You might need to resize a ring for a variety of reasons. The initial fit might be too snug or too loose, or you might lose or gain weight leading to your ring no longer fitting correctly. Whatever the reason, it's best to have your ring resized professionally by a jeweler to ensure a proper fit and seamless design.
Why Should You Resize Your Rings?
Rings that are too loose are in danger of slipping off of your finger easily and getting lost. Rings that are too small often can't be worn at all, or can't be worn on your preferred finger. Ring resizing is a simple, commonly executed procedure that can increase a ring up to two sizes and decrease a ring size as much as needed to fit correctly.
How Long Does It Take to Resize a Ring?
The time needed to resize a ring depends on a variety of factors. If the adjustment is small, usually a half-size or less, your jeweler may be able to resize the ring in a matter of minutes. If the jeweler doesn't have time when you drop your ring off or the ring sizing adjustment is more complicated, the process can take one or two weeks.
Can You Resize Engagement Rings and Wedding Bands?
Jewelers can resize most engagement rings and wedding bands. These types of rings are the most common for jewelers to resize, so most jewelers are very familiar with and capable of resizing these types of rings. A popular addition to the resizing process is soldering engagement rings and wedding bands together to create one connected ring rather than two separate rings. Ensuring the two rings are the same size is vital when soldering engagement rings and wedding bands together.
What's the Difference Between Making a Ring Larger or Smaller?
Decreasing a ring's size is often easier than increasing its size. Usually, depending on the design, the jeweler will cut out part of the ring called the shank, which goes around the bottom of your finger. From there, the jeweler connects the two ends and solders them together. They finish the resizing by cleaning and polishing the ring so that there's no evidence of resizing.
Making a ring larger is a bit more complicated. In most cases, the jeweler will cut the shank of the ring and add a small piece of matching metal to increase the ring's size. The jeweler solders the pieces together and finishes the ring with a clean and polish, so it looks like it was originally that size.
Sometimes, particularly if the ring only needs to be slightly larger, the jeweler will stretch the original material to increase the size. Since this can impact the integrity of the ring, many jewelers choose to add new material to enlarge a ring rather than stretching.
What Materials Can You Resize?
Some materials are easier for jewelers to resize than others. Yellow gold, sterling silver, and white gold are all relatively easy to work with, though white gold requires the additional step of rhodium plating to obtain the white color. Rose gold is very delicate and temperamental and does not hold up well to resizing, as it can easily crack.
Some jewelers choose not to work with platinum and titanium, as these metals have high melting points that require their own unique tools for resizing. Jewelers cannot resize tungsten because of the hardness of the metal — it shatters rather than bending or stretching.
What Types of Rings Cannot Be Resized?
In addition to the type of metal, jewelers can't resize certain ring designs. Rings with diamonds or other gemstones encircling the whole band, known as eternity rings or eternity bands, are a prime example of rings that shouldn't or can't be resized. With no metal shank to work with, the process would involve removing and resetting stones, which is a highly expensive and complicated process.
Some rings use a unique tension design setting in which the stone is held in place by tension from the band rather than a traditional prong setting. Resizing this ring style could result in the loss of integrity in the setting and of the stone falling out of the ring. For this reason, jewelers do not recommend resetting rings with tension settings.
How Much Does Ring Resizing Cost?
Costs can vary for ring resizing depending on several factors:
- The ring's style and complexity.
- The band's thickness.
- Whether the ring needs additional materials to expand the size.
- The jeweler's general starting costs for resizing.
- The ring's material and ease or difficulty of resizing.
A simple decrease in size on a yellow gold band could cost as little as $25, while a complicated enlargement on a titanium ring could cost several hundred. It's best to get an estimate before starting the resizing process, so you know roughly how much it'll cost.
How Do I Know My Ring Size?
If you want to know your own ring size, it's easy enough to go to a jeweler and use a ring sizer to determine your correct ring size. If you need to know your partner's ring size, you can find it out in several ways. The most direct is to ask your partner what size ring they wear. This method is best if your partner knows you're getting their ring resized.
If you want to keep the ring a surprise, you might consider asking your partner's friends if they know your partner's ring size. You could also borrow one of your partner's rings and take it to a jeweler or make a tracing and take that to the jeweler to determine the correct ring size.
Resizing a ring is a relatively straightforward and cost-effective way to keep a ring in use. Keep in mind that not all rings can or should be resized because of their design or materials. Consult the experts at Martin Busch Jewelers for help in determining the best way to resize a valued ring and for estimates for the work.
Image via Flickr by JHåland
