Need ring size help BADLY! HELP PLEASE

Hi everyone!!!, how are all of you? I hope that your day is going well. :-) I have been searching for a convertion chart for ring sizes. My girl friend is Russian and I want to ask her to marry me so I ask her sister for her ring size so I can buy a engagement ring and she told me that it is 16,5 in Russia.
I do not want to ask my girlfriend because she will know EXACTLY why I am asking and it will ruin the surprise. I could use a string to measure around her finger but if she were to wake up (she is a VERY VERY VERY light sleeper) it will certainly ruin it... just one little mistake and the surprise is gone, I can't risk the string thing. Could you PLEASE help me with this problem that I have??? Thank you all ahead of time..........Benny

[Leopold Plumtree]

I'm guessing that 16,5 means a 16,5 mm diameter.

This might be of help to you...
http://www.onlineconversion.com/ring_size.htm

Hello Benny (benlb1),

Sounds romantic and exciting!

I can confirm that Leopold's guess was correct--Russian ring sizes are the inner diameter in millimeters.

I'm not sure if you're American, so I'll list here all the conversions for a diameter of 16.51 millimeters, as given by the converter that Leopold cited (16.51 is the closest size in the converter, but it's so close to 16.5 that these conversions should be correct for your girlfriend's size):

USA-- 6
British-- M
French-- 52 3/4
German-- 16 1/2
Japanese-- 12
Swiss-- 12 3/4

That's probably all you need to know, but I'm going to describe my references below in case you or your Russian friends want to double-check the information for yourselves.

http://www.manishadiamond.com/ring-size-guide.asp
Manisha Diamond
See the last sentence on the webpage--
"The Russian (and Ukranian) sizes are based on inner diameter of the ring in millimeters."

The remaining websites are in Russian. I read Russian, so below I'm putting both the Russian excerpts and my translations into English.

http://www.jewellerynews.ru/catalog/index1.html?page=21
Размер пальца, размер кольца
Россия
Размер кольца определяют по внутреннему диаметру ободка в миллиметрах. По российским стандартам размеры колец варьируются от 15 до 25 мм. Каждый последующий размер отличается на 0,5 мм от предыдущего.
Finger Size, Ring Size
Russia
"Ring size is determined by the inner diameter of the ring in millimeters. Standard Russian ring sizes range from 15 to 25 millimeters. The sizes increase in steps of 0.5 millimeter."

         Combined Table of Ring Sizes
     Ring        USA    Italy      Diameter
 Circumference                  (Russian size)
    51.5 mm       6      12        16.5 mm

http://www.ozoloti.ru/howtobuy/
Как купить ювелирное изделие
ШАГ 2
Здесь Вы также можете выбрать подходящий Вам размер украшений, для которых эти размеры существуют (например, для колец размер - диаметр в мм ...).
How to Buy Jewelry
STEP 2
"Here you can also choose your jewelry size, for those items that exist in your size (for example, for rings, the size is the diameter in millimeters …)."

http://www.ezoloto.com.ua/Razmer-kolca-ip-9.html
Ring Size (Ukrainian website in Russian)
Shows patterns for printing Russian/Ukrainian ring sizing strips. Distance between red lines on size 16.5 strip is consistent with expected length of 51.8 millimeters (ring circumference = pi × 16.5 = 51.8 millimeters).

I also found some websites showing Russian ring sizes ranging from 41 1/2 to 69 (the same as French sizes), so those are either erroneous or a different system that cannot be applicable to your girlfriend's 16.5 ring size.

Hope this information helps you!

I have been to Russia many times, and I love the Russian people and the Russian language. I wish you and your girlfriend all the best!

[Robert Fogt]

Does she have any other rings you can take and measure? Maybe one of her friends can help.

You could also just assume the 16.5 is the diameter in mm as Leopold suggests. You can always have the ring resized after you pop the question.

Good luck by the way, and congratulations.

Benny, by the way, here's a bit of further information to help you avoid any confusion when the big moment arrives....

Women in Russia traditionally wear the ring on the ring finger of their right hand. A ring on the left ring finger typically indicates that a woman is widowed or divorced.

This will probably be just one among many other interesting differences you'll be learning about each other's cultures....

Pretend you are purchasing a ring for your Mother or Grandmother, and ask her to go with you for advice, and have her try them on. Make a pretend list of styles and tell the Jeweler that you will come back with a decision..

Originally Posted by benlb1

Hi everyone!!!, how are all of you? I hope that your day is going well. :-) I have been searching for a convertion chart for ring sizes. My girl friend is Russian and I want to ask her to marry me so I ask her sister for her ring size so I can buy a engagement ring and she told me that it is 16,5 in Russia.
I do not want to ask my girlfriend because she will know EXACTLY why I am asking and it will ruin the surprise. I could use a string to measure around her finger but if she were to wake up (she is a VERY VERY VERY light sleeper) it will certainly ruin it... just one little mistake and the surprise is gone, I can't risk the string thing. Could you PLEASE help me with this problem that I have??? Thank you all ahead of time..........Benny

hi my name is william i am from england
i am going to russia to see my girlfriend in may . and i want to buy her a ring,
i know her ring size in russian is 17.5 but i dont know what letter size it is in english can you help