Ring shank: the band of a ring

Parts of a shank

The shoulders are where the shank meets the head, with the head's gallery under the stone. The bottom, opposite the head, is the base. Styles include straight, tapered, split (two arms near the head) and cathedral (shoulders arching up to the setting). Common profiles, or cross-sections, are flat, D-shape, comfort fit (rounded inside) and knife-edge.

Fit, weight and resizing

A ring size measures the inside of the shank, so extra thickness on the outside leaves the size unchanged, though a wider shank feels tighter. More shank also means more metal and weight. To resize, a jeweller usually cuts the shank at the base, adds or removes metal and solders it closed. Most plain shanks allow that; an eternity band, set with stones all the way round, rarely does.

Shanks in the studio

In the ring builder, each head is seated onto the band automatically, and band engraving puts curved 3D text inside or outside the shank. On an uploaded ring, ring size and try-on fit are measured on the band, and Ring parts lets you switch which part that is. On the Enterprise plan, Jewelry CAD models ring bands at real US or EU sizes in all four profiles.

See also: ring size converter.