Seeking advice on complete remake of sapphire ring due to size issue

[burgundydaze]

Hello! I am a long time lurker of PS, and have always appreciated the kindness and passion of the community here -- It's such a rare corner of the internet!

I made it PS-official and signed up for an account, in hopes I can get some advice on a question I can't quite find the answer to - and I apologize if I am doing this post thing wrong!

Background:

My husband recently surprised me with a sapphire ring. We are the kind of couple that somehow does most things in a weird mixed up order -- for example, we bought wedding bands [and started wearing 'em!] almost a year before we actually got married, and we never did the whole engagement ring/engagement period thing.

However, my husband has always talked about one day buying me a dream sapphire ring as my 'engagement' ring. He's been saving up for a long time, and he told me today he pulled the trigger on a ring. The twist here is that the ring he bought is at least 4 sizes too big for me -- he fell in love with the color of the stone and the design, and he just figured we can re-size or remake the ring after the fact [see what I mean about being all out of order?!]

He bought the ring on an auction site, so it's not something we can ask the seller to remake. I would really appreciate any recommendations on who can remake a ring [preserving the original design], in a much smaller size. The ring is an an oval sapphire flanked by 3 small diamonds on each side, in an 18k white gold setting. To my untrained eye, the setting looks pretty simple [no filagree, etchings, etc].

I am really excited, but also really, really nervous about remaking the ring, since there is such a size difference. I am also nervous because this is a pricey ring for me, and I don't want to screw it up. I know a ring is ultimately just an object, but to me, this ring represents all of my husband's hard work through these years....so I want to preserve the ring/setting/look he chose if possible. I am based in Northern California, if that makes any difference.

I know this is an absurd situation [I feel silly even asking it, as I feel everyone in this community plans and thinks through their selections so thoroughly]. Thank you in advance for your thoughts and advice!

 

[LIGemzGal]

Congrats. Pictures would definitely be helpful. David Klass is in Southern California and he is an extremely extremely reputable and capable designer. He's listed amongst the vendors. Others can chime in, but photos would probably be helpful. (And we just like being nosey as well!)

 

[maryjane04]

Firstly congratulations on having such a thoughtful husband pick out a wonderful ring for you.

I think there are lots of jeweller's PS'ers could recommend, but there is David Klass in LA who can do anything. I haven't used him personally but so many people here have.

 

[icy_jade]

If you cannot resize fully due to ring structure/design issues, you can also consider to add sizing beads or even wear the ring with rubber loops (super comfy!) to make it smaller. Also added benefit in case your ring size changes next time (eg pregnancy, etc) and you don’t have to resize. Agree that pics will help

 

[Polyhex]

What a wonderful gift from your husband! You make not need to remake the ring, if it is impossible to resize you may still be able to have the shank removed and a new one created in your size and attached with a laser welder. Can you share a photo of the ring? People inherit or buy antique rings in the wrong size all the time.

 

[LD]

First of all - what a sweetie of a husband you have and I love the back to front way you've done things!

So onto the setting. If you have to go 4 sizes smaller, think of it like this - a jeweller will have to cut out a portion from the bottom of the ring and solder it back together. As he pushes the two sides back together, the risk is that the shank will have undue stress on it (especially by the top part of the ring) and may well crack or break - or just have a weak point which may well fail at a later time. At the same time, as the setting is made smaller everything bends slightly outwards with the pressue, this can loosen the stone settings. Having said all of that, it very much depends on the design of the ring though. Some are much easier to resize than others.

If you can't have the ring resized you may be able to put either some little balls on the inside of the shank or even a clip on device that makes the ring smaller (although they don't look particularly nice from the back). Whether these would work for 4 sizes I'm not sure - I suspect not.

It may be that you need a new shank - all of this though is just general comments based on not seeing the ring!

 

[burgundydaze]

Wow, thank you all for the recommendation and input!

I had no idea that you can just re-create a shank. @LD your description was a super helpful way to visualize it! I asked for some photos - these are the only ones he had. I think these are the "glamour" shots of the ring [so maybe it needs to be taken with grain of salt], but I don't have any photos of it on a hand or anything yet.

The little balls on the inside of the shanksound like a great thing...I wish I knew that about my wedding band - I would've gotten it about 1/2 size bigger than I have now. With all my quarantine-during-covid eating, the band has gotten a little snug! However, not sure how it would work for a 4+ ring size difference.

Looking at the ring, what do y'all recommend for getting it resized or remade?

Would also appreciate any insight into the cost and process of getting something like this done...this is all really new to me!

 

[kimberlyqkim]

how exciting! can't wait to see photos! (THERE THEY ARE! Beautiful!!!)

My jeweler can resize 2 sizes in either direction for less than $200. If it needs to go up or down by more than 2 sizes it takes more remaking (and more time and money)

I'm sure others can offer recommendations for jewelers in your area!

Cant wait to see pictures of the finished product!

 

[LIGemzGal]

I'd just have an entirely new setting made. The current setting doesn't really look that solid and doesn't do the sapphire any justice, imo. Id' suggest just searching the internet to find settings you like and taking it from there with one of the vendors from this site, or whomever you're comfortable with. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

 

[dk168]

Putting another idea into the re-size or re-make pot...

I would wait until you have the ring in hand first, to wear it on your finger(s), to see if you like the setting as it is, before deciding whether to re-size or re-make.

My suggestion is based on my concern that the top part of the ring is quite wide as it is, and may be too wide for a slender/narrow finger.

Lovely ring though, thanks for sharing!

DK

 

[LD]

Having seen the picture that you've posted I completely agree with @dk168 - the top of the ring where all the stones are is very wide and will give a good amount of finger coverage. This would be problematic and I suspect impossible to make smaller by 4 sizes.

To explain why I think this isn't resizable - here's the way to imagine it - can you see the curve of the basket? Well that will fit for the size finger it was made for - if you need to make it smaller (especially on that design) you would need to bend the two sides inwards to create more of an arch to match the small dimension of the slimmer finger. Does that make sense? So when you do that the end diamonds are likely to come down between your fingers on either side which wouldn't be comfortable. Not only that, bending anything inwards like that would potentially create gaps between the stones (not to mention stress). Just to be clear - imo I would think this ring would be impossible to resize smaller by 4 sizes.

Even if you didn't touch the basket and just took a piece of the band away, you'd end up with a sort of oval ring shape (wider at the sides) but it still wouldn't deal with the finger coverage issue.

I hope you get what I mean? I would also wait until the ring arrives before deciding on what to do because you may see the stone and not love it or it could an instant falling in love and you would want to make the ring unique for you.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Wow, thank you all for the recommendation and input!

I had no idea that you can just re-create a shank. @LD your description was a super helpful way to visualize it! I asked for some photos - these are the only ones he had. I think these are the "glamour" shots of the ring [so maybe it needs to be taken with grain of salt], but I don't have any photos of it on a hand or anything yet.

The little balls on the inside of the shanksound like a great thing...I wish I knew that about my wedding band - I would've gotten it about 1/2 size bigger than I have now. With all my quarantine-during-covid eating, the band has gotten a little snug! However, not sure how it would work for a 4+ ring size difference.

Looking at the ring, what do y'all recommend for getting it resized or remade?

Would also appreciate any insight into the cost and process of getting something like this done...this is all really new to me!

What a husband
Seeing as you two do things a bit out of the ordinary if the jewler says its not safe for the stones to go down 4 sizes how about having it sized for your middle finger
Also adding stacking rings makes a finger need a bigger size
Im sure you two can make it work its such a beautuful ring

 

[Polyhex]

It's gorgeous. If the top of the ring is comfortable on your finger, you can reshank it with a competent bench which has a laser welder. If the top is not comfortable / too big, you can get it remade.

 

[MissyBeaucoup]

I got a ring that I loved because it had a pretty garnet and a line of tapered diamonds. It was way too big (like from a 9.5 down to a 5) and my jeweler had to take a diamond off each side. (He said they don’t go bad and I can use them for another project, lol.) The ring is now a little flat across the top. I was trying to save money and it came out fine, like nobody else would know this wasn’t the original design. He made sure all the prongs were secure. But I think if this were a special ring I would just have a new setting made with all the right proportions. You could also look at Stuller settings if the stone is close to a standard size. Their settings are sturdily made and they have a gazillion designs.

 

[Skyjems]

It's gorgeous. If the top of the ring is comfortable on your finger, you can reshank it with a competent bench which has a laser welder. If the top is not comfortable / too big, you can get it remade.

A laser welder is not a replacement for solder, laser welds are tiny points and don't fill all the gaps.

That said, any decent goldsmith can do this for around $500-$600 USD or less.

 

[Polyhex]

A laser welder is not a replacement for solder, laser welds are tiny points and don't fill all the gaps.

Sure, but they don't use one weld -- they use a lot of laser welds when doing shank work such as resizing, reshanking, repairing broken shanks. I personally prefer laser welding for changes or repairs to already-finished jewelry because it doesn't expose the stones to heat.

 

[Roselina]

What a great ring! So so pretty! Keep it a bit and then decide if the setting suits you.

 

[icy_jade]

Just to add, the rubber loops I mentioned earlier


It will not help with a 4 size difference but I think this is great for size changes during winter/summer, weight loss, etc. very comfy too. Other pros: affordable, non-permanent, easy to use when you don’t want to go to the jeweler to resize.

Agree with what the rest said re: getting the ring first and see if you like how it sits on your finger/width etc. it’s a beautiful ring so congrats and your husband is a darling.

 

[burgundydaze]

Thank you for your great insights and sweet words! [My husband is feeling very flattered haha] Super helpful to know pricing ranges. I also see what @LD and @dk168 are saying about the width of the ring...I'm thinking the side diamonds may have to be repurposed for something else. I will take y'all's advice and wait until I actually have the ring adn see how it sits, before dreaming about ways to potentially replace with a different setting. I will report back once I have the ring in person

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I'm going to speak for everyone else
We cannot wait to see it on your finger