Before anything, it is essential to acquire these 4 tools. Their inclusion in your tool set is essential!A. Digital calipers - I recommend spending good money on this since it is single-handidly the most important tool you'll need. DO NOT get analog dial calipers, it should be digital and well-made. The one shown is the same one I've had since my first job at a jewelry manufacturer in Manhattan (which was 10 years ago) and its as good today as it was then.
B. Loop - Its hard to make out in this picture, but this is essentially a small magnifying glass with 10x power (the industry standard)
C. Finger Sizer - This is used to determine the finger size of your customer
D. Ring Mandrel - This will tell you the size of a ring. I recommend getting a fairly nice metal one that you can keep for a long time. Keep in mind that not all of these are exactly the same size, one may tell you a ring is a size 6 while another could tell you its a size 5.75. Yes, it makes a difference. Whats important is to make sure your ring sizer and finger sizer are giving you the same numbers so if the size 6 ring slides to the size 6 marker on the ring sizer, you're good to go.
