temperature affect ring

If you are a ring wearer, you may have found yourself dealing with the discomfort of a ring that is too small at some point in your life and we know it isn't fun.  When it is your wedding ring, the fun meter drops even more drastically because you want to be able to wear your titanium wedding ring for the rest of your life.  It can even be a health concern if you just continue wearing a ring that is too small, so it is best to contact us immediately so that we can set you up with a Sizing Exchange.  We offer Sizing Exchanges for life for half price. Don't wait until your finger looks like this!

Indention from wearing a ring that is too small - temperature affect ring

How Can I Tell if My Ring is Too Small?

• YOUR RING WON'T COME OFF: The best way to tell if your wedding ring is too small is if you can’t wiggle it off. A wedding ring is supposed to be slightly snug on your finger so it doesn’t fly off when you gesture or slide off from simply hanging your hands by your side, but it shouldn’t be so tight that it cannot come off your finger at all. If you can wiggle it left and right and have it off your finger in a couple of seconds, it’s thankfully not too small.

• YOUR RING WON'T ROTATE: Your ring should be able to rotate without issues. In general, you want to be able to reach up with your thumb and be able to push it enough that it starts to rotate. You should be able to turn the ring band whenever you feel like it without there being a problem. Plenty of people do this when they’re nervous, so if you find yourself fiddling with your ring and it doesn’t move, then you know it’s too small.

• TINGLY FINGERS:  If you find yourself noticing a tingling sensation at the tip of your fingers or anwhere around your wedding ring, that is cause for alarm.  If your hands are sitting on your lap while you watch TV and all of a sudden, your ring finger in question is tingling, remove the ring at once. A tingling sensation will happen because the nerves are being restricted, and blood flow is being stemmed. This is your body’s way of telling you something isn’t right.

• MUFFIN TOP FINGERS: Look at your finger. If you notice plumes of skin on either side that look squeezed or compressed, then your ring is too small. If your skin is bulging over the top or bottom of the ring, it is time to remove it and contact us about getting a Sizing Exchange.

10 Things in Life That Can Cause Your Finger to Change in Ring Size - temperature affect ring

1. YOU ARE A WOMAN - One of the great joys of being a woman is that we fluctuate in size like balloons and at a much larger range than men, at any time, for no reason at all.  It's just one of the fun perks of being a woman.  I love it, don't you?  Our ring size (and shoe size!) can fluctuate up to a half size from morning to night.  In general, all humans are bigger at night than they are in the morning, bigger when drinking alcohol and having salt than when abstaining, and bigger when exercising than when watching TV.  But for women, it is even more noticeable.  Women also have the added joy of fluctuating in weight and ring size with our cycles.  In general, women's feet and hands are slightly bigger when ovulating than when not.  This is why it is so important for women to use Minter + Richter Custom Sizers.  Walk-in jewelry stores dont have a shot at giving you the correct size because you are not in the jewelry store long enough to gauge fluctuation.  We encourage women to wear our sizers for at least two days so that they can pay attention to how they fluctuate.  If you think you are a woman that retains quite a bit of water cyclically, then you may want to wear the sizers for longer.  There is no rush on our part.  In the end, you will discover that you are more than one ring size.  You are just looking for a size that is comfortably loose when you are heavier and not flying off when you drop down in weight again.  So yes, even though you fluctuate like a balloon, you can still find a size that will work for you most of the time if not all of the time.

Women's ring size go up and down like hot air balloons for many reasons, but our Custom Sizers will help you find the perfect size. - temperature affect ring

2.  YOU ARE A MAN - Men fluctuate in size as well, though not nearly as much as women.  Generally about .25 of a size day and night.  Still, that is enough of a fluctuation that you will want to wear Minter + Richter Sizers for couple of days as well so that you can be sure about both size and width.  Men also have the added joy of having a tendency towards wider knuckles as they age.  The finger joints lose cartilage and the bones thicken slightly.  These changes may be inherited.  As men age, their knuckle joints on one or more of our fingers may become swollen. Again, this can happen with women as well, but it is generally less pronounced.  It can be difficult to tell whether your symptoms are those of Rheumatoid arthritis or the more common “wear and tear” arthritis called osteoarthritis. Either way, this condition poses some difficulty in wearing your rings so it can be helpful to wear Custom Sizers for a few day so that you can gauge size AND width.  Often a ring that slides easily over the knuckle is too loose below it.  But if you choose a size that is comfortable once below the knuckle, it may be difficult to get it over.  So, you have to decide what will fit your lifestyle and comfort choices better.  Do you want to be able to remove your ring easily all the time?  Or is it more important to you that it is somewhat snug below the knuckle?  You will be able to tell with the sizers.

3.  YOU ARE PREGNANT - See #1, "You are a Woman".  The important thing to remember about pregnancy is that your wedding band ring size may not go back to normal after you give birth.  You may be surprised to discover that your fingers and feet remain larger than you are used to even after you lose the baby weight.  So, if you are family planning, you may want to take that into consideration as you are choosing your ring size.  Having said that, this does not apply to all women.  But it definitely applied to me, all my friends, everyone I ever met, read about or heard about.  So take it into consideration.

Just a word of warning.  Minter + Richter Designs Wedding Rings Make Super Cute Babies Happen. - temperature affect ring

4.  YOU ARE HOT - This is generally temporary, depending upon where you live, but we all increase in ring size when the temperature soars.  We also all drop in size when we are cole.  Therefore, picking a ring size is easier if you live somewhere like San Diego where the temperatures are pretty consistent, than it is to pick a size when you live in Boston where we boil all summer and freeze our a$%ses off all winter.  Depending on how much they fluctuate in size, some people even choose to have a "Winter Wedding Ring" and a "Summer Wedding Ring" - both rings being identical except for size.  You can also opt of course to not wear your ring in the months it is uncomfortable.  The best scenario is to find a ring size that is never too tight and never too loose, no matter what the weather is.

5.  YOU ARE STRESSED - Don't be alarmed if your wedding ring seems to feel just a bit more snug right before the wedding.  It is a stressful time and stress can cause us all to retain water a bit.

6.  YOU ARE INJURED - This is the number one reason men come back to us for sizing exchanges.  I'm sure women injure their fingers too of course, but in the history of our company, that has never happened.  I get at least one call a week from a man who broke his fingers several weeks ago only to discover that his ring size permanently changed even after his finger healed.  More catastrophic than that is the number of men who chop off their fingers!  Before we started Minter + Richter Designs, I imagined this was a very rare occurrence.  Well, I'm here to tell you it is not.  When you chop off your fingers, the base of your finger becomes much larger, so you will definitely need a sizing exchange if there is hopefully enough finger left to still wear a ring.  Even if a man needs to switch to the other hand, he will usually need a sizing exchange since dominant hands are generally larger in size than non-dominant hands.  I must get a picture like the one below in my email every two months.  Please men, I'm begging you, turn off the table saw completely before wiping off the saw dust.

If your fingers are amputated, the base beneath will be larger than before - temperature affect ring

7.  YOU ARE DRUNK AND SALTY - It's okay!  We all are sometimes.  But don't be surprised if your ring still feels tight the next day as your body gets rid of all that pizza and beer or cocktails and prosciutto.

8.  YOU ARE BEING CHASED BY A BEAR - Running, walking, or any kind of exercise at all will always cause your fingers to swell.  Luckily this is always temporary and as soon as you get home safe and sound, that swelling will go away.  Most people opt not to wear their wedding rings while running for this reason.

temperature affect ring

9.  YOU HAVE JUST FLOWN TO PARIS - Good for you!  But international flight is a killer for fingers.  Everyone swells on long, high-altitude flights.  And if you drink cocktails and eat peanuts on the flight, fuhgeddaboudit! I generally suggest people remove their rings altogether before international travel.  People are often afraid to do this as they don't want their rings to get lost, which is understandable.  If you are going to remove your rings for the flight, I generally suggest you put them in a travel ring box in your carry-on luggage so that you can find them easily and they are always at least close to you as you are flying.

10.  YOU JUST JUMPED IN THE OCEAN.  Saved the most common for last! This is the number one way people lose their rings on their honeymoon.  As soon as you jump in the ocean, you shrink.  You are also not used to wearing your ring yet, so you don't notice when it flies off as you toss and tumble in the waves.  I know it is your honeymoon and I totally get why you do not want to remove your ring.  Hopefully you got our Premium Lifetime Care so that we can remake your ring for free when you get home!

Ring at the bottom of the Ocean - temperature affect ring

Other Things to Keep in Mind While Sizing your finger or your partner's finger for a Wedding Ring

It goes without saying that the below tips are just for ascertaining an approximate size so that we can send you a range of Custom Sizers in a couple of widths for you to wear around for a few days.  If you are trying to discover your partner's size without them knowing, then you will just want to keep in mind that you may need to do a sizing exchange later.

1. Our dominant hands are generally slightly larger — make sure you measure the right finger on the correct hand!
2. The wider the band, the tighter the fit. If you plan to measure one of your partner's personal rings in order to ascertain the size without them knowing, try to measure one with a similar width as the ring you want to purchase.
3. Make sure the finger is at normal body temperature — fingers can shrink or expand when hot or cold.
4. Fingers tend to change size throughout the day — the best time to measure your finger is the end of the day when it is slightly larger than normal.
5. If your knuckle is bigger, take 2 measurements and choose a size in between — the ring needs to fit over the knuckle but not be too loose or it will shift around.
6. If you are aiming for a surprise, read our TIPS FOR RING SIZING WITHOUT YOUR PARTNER'S KNOWING.
7. When you don’t know your partner’s ring size, selecting one of the standard ring sizes is your best choice. The average ring size for women is 6 to 8, and the average ring size for men is 9 to 11.

Q. How do I get sized?

A. The only accurate and guaranteed way to figure out the perfect size and width for your ring is to take part in our Custom Sizer Program.  We will make you a range of sizes around your approximate size and at your chosen width for you to wear around until you are sure.  If you do not know your approximate size, there are two easy ways to discover that:

1.  Go to a walk in jewelry store.  Though they might tell you they can give you an exact size, that is untrue.  Walk in jewelry stores do not accommodate for width or fluctuation.  They also use factory made sizing systems, which all size differently.  Ring Mandrels are also factory made and not reliable.  BUT!  They can definitely give you an approximate size.  Once you have that in hand, you can order your Minter + Richter ring and we will send your sizers around that approximate size.

2.  Measure the circumference of your finger with a string.  Then go to www.ringsizes.co to convert your circumference to size.  

Once you discover your approximate size, you can order your ring.  Simply enter that size as you go through the check out on the website for your Minter + Richter ring and be sure to add Custom Sizers to your cart as well. Because we will see the custom sizers in your cart, we will know that the size you put in is approximate.  We will then send you a range of sizes around your approximate size for you to wear around until you are sure of the perfect fit for you.  Keep in mind that you fluctuate in size.  You are bigger at night than in the morning, bigger when consuming alcohol or exercising, than when sober and still, etc., so it is important to take time to discover your correct size.  You are also a different size on different widths; the wider the ring, the more tightly it will fit.  Once you confirm your size we begin making your rings! (**Please note that sizers can add approximately 2 weeks to order processing.)  

We are also happy to email you our Printable Ring Size Approximator!

temperature affect ring

Shipping fees:

DOMESTIC USA - Free shipping to and from when you purchase the sizers in the same transaction as your ring purchase.  Be sure to click on "SEND RING SIZERS"  as you go through the customization of your ring.

INTERNATIONAL - Free shipping to you, but you must pay return.  Sizers come in a mailer that you can snail mail back to us for as cheap as possible.

SIZERS ARE TO BE RETURNED AND ARE NON-REFUNDABLE

Read more about our Custom Sizer Program.

Q. What are possible widths?

A. Since numbers are infinite, so are widths.  But our most popular widths are:

Q. What if my ring doesn't fit?

A. All of our rings come with a lifetime sizing exchange guarantee. So if the ring doesn't fit, or your size changes down the road, we can offer to make a new ring at 50% the cost of the current retail of the original ring. The original ring will need to be returned to us in exchange for the new one.

If you used our Custom Sizers but somehow still need a sizing exchange right away, you can get a free sizing exchange within the first 30 days after receipt of the ring.  If you did not get Custom Sizers, you are automatically eligible for the half-price sizing exchange.  Because we are not just pulling rings from a shelf and are instead making them by hand, we do have to charge half price to make you a whole new ring at a new size, but again, we only do that if you did not get Custom Sizers from us.  Custom Sizers give you a 30-day window after receipt of the ring to change your size for free.  But everyone is eligible for lifetime half-price sizing exchanges as well.

Another thing to remember is that EVERYONE changes size as they age and so will you.  This is another reason why our half price sizing exchange policy is awesome.  When you discover that your size has changed due to injury, pregnancy, or normal weight change, you can always contact us to have a new ring made at a new size for half the current retail price of the ring.

temperature affect ring