Rings
Everything about rings: styles, signets, wedding bands and engagement.
17 entries
Techniques
Chainmaille (maille weaving)
Chainmaille interlocks metal rings in patterns such as European 4-in-1, Byzantine or Japanese; materials, tools and calculating the aspect ratio.
Buying guides
How to choose an engagement ring and how much to spend
How to choose an engagement ring: style, size, metal, stone and budget; the salary rule is a myth and what to look at so you do not overpay.
Jewelry care and maintenance
How to clean a diamond ring
How to clean a diamond ring at home with lukewarm water, mild soap and a brush, and how often to have a jeweler check it.
Buying guides
How to find your ring size (with conversion chart)
How to measure your ring size at home with string or a ring that fits, and a chart of equivalences between circumference, diameter and EU and US sizes.
Jewelry
Jewel
What a jewel is: a personal adornment of precious metals and stones. Types of jewelry (rings, necklaces, earrings), materials and the difference from costume jewelry.
Tools
Mandrels and ring sizers
The ring mandrel is a graduated steel cone for curving and measuring rings; there are also bangle mandrels and finger sizers.
Jewelry
Men's jewelry: chains, rings and bracelets
Guide to men's jewelry: chains, signet rings, bracelets, pendants and cufflinks; durable materials, recommended lengths and how to choose with style.
Jewelry
Parts of a piece of jewelry: ring, earring, necklace and bracelet
Vocabulary of the parts of a jewel: head, prongs, shoulders and shank of the ring; post and back of the earring; chain, clasp and bail of the necklace.
Jewelry
Ring
What a ring is, its parts (head, shoulders, shank), types, history and meaning; includes ring styles and how to find your size.
Techniques
Ring resizing
How a ring is enlarged or reduced: cutting the band, adding or removing metal, soldering and rounding on the mandrel; which rings cannot be resized.
Jewelry
Ring styles: from solitaire to cocktail ring
A catalog of ring styles: band, solitaire, three-stone, halo, eternity, cocktail, signet, stackable, thumb, claddagh, fede and gimmel, with their meanings.
Jewelry
Seals in jewelry: Mesopotamian cylinders, scarabs and intaglios
Engraved stone seals are among the oldest jewels: Mesopotamian cylinders, Egyptian scarabs, Roman intaglios and Chinese seals; what they are and how they were used.
Jewelry
Signet rings: history, engraving and how to wear them
A signet ring carries an engraved crest, initials or emblem, and was used to seal documents in wax; history, types of engraving, materials and how to wear one.
Jewelry
Stackable and eternity rings
Guide to stackable rings (thin, for combining) and eternity rings (stones around the band): how to combine them, what size to choose and which metals mix well.
Buying guides
Stones for an everyday ring (and which are fragile)
Mohs hardness, brittleness and water: which stones stand up to everyday wear in a ring, which scratch or break and which must stay out of the ultrasonic.
Jewelry
Wedding rings: types, widths, metals and how to choose
How to choose wedding rings: profiles (flat, domed, comfort fit), widths, metals (gold, platinum, titanium), engraving, size and which hand and finger to wear them on.
Meaning and symbolism
Which finger does each ring go on? The meaning of fingers
Which hand and finger for the engagement ring and wedding band, what rings on each finger mean and where the tradition comes from.