Tips for Stacking Rings

Stacking rings are surging in popularity again this season! Combine two, three, or more rings to create your own trendy look. Your stylish stackers do not need to match in band width or style. Mix metals and gemstones on bands that fit together on one or two fingers and express your personal style. Here are tips from a few of our favorite jewelers for making stacking rings and styling them.

Above: Stacking rings by Julie Sanford

Combine Stones and Settings

Kristen Baird recommends using a variety of gemstone shapes, sizes, and cuts to add visual complexity to your stack. She says, “You can either opt for a monochrome color scheme such as the dual tones of orange carnelian and citrine in the stack above or go for stones that complement each other.” Using a combination of prong and bezel settings can go a long way toward creating your own style, too.

Mix Metals and Gemstones

“Do not be afraid to mix metals!” is Kristen’s motto for her latest collection. She advises, “Stacking rings are all about variety within a shared theme, so different metals are a great way to add variation to a stack of otherwise similar rings. In the example above, I used the exact same base but switched up both the metals and the gemstones colors and sizes.” Kristen shares jewelry making–and wearing–advice @kristenbairdjewelry on Instagram and TikTok.

Julie Sanford suggests resizing several bands to make a stylish stack. She says, “The good news is that thin stacking rings can stretch easily on a mandrel. But the bad news is that you can stretch them too far pretty quickly. If you have a specific size in mind, you don’t want to be too heavy-handed reshaping the ring or it will stretch beyond your desired size.” Your ring might still be uneven after you make it round on the mandrel. You can even it out the rest of the way with two bench blocks if you don’t want to stretch it further.

• Place the uneven ring on a bench block.
• Position another bench block directly over the ring as in the photo above.
• Use a mallet to gently tap the top bench block. The ring will flatten in between. 

This trick also works to level bezels after you solder the seam, so they sit without gaps on a flattened backplate!

Measure and Make a Ring

When you’re ready to make your own stacking bands, use this handy chart to find the length of sheet metal you need for the metal gauge you are using and ring size you want. Consequently, it will be easy to cut the right length of metal and follow Helen Driggs’ instructions for making a ring band in five easy steps.

Try your hand at these ring projects: