People share 10 interesting ways to find a woman's ring size without making it obvious

A surprise marriage proposal is not an easy task. 

Every relationship reaches a wonderful point where both parties decide that they want to commit to each other for the rest of their lives. It becomes even more exciting when people decide to surprise their partners with a proposal. While the gesture is wonderful, it can be challenging to guess the partner's correct ring size. u/DetectiveoftheWest asked individuals on the Reddit community to share their ideas for finding their partner's ring size discreetly. Here are 10 of the best approaches that people had to offer. 

1. Use another ring and measure it at a jeweler 

Swipe a ring from wherever she stores her jewelry and measure it. u/loki8481. I bought my now-wife an inexpensive ring from a museum store that has Norse runes that she wears on the ring finger of her right hand. I stole it the weekend I went home to visit my family and go ring shopping. She called me that weekend saying she had lost her ring and had practically torn the apartment apart and if I had seen it. I straight-up lied. She did not rescind the engagement when I 'fessed up later. 22 years later, she still wears both rings. She does say I'm an evil person of questionable parentage, though. u/DriftRdDrifter

2. Actually make it obvious 

Make it a little obvious. Time and place are a surprise, but not the question or answer. u/jackwritespecs. Totally agree here. If this is an engagement ring - it’s a question that the proposer should know the answer to before you ask. The time, date, event, everything should be a surprise - but the long-term intent of the relationship should be a surprise to no one. u/HemiJon08. I had to ask questions, my wife doesn’t like diamonds and that opens up a whole other can of worms. But I always question like that sh** on the first few dates. Like “what’s your favorite color?” “what’s your size?” And then just play it off as some flirty “Well if you ever win me over I might need to go shopping someday!” Never had it go south. Worked out when I needed it to. Just remember the answer. u/BlackAsphaltRider

3. Utilize somebody else's proposal to get information

My wife’s sister got engaged. My then-girlfriend told me she thought the ring was hideous and started talking about different cuts. I played dumb. Next time we were in the mall, we walked by a jewelry store I asked her to show me the cuts she was talking about. Noted her ring size, favorite setting, color, cut. Went back the next day solo and the sales lady knew exactly what I wanted as soon as I walked in. You might be able to pull off something similar if you show her a picture of a ring “your friend” just bought to propose. u/pansexualpastapot. 

4. Ask them directly

Don't surprise your future wife with a ring. That is the worst surprise ever. Because it's not the one she wants. Go with her. After you talk seriously about marriage. Don't be dumb romantic. Engagement rings are too expensive to buy on a whim. u/knowitallz. It depends on how well you know her taste to be honest. My wife and I had been together for a long time and I had been taking mental notes along the way about what she liked. Definitely, no cushion cut, preferred oval over round, liked sleek rings, not overly encrusted, silver instead of gold etc. I said we could exchange it with no hurt feelings if it wasn’t what she wanted but I got the size and style exactly right. u/Toastybunzz

5. Measure it "for fun"

In the mall near me, there is a jewelry store with staff buzzing around and sometimes they approach couples walking past and ask them if they know their ring sizes and if they don't, offer to measure them 'just for fun'. If you have something like that, you could ask one of them to do you a favor. Tell them when you'll be there and take your partner to wander around, arranging it so that you're walking past at the right time. You can act like it's a bit silly, sigh, but will go along with it for a laugh. Even if you don't buy your rings from that store, you could buy a piece of jewelry to say thanks to them and save it for a special occasion. u/SamuraiGoblin

6. Use silly putty 

If it's for an engagement ring, I firmly believe she should know you plan to propose, just not when you will propose. If that's not the case, get some silly putty and press another well-fitting ring into it to make a mold. Also, always err on the side of larger. A jeweler will have an easier time resizing a ring that's too big. Smaller rings mean they need to stretch the metal, which can sometimes damage it, will definitely weaken it and is potentially impossible to do depending on the type and gauge of the material it's made from. u/Blackberry_Creek

7. Ask relatives

I was fortunate enough for my wife to have a close sister and mother relationship. I spoke with my sister-in-law and my mother-in-law and got them to take her "jewelry shopping" where they were just gassing together and trying things on. Mother-in-law wangled it enough to manage to get her size for me and then I started making moves from there. If it wasn't for them, I'd have had to be more inventive in my approach. u/skillfullmill

8. With craft kits

Super sneaky way if one of you two is into crafts: There are these craft kits for making casts of (mostly) hands. Stick the hand into a bucket of liquid silicone, let it harden, pull out the hand, fill the gap with plaster, wait for the plaster to harden and cut away silicone. Tell her you love the shape of her hand (most probably true) and that you'd love to have a sculpture of it. If you make sure that the fingers are all separated like this, measuring should be super easy. Otherwise, you have to get a bit more creative. And even if it doesn't help at all, it's still a fun project! u/okapiposter

9. Get your mother to help 

I enlisted the help of my mom. One day when we were at my parents, my mom showed my wife a bunch of jewelry that had been in the family for a while and then convinced her to try on a few, then set aside the one that fit the best. She hasn't had to have her ring re-sized so it definitely worked. It wasn't until years later when we were discussing it that she put it together. u/Useful_Bug_67

10. Buy them a ring as a gift 

We were in a Swarovski store searching for a wristband for her friend when she spotted a nice-looking ring. I said she should try it out. We fitted it and then I purchased it for her as a gift. We were on holiday so I said it was a nice remembrance item from the holiday. What she didn't know was that I immediately wrote it in my notes so I wouldn't forget the real ring size. It goes totally over their head as it was completely justified at the moment. So, maybe while shopping with her, enter a low-priced store (fake gold, glass diamond kind) and say you like something and maybe she debates it and finds herself the best fitting one. And just purchase it for her. Now you know the ring size. u/01Casper10