 | Jerry Burnell has been a driving force in the jewelry industry of Kansas for the past 30 years. Jerry is a native of Wichita and a graduate of Wichita State University. He jokingly says that he had a degree in business, almost a masters in business, almost a degree in chemistry, with heavy studies in physics, math, and biology and he just quit college, that he figured that with 239 credit hours he should be able to make a living somewhere. Actually he was already deep into the motions of starting the most respected jewelry design team in this part of the country. Jerry is highly regarded and considered an expert in many fields, three of which are Precious gemstones, jewelry manufacture, and jewelry design. Jerry is presently president of The Kansas Jewelers Association and holds a position on the advisory board of Jewelers of America. You may contact Jerry at Burnell’s Jewelers, (316) 634-2822, or find Burnell’s Jewelers on the web at www.burnells.com |
Gold, Silver, Diamonds & Jewelry
2004-01-01 11:40:00
My ring doesn't fit
: My ring doesn't fit. But it is the same size as my old one. Why?
ANSWER: There are many factors that effect finger size. And the differences are minute. To start with one finger size is only one mm difference in diameter. That's small. One 1/40 of an inch and most people can feel the difference in ¼ size or 1/160 of an inch. As little as ½ size (1/80 in.) can make the difference of a comfortable ring and one that is too tight or too loose. The ring size is determined by what is the smallest ring that will go over the knuckle, not by what your finger size really is. People do not realize that their knuckles continue to grow all their lives. A ring that fit at age 25 will probably be too small at age 40. When the weather is very warm our bodies move blood flow from the interior to just under the skin to facilitate a better cooling of the body. When it is very cold outside the body moves blood flow from the surface to the interior of the body to conserve heat. In other words in the summer your rings will be tighter and in the winter they will be looser. There are also times when the body retains fluids and it causes the skin areas to swell. Things as minor as having a cold, or eating a salty meal, among other things, can cause this. Some people fluctuate as to retained fluids with what time of the month it is or what hour of the day it is. If you injure a knuckle the knuckle will swell up. Even if you take a tight ring on and off a few times the knuckle will swell up as much a whole size. Arthritis in the knuckles can cause many size differences.If the ring is a wide width you will probably need a ring one-half size larger than if the ring is narrower. When you take a ring off, you slightly bend your finger to allow it to slip over the knuckle. With a wider ring you cannot bend your finger as much and you need a bit more room to get it off. If the ring has a large hollow area under the top of the ring you can use a smaller size because it allows you to bend your finger more.What do you do when your knuckle becomes much larger than your finger? There are two remedies. The first is simple, putting two bumps inside the ring that tend to hook into the finger on either side. These allow a large sized ring to fit while keeping the ring from spinning. They also push the ring away from the bottom of the finger so that the ring feels tighter. The other remedy is a ring shank that actually opens and closes with a built in internal safety called finger mate shanks. There are many methods of shanks that open and close but the finger mate is the Cadillac of them all and just looks like a regular ring shank when it is closed.So which size do you use? You will have to compromise. Your ring will be slightly more snug in the summer and when you eat more salt and slightly loose when it is cold or you haven't drank enough water. Plan to have your rings resized larger as you become more mature. A fine jeweler can help you get the perfect size so that you can enjoy your ring for a lifetime.
