The Ring Guide: Sizes, Metals, Settings, Hallmarks and Value

Choosing a ring

Size, metal and setting — the decisions that are hardest to undo.

1. 📐 How to Find Your Ring Size at Home Without Guessing A millimetre either way is most of a ring size. Learn how to measure properly, convert US to UK and EU sizes, handle a wide knuckle, and know which rings can never be resized. 9 min read
2. 🔩 Ring Metals Compared: 14K, 18K, White Gold, Platinum Higher karat is not automatically softer, platinum is no longer the expensive metal, and white gold arrives with a maintenance bill. What each alloy actually does on a hand. 10 min read
3. 💍 Diamond Ring Settings Explained: Prong, Bezel, Halo & More The setting decides how big a diamond looks, how safely it sits, and what the ring costs. Compare prong, bezel, pavé, halo, and tension settings before you buy. 7 min read
4. 💎 Engagement Ring Cost: Where the Money Actually Goes A ring is nine decisions, and only three of them move the price much. Here is what each choice costs, why carat weight is the steepest lever, and how to buy visible size for less. 10 min read

Identifying a ring

Read the stamps, test the metal, name the stone and place the ring in time.

1. 🔎 How to Identify a Ring: Hallmarks, Metals & Maker’s Marks Almost every ring carries an ID card inside the band. Learn to read 375, 585, 750, 925 and PT950, spot GF and GP plating marks, and tell solid gold from a shell. 10 min read
2. 🧲 Is My Ring Real Gold? 8 Tests That Work and 4 That Don’t Stamps, a magnet, a ceramic tile and a 0.01 g scale: how to tell if a ring is real gold at home, which popular tests are myths, and when only an XRF reading will do. 9 min read
3. 🔎 How to Identify the Gemstone in a Ring Without Damaging It Ruby or garnet, sapphire or glass, diamond or moissanite? Narrow a ring’s stone by colour, then use doubling, inclusions, facet wear and a side view to tell them apart. 9 min read
4. 🕰️ How to Date a Vintage Ring: Georgian to Retro, Era by Era Diamond cuts, metals, marks, settings and wear: how to tell a Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, Art Deco or Retro ring from a modern copy, with an era clue finder. 10 min read
5. 💎 Real or Costume Jewelry? How to Tell in Ten Minutes Marks, settings, stones, clasps and wear: how to sort an inherited jewelry box into fine and costume pieces — and which costume jewelry is worth more than you’d think. 8 min read

Valuing and selling a ring

Turn what you’ve identified into a number, then into the best offer.

1. ⚖️ What Is My Ring Worth? The Four Numbers Nobody Explains One ring has four different values — melt, resale, insurance, and retail. Learn how each is calculated, run the gold math yourself, and know which number you need. 10 min read
2. 🏷️ How to Sell a Ring for the Most Money Gold buyers, pawn shops, jewelers, diamond buyers, auctions and consignment compared — what each pays, how fast, and seven steps that raise the offer you get. 9 min read

Famous rings

The rings everyone knows, and what each one teaches about reading your own.

1. 👑 Famous Engagement Rings and What Each One Teaches From Mary of Burgundy’s diamonds to Diana’s sapphire, Grace Kelly’s Cartier and Jackie Kennedy’s toi et moi — the stories behind history’s most famous rings. 8 min read

Tools for this topic

Ring Identifier: Jewelry AI Scan rings and jewelry to identify details and estimate value. Diamond identifier - AI Scan Scan diamonds to estimate quality and value with AI. 🧰 Ring Stamp Decoder Type the stamp inside the band and see the metal, the purity and whether it’s solid or plated. 🧰 Gold Ring Value Calculator Weight, karat and metal price in; melt value and a realistic cash offer out. 🧰 Engagement Ring Designer Design a ring in 3D and watch an indicative price move with every choice. 🧰 Diamond Size Chart Carat weight to millimetres for ten shapes, with a true-to-scale preview. 🧰 Collector’s Glossary Plain-English definitions of the terms graders, dealers and auction houses use.

More guides