave bands are harder to resize when making considerations when buying new rings.

At this time it is always recommended to take your ring back to the trusted jeweller where you purchased from. They can make the required adjustments to produce the custom fit that is perfectly tailored for you, and will know the ring best. Many jewellers will not size rings they did not produce so as to not cause damage. Making adjustments to the sizing of a ring is a delicate process. Each setting and style is different and requires a consultation to assess the resizing process and the options available. Generally rings can be quite simply resized up or down by one or two sizes larger or smaller.

Solitaire rings are the most straightforward style setting to make sizing changes. To make the ring larger the band is cut and extra 18ct Gold or Platinum are added, then the setting is molded into a circular shape and soldered together. To make the ring smaller is the opposite process, the band is cut and a small piece of 18ct Gold or Platinum is removed. Then similarly the band is molded back into a circular shape and soldered together. With a skilled jeweller there should be no evidence of a resize as the join in the gold will be polished to perfection. Any type of 18ct White Gold, 18ct Rose Gold, 18ct Yellow Gold and Platinum can be resized.

As a general rule, the more gold in the band and setting means more flexibility when it comes to resizing. Whereas more diamonds on the band lends itself to a more complicated process. Sizing rings with delicate paves, many diamonds along the shoulders, and intricate band designs can have more restrictions with sizing. With these designs changing the size can risk putting too much pressure on the setting, cause diamonds to move, fall out or even crack. It must be noted that eternity rings (a style with diamonds going around the entirety of the band) cannot be resized at all.

It is best to have your ring assed and see the options available. Some rings require craftsmanship beyond a subtle resize, and will instead require a re-make or re-set of the diamonds. If you are gravitating towards designs with many small and intricate diamonds on the band it is sensible to note that they may not be able to be easily sized in the future. It is recommended to size a more complicated design after purchase only one time, whereas a solitaire ring has the flexibility to be sized multiple times. Our diamond specialists can advise on the flexibility or limitations of sizing of a ring based on an individual assessment.

What is the process of resizing?

At Janai after your ring has been assessed and a size has been decided upon, the process of adjusting the new size for your Engagement Ring will take two weeks. The cost of re-sizing starts at $180, which includes cleaning the ring, polishing, retipping the claws as well as checking and tightening the structure of the ring.

With this in mind, a beautifully crafted ring should be worn for a lifetime. A greater focus on finding the perfect fit and comfort ensures you will wear your Engagement Ring often as it was originally intended. At Janai we want to ensure your sparkling diamond is able to be worn and admired. We have an expert team of jewellers and diamond setters who are able to assist with all of you resizing requests.

Janai Jewellery - Your ideal jewellery store to customise engagement rings in Melbourne!

To book an appointment for a resize, or to create your bespoke Diamond Ring please fill out your details below.