What finger do you put an engagement ring on?

Left ring finger, if you're in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., or Australia. That's where most of my clients wear it, and it's the finger the ring I'm sizing is typically destined for.

The old story about a vein running directly from that finger to the heart is lovely and anatomically false, but I still tell it to nervous clients while I'm sizing their finger, mostly because it gives them something to hold onto while I reach for the mandrel.

In much of Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, Greece, Colombia, and India, the engagement ring goes on the right hand, and if you or your partner grew up in one of those traditions, you should wear it there without letting anyone correct you. I once made a ring for a woman named Aleksandra who specifically asked for a right-hand fit because her family expected it. Her left ring finger was a full size and a half smaller, so it mattered.

Practically: tell your jeweler which hand you'll wear it on. Dominant hands usually run about a half size larger. A ring sized for the left ring finger will often feel tight or won't clear the knuckle on the right. I've had clients try to force it. It ends with lotion and a red finger.

After the wedding, the band stacks on the same finger, wedding band usually sitting closer to the hand, engagement ring outside it. That's a preference, not a rule.

The finger matters, but fit matters more. A ring that spins or bites isn't romantic. Get the fit right. The finger will follow.