Carat Size In Relation To Hand & Ring Size

[shiuri]

Hi Everyone,

I''m hoping for some feedback or insight on this. I''ve just started to build my jewelry wardrobe so I''m a newbie. Are there any rule of thumbs or fashion rules to go by when wearing rings in terms of carat sizes in relation to finger sizes? Like how big is too big on your finger? Like what''s the biggest carat size I can wear on my ring finger without the ring looking overwhelming on my hand? I have average sized hands, with short fingers. My ring size on my ring finger is about 5.5/6 and my middle finger is a 7. The biggest I''ve ever worn on my ring fing so far is a 3.5 carat emerald cut gemstone ring. And even then, it took a little getting used to. Do you think 4 carats would be too overwhelming given my hand and finger size? I think any bigger, I''d have wear it on my middle finger. I''ve been looking at people''s hands and noticed the longer the fingers, the bigger the rocks they can worn on their ring finger without looking showy. I have a girlfriend with absolutely beautiful hands. She wears the same ring sizes as me but her fingers are twice as long as mines! So she''s wearing 7 carat cocktail rings on her ring finger and looks great on her hands. On my finger, looked overwhelming so I had to try it on my middle finger. Anyone with similar hands as me? Any thoughts, ideas, feedback? All is appreciated! Please share. Thanks!!

 

[Indylady]

It all depends on what you like! Certain shapes can elongate fingers, or shorten then, but aside from that, its all up to you.

 

[StonieGrl]

Also, ct weight and actual dimension vary by stone.

Know about the largest stone you feel would look good on your finger/hand ( in mm) and then start thinking about shapes and colors with your skin tones.

 

[Harriet]

With coloured stones, you're better off thinking in terms of millimetres as their density varies according to varieties.

 

[Arkteia]

I can not give any specific advice, just general feeling about your situation. I just feel you are very self-conscious about something that other people may not notice.

My fingers are of average length and very flexible, but alas, they are stubby. (Paternal grandmother's inheritance. I wish I got her beauty, or her strength, or her guts, but this is all what I got from her).

However - it is not going to get any better. My rings were size 6.5 when I was young, 7.5 5 years ago and 9.5 now. (I've also gained weight). So I wear whatever I enjoy because I know it is not going to get any better.

So if I were you, I'd wear whatever I like and not look at your frien's fingers. We all have something we are proud of, something that could be better, but if we are super-self-conscious we may never be albe to enjoy things we like. And honeslty, 90 % of time people notice things only if you are visibly uncomfortable with them.

I shall post pictures of my hands so that you can get an idea.

 

[ma re]

There are a number of factors that influence how large the stone will look on your finger. Shape is the most obvious one, cause people with short fingers tend to prefer elongated shapes (ovals, pears, marquises, emerald cuts...) and wear the along the lenght of the finger so that the overall look gives the impression of a longer, more slender finger. Some shapes have visible corners, some don''t, so an oval will look smaller than an emerald cut of the same dimensions. As mentioned earlier, densities of gemstones vary by species, so some can be smaller or larger than other of the same carat weight. Gemstones are also not as precisely cut as diamonds, so you can''t say that a 1 ct round will always be exactly (or very close to) 6.5 mm. Sometimes the stone''s color is very dark so the cutter decides to cut it more shallow to allow more light into the stone, therefore making the color lighter and the stone''s face-up size larger. That''s just one example, of course there are cases when cutters do the opposite and you end up with a visibly smaller stone. Tone of color is something that can give the impression (by an optical illusion) of a smaller or larger stone, cause generally speaking darker colors tend to make the stones seem smaller then they really are, and the light ones tend to do the opposite, but the design of the setting can change that. Speaking of which, setting design also influences how large the stone seems, in most cases very elaborate settings with a lot of accent stones make the main stone look smaller, while more simple and open settings usually make it appear larger. But none of that is really written in stone, it all comes down to what you''re comfortable with and what''s your personal preference. Buy and wear only things that''ll make you feel good when you wear them.

 

[Stone Hunter]

I think you do really need to start thinking in terms of MM because different stones (peridot, diamond) of the same ct weight will be different mm sizes.

That said. Go try some rings on to get a feel for what YOU are comfortable with. My right hand ring finger is about 5.5/6 US size and the max I can go in a round is a hair over 7mm. Maybe in a paler stone I could go larger? So check out different colors too. Like Aqua vs Spess.

HTH

 

[LD]

Have a look at this link. It lists various coloured gemstones and how they differ in size to carat weight.

http://www.justgemstones.com/weight.html

The other thing to bear in mind is that those tables are averages and assume each gemstone is cut the same. In coloured gemstone world, gemstones can be cut to maximise carat weight BUT at the expense of cutting so can be more shallow to produce a larger face up look.

 

[chrono]

Most importantly is to wear whatever feels comfortable to you. There are many posters with teeny tiny fingers who sport 4 ct and upwards gemstone rings without blinking an eyelash and others who might have larger fingers feel self conscious and prefer something more delicate. I do agree with other posters though that when it comes to gemstones, we usually talk about the dimensions in millimeters as each gemstone variety will measure differently even though they have the same carat weight due to varying densities.

 

[shiuri]

Sorry for the late reply....was out of town. Thanks for everyone''s replies.

LovingDiamonds -- Thank you very much for that link! It is definitely very helpful with a chart. And since I''m a newbie to the gem world, I had no idea that density varied from stones.

Mr Ma Re -- Thank you for the insight! It''s very helpful information! With LovingDiamonds chart and your explanation, everything is starting make sense! Definitely learning a lot on here which is great!

Stone Hunter -- Thanks for the suggestions! I will look at aqua and spess.


Thank you for everyone''s replies and input. Much appreciated. I will start referring to colored stones in terms of MM from now on. And since I have never worn a whole of rings before, and just starting to now, I think I just need to do some exploring. I''m sure once I start to try things on and start to wear rings more often, I will get more comfortable over time. And figure out what my preferences are and what works for me or not, and still be comfy.