Top 5 Best Thumb Rings (2023 Review & Buying Guide)

Last Updated on May 3, 2023 by Juli "Jewels" Church

Are you the kind of person that needs a little extra out of life. Do you like things that have symbolism or a deep meaning?

If so, you might be the future owner of a brand new thumb ring!

In all seriousness, I think we kind of forget thumbs and pinkies when it comes to wearing rings. But thumb rings are more than just another ring to stick on your hand.

best thumb ring thumbnail

While most wear it as a fashion statement, for many a thumb ring represents something sentimental.

There's a beauty in symbolism and even a better one that is unique to each person. A thumb ring tells a story, and you can use it to tell yours. 

So now I've convinced you to consider getting one, but you'll need to know all the ins and outs when purchasing the best thumb rings.

Should you go for a cheaper ring, or go all out and get something with diamonds?

I'll break it down for you so you have a good idea of what kind of thumb ring you might want.

Product Details    
Classic Wedding Ring (Used As Thumb Ring)

  • Perfect style for a thumb ring
  • Solid 14K gold
  • Low profile
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KOHOTA 6pcs Simple Adjustable Rings Set- Best Value

  • Set of 6 different designs
  • Adjustable ring size
  • Cheap
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14K White Gold Bezel Set Diamond Ring

  • Better protected diamonds
  • Trendy infinity halo design
  • 14K white gold
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Diamond Chevron Stackable Fashion Ring.

  • Stackable
  • Simple pave diamonds
  • Lower price
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Milgrain Marquise and Dot Diamond Eternity Ring

  • Genuine diamonds
  • Vintage milgrain design
  • Two mixed shapes
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Our Overall #1 Rated Pick

Updated On March 8, 2024

14K Gold Two-Tone 1.8MM COMFORT-FIT WEDDING BAND
  • Perfect Style For Thumb Ring
  • Comes In 14k/18k Yellow & White Gold
  • Low Profile Design

Out of all the thumb rings I looked at, my favorite was actually using the classic wedding band style as a thumb ring from Blue Nile.

Why?

This classic gold wedding band makes for an excellent thumb ring. The smooth polished texture will lay comfortably around your other fingers. Not only is the texture great, but this ring is also comfort-fit, meaning the insides of the ring are curved to fit nicely around your thumb. 

Blue Nile offers it in yellow or white gold so you have the basic colors to choose from. 

The thing about thumb rings is that very few jewelers actually sell something 100% branded as a "thumb ring", which is how I came to feel that the best thumb ring is actually a wedding ring, ha!

Although it is a little more expensive, if you're on a budget I do also provide some more affordable options from sellers on Amazon. Check them out!

Top 5 Best Thumb Rings Reviewed

Here are my top 5 best thumb rings and reasons why I like them and some drawbacks to each. 

What Are Thumb Rings?

History

While thumb rings aren't hugely popular in Western culture, they are popular in most other cultures, especially Eastern. Thumb rings have gone back all the way to ancient Egypt, when a mummy was found with a ring around each of her thumbs. Throughout history, thumb rings were popular for a number of reasons. 

Women loved adorning every finger in jewelry and rings, as a sign of wealth and style. Not only were they attractive, but in the 16th century, thumb rings were worn to signify that you were in the medical field. 

In China, men wore thumb rings made of glass or jade to let people know which rank they were in the military. 

When doing archery, thumb rings were used to keep the fingers safe from getting hurt. These thumb rings were much thicker and bulkier than any of the thumb rings you'll find on this list. Back then, the thicker your band was, the more independence you were trying to express. 

Nowadays, the thicker the band is, the more annoying most people find them. It also takes away from the stackable effect as well. 

In the 90s, thumb rings were used to distinguish the homosexual from the heterosexual. If they were taken, they'd wear it on the left hand and if they were single, it'd go on the right. 

thumb ring history

Thumb rings were commonly worn by both men and women in history, but you'll find more women wearing them today. The styles of thumb rings can vary and be made of different materials such as gold, sterling silver, copper, and stainless steel. 

Symbolism

Thumb rings worn today are generally culture or style associated. Some may wear thumb rings because of a tradition in their culture. For most, the meaning of a thumb ring doesn't lie with the fact that it's a ring on the thumb, but what that particular ring means to that person. 

Thumb rings are usually used to symbolize something. Perhaps it's the ring you use to represent a loss. Some people wear thumb rings as a token of survival, signifying that they survived through a trauma or a sickness. 

So, what is the best thumb ring? Well, I can tell you what the best quality of thumb rings are, but the truly best thumb ring is the one that means the most to you. 

What Should You Look For In The Best Thumb Rings?

The best thumb ring is a good quality ring. You'll notice that every thumb ring on our top 5 list is made of solid gold.

Yes, there are way cheaper options for thumb rings. But my job is to bring you the best.

And to me, the best is the one that is genuine, that lasts the longest, and will ultimately be a better investment. 

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That being said, when you're looking for thumb rings, you want to have an idea of what you want and what your price range. While it's easy to say don't think about price, at least 80% of people already have an idea of a price range when purchasing jewelry. 

First you want to know what style you are wanting in your thumb ring. Do you want a classic thumb ring design like a wave ring or an infinity ring? If you want gemstones, are you thinking of a striking stone like black onyx, or do you prefer the transparency of a colored topaz? 

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You don't want anything that sticks out or is raised high. Your thumbs are used more than your other fingers, so it's important not to have something that might get caught on fabric and snag, or even get knocked loose. 

The best thumb ring should also feel comfortable to you. Extra designs and cuts in the metal could rub against your other fingers, especially rings for fat fingers, causing irritation.

If they are adjustable, you might feel like the adjustments are digging in your finger.  Always consider comfort when it comes to rings, especially one on your thumb. 

Keep in mind that if you plan on wearing your thumb ring every day to be careful with gemstones, crystals, or cubic zirconia as frequent wear can impact some of these stones. 

If you're wanting to find the best thumb ring, it is going to be one made out of a solid metal like gold. Gold puts up with weather conditions so much better than sterling silver or other metals. It does not tarnish, though it may need rhodium plating from time to time. 14k gold is a great choice for wearing every day. 

Similarly, I'd recommend a thumb ring with diamonds rather than gemstones or CZs. Gemstones each have their own properties and conditions under which they thrive. But with diamonds, they're the hardest mineral, so they can stand to be knocked around a bit. 

So, in my humble opinion, the best thumb ring is one made out of diamonds and gold. After that, style and personality is all up to you!

How To Clean Thumb Rings?

Depending on the material your thumb ring is made out of will determine the best way to clean it. 

Gold thumb rings can be cleaned with a simple solution of mild dish soap and lukewarm water. Just drop your gold ring or any gold jewelry for that matter and let it soak for at least 30mins for a deep clean. 

Read Also: What are the top ultrasonic jewelry cleaners?

You'll want to use a soft-bristled brush and clean both the outside and inside of the band. If it has diamonds in it, the ring can still be soaked. There's a few different gemstones that can't be soaked in water like doublet and triplet opals, or pearls. 

Another way to clean your gold thumb rings is to use a gold jewelry cleaner. Jewelry cleaner is real cheap, especially for how often you use it.  

It's a mixed solution that usually comes with a soft of drainer that allows you to dip you jewelry in. You can soak it or dip it in and start cleaning with a toothbrush.

Sterling silver thumb rings are going to be harder to clean than gold rings. It can be cleaned in the mild soap solution as the gold, but you don't want to soak it for too long. 15 minutes should do the trick.

Another home cleaning solution for sterling silver is to mix teaspoon of olive oil with a half cup of lemon juice. Dipping a soft jewelry cloth in it, you can wipe away the bacteria off of it while polishing the silver at the same time. After you've rubbed it all over the ring, just rinse it out and dry it. 

Commercial cleaners are available for sterling silver jewelry. You'll want to be careful with these though, because they are quite strong. You don't want to leave silver jewelry in silver cleaner.

Almost every time you even dip and shake around silver, it loses its polish immediately. You'll want to keep a silver polishing cloth on hand if you want to shiny it up again.

Also, if your sterling silver thumb ring is antiqued or darkened in certain areas, it will lose that effect in commercial silver cleaner. You'll have to manually oxidize it to get that effect again. 

Where To Buy Thumb Rings?

If you are looking for the funky bohemian type of thumb ring set in sterling silver, you're probably not going to find that at a fine jewelry retailer, at least not in their sparkly cases. Instead, what you're looking for is stashed behind the jewelry counter in a book that they have to special order from. 

Of course, they don't want you to order from those books. Those are the books with random uncommon pieces of jewelry that usually have pieces with cubic zirconia, beaded bands, spinner rings, and rings made of stainless steel. You'll find everything from chunky jewelry to pinky rings. In fact, you may find a section of thumb rings. 

But these are the cheaper pieces, and those don't help jewelry salespeople reach their goals. So, why not skip the hassle and being taken advantage of by pushy salespeople and check out my choice for inexpensive thumb rings, the wonderful world of Amazon

Now, if you are looking for a glamorous and glitzy kind of thumb ring, and have more money in your pocket for the purchase, let me steer you over to our good friends James Allen and Blue Nile

Remember, a thumb ring is the same as any other wedding band ring. High quality diamond wedding rings make great thumb rings.

So why shouldn't you treat to yourself to a 14k rose gold diamond thumb ring? You can even find one that compliments your engagement ring or bridal ring set.These online retailers have everything you're looking for in a fine jewelry thumb ring. 

Reviews of the Best Thumb Rings

My top pick a thumb ring is actually a wedding ring!

This tastefully and simple 14kt gold wedding band from Blue Nile makes for a perfect thumb ring that can't be beat.

They offer the band in yellow gold, white gold, rose gold, or platinum, so you have plenty of color options to choose from.

This is a 2mm band, which might not be too intriguing for someone who prefers a wide band.

But with a thin band like this, it leaves room for you to add more stackable bands to really turn it into a statement ring. It'll look great with other thumb rings whether they have gemstones or diamonds. 

This ring can really be used for men or women. Nothing about it looks feminine except maybe the width, but a thinner band is more comfortable on a thumb anyway.

Pros

  • Simple versatile ring 
  • Unisex
  • Solid 14kt/18kt gold or platinum
  • Good customer track record

Cons

  • May be too thin for men

For the best value, I present this truly inexpensive set of 6 thumb rings. That's an excellent value seeing as most of our thumb rings on this are over a $100 for just one! 

However, keep in mind that this set of rings is best for the person who hasn't really experimented with art of a thumb finger ring and might like to try out a cheap set before going up to the big leagues. 

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But, I must warn you, this is a set that might not be the greatest for long term. I do like that you don't have to worry about a ring size, but adjustable thumb rings can exhibit an issue.

While it's made of a bendy metal like copper, bending and adjusting over time will weaken the metal. The metal can also become warped as well. This set of rings aren't plated with gold either, they are just painted with the gold colors. That will undoubtedly fade over time. 

In the description of the set, it mentions that they are stackable rings, but to me, they look a little bulky to be such, especially for a thumb ring. Perhaps you could stack a few of them, but it'd be hard to find bands that would look good with these prominent designs.

Pros

  • Set of 6 different designs
  • Adjustable ring size
  • Cheap

Cons

  • Copper
  • Constant bending weakens metal 
  • Might be bulky for some

This gorgeous little wedding ring can be a real eye-turner. This particular diamond thumb ring holds so many trendy details popular in jewelry today. 

First, the milgrain vintage design has been a must-have for stackable rings.

Vintage detailing is high in demand in the jewelry industry, which is why vintage designers like Neil Lane and Vera Wang are so popular.

When I worked at a jewelry store, these bands were the most purchased for both anniversary rings and stackable bands.

The downside with vintage detailing is that it can be hard to match with and the texture could bother your other fingers.

This diamond ring has better protected diamonds because of its setting. Personally, I don't like bezel settings because it's too much metal for me. I like more sparkle than metal. 

But, I can't argue that it is much better at securing stones so they don't become loose. Bezel settings cost a little more too because there's more metal craftsmanship that takes place.

Pros

  • Better protected diamonds
  • Trendy infinity halo design
  • 14K White gold

Cons

  • Bezel set is more expensive
  • Rougher texture of milgrain

This popular design in  gives us a refined version of the classic chevron thumb ring.

But instead of being handmade with copper or an antiqued sterling silver, we trade those for this classy 14k rose gold diamond ring.

It's a perfect combination for someone who loves tradition but wants to redefine thumb rings with sophistication.

Blue Nile offers this same ring in rose gold and white gold as well, allowing for some tri-tone stackable thumb rings if you so choose.

 Note that you might have trouble finding other bands that might go well with it due to the chevron look. At 1.3mm, three bands wouldn't be too wide and wouldn't bother thumb functionality.

The downside on this ring is that Blue Nile states that it can't be resized or repaired due to the fragility of the design.

It is also not recommended for daily use, which may not help you get the most out of your purchase. It's not to say that you can't wear it, just be careful what you're doing while you're wearing it. 

Pros

  • Stackable
  • Simple pave diamonds
  • lower price

Cons

  • I1 clarity for small stones
  • Yellow gold not for everyone
  • Can't resize or repair

Here is another one of those ever-popular vintage milgrain design.

But with this ring, you get a combo of two different shapes, both round and marquise.

What's really interesting about this design is the fact that you don't get two different diamond shapes, but the shapes are molded in the 14k rose gold.

The real diamonds in this band are of an SI2 (slightly included) clarity grade, which is good for diamonds that small. The color grade is an I, which near colorless.

Diamonds with these specs will sparkle very well. This little ring will make an excellent vintage stackable ring on the thumb and looks great with both white gold and yellow gold bands. 

A couple of downside to this one on the list is that it is an eternity ring. Because the stones go all the way around the ring, you won't be able to get it sized.

So if you order it and it doesn't fit, you'll have to arrange with Blue Nile to get a new size. Sometimes in different seasons finger swell, making your rings tighter. This could happen with your eternity band. 

And lastly, because the stones are all the way around it, they're more likely to get knocked loose. We constantly bang our hands on things throughout the day, which is why most diamond rings have stones that never pass midway down the band.

Pros

  • Popular vintage milgrain design
  • Stackable
  • Two mixed shapes, marquise and round
  • Genuine diamonds

Cons

  • Milgrain beads could irritate
  • Can't be sized
  • Diamonds more likely to fall out


The Final Word On Thumb Rings

I hope you've enjoyed my reviews of the best thumb rings.

Remember, the best thumb ring is the one that means something, so no matter what materials you choose, or how much it costs, make sure there is a reason you're wearing it.

It stands for LGBTQ pride, a loss, a prayer, whatever it may be. The most beautiful thumb ring is the one that means the most to you.  

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