Dear1 Dear2

This is quite a difficult problem. First of all, u want to keep it a surprise, secretly go and buy a proposal ring, and pop the question in the most romantic mood possibly. I know jewelers allow resizing of the rings, but that’s not the point. The ring has got to fit properly at the moment u put it on for her. And please! Do not bring ur girlfriend to shop for a proposal ring together!

Now, how to find out the correct ring size for ur girlfriend. It helps if she frequently wears accessories. In that case, all u need to do is to steal one of her rings that she wore recently and shop based on that. Make sure it’s a recent ring, her fingers may have outgrown her older rings. There’s really no point in ‘indirectly’ bringing ring size into a conversation to discover that she wears a size 8. Because like shoe size and dress size, those numbers do not match across the industry.

But what if ur girlfriend doesn’t wear rings? A little bit more difficult and perhaps we need some long term schemes here. A possibly way is to buy a cheap ring for her as a gift or maybe buy a set of couple rings together on ur anniversary celebrations. This way, u can 光明正大 bring ur girlfriend ring shopping and ask her about her preferences. Of course, this one is just prep work, so just get something from Perlini Silver will do. The next step is of course to… steal that ring! :D

Now, let’s assume that’s no opportunity to steal that ring, so what should we do? I ever read in a magazine before that suggested using a piece of thread, wrap it around her ring finger while she is asleep. Then bring that thread to the jeweler. Hmm… A bit farfetched I would say. It’s worth considering if u run out of ideas.

Here’s the next best option. Try to match her ring finger size to ur own finger size. Play with her fingers often, and play with her rings if she have any. Try to put her ring onto ur finger and see which finger fits. Then u can use ur own finger as an approximation of her ring size. This way, u dun have to steal the ring either. If she doesn’t have rings, then try playing a finger size matching game with her and compare which of ur finger best matches her ring finger. The key here is to be discrete. Hehe…

For me, I used sort of a combination technique to find out Dear2’s ring size. Dear2 doesn’t really wear rings, so that option is out. One day, while Dear2 is asleep, I tried matching my fingers to her fingers. And I found out that none of my fingers match hers, her fingers are all so slim! So instead, I use my thinnest finger, which is my little finger, and try to estimate the difference in their diameter. Remember that our finger get thinner towards the tips. So I realized that Dear2’s ring finger’s ring position diameter is slightly thinner than my little finger at the second joint while thicker than my finger tip. So that’s all the information I have to work with. I went to SK Jewellery to pick a ring that would fit snugly onto the second joint of my little finger and hopefully that would be a comfort fit for Dear2.

Some tips on buying proposal ring now. First of all, I think a solitair diamond ring is most suitable for proposal. Do not buy fashion rings eventhough they are cheap. For diamonds, it depends on what is ur intended purpose for this ring. Is it meant for daily wear? Or only for special occasions like the actual wedding day only? Remember that a wedding band is already a daily affair. For me, I wanted the proposal ring to be a ’semi-formal’ thing, something suitable for daily wear but not too glamourous that can grace the Star Awards. Also remember that some ladies may not find it comfortable wearing a $10,000 ring due to the mental burden. It’s best to find out ur girlfriend’s preference first, discretely. Eventually, I bought a ring that is on the small size, less than 0.2 carat, but something that I feel will look good on Dear2’s slim fingers. The size of the diamond should complement the lady and should never seem out-of-place.

Hope that I’ve managed to give potential husband out there some useful tips. Dun hesitate anymore, ur dream girl is waiting for u to invite her into ur life. 加油！

-Dear1