Possible to size ring down 4 sizes?

[goldnsilver]

I'm considering this antique OMC ring but would require some drastic sizing down to make it work. It needs to be sized down from around US 9 (UK S) to US 5 (UK J 1/2), which is more than I've ever resized a ring. Will it be possible to do and should I give it a chance? It's a solitaire in a silver buttercup setting with tapered 15k yellow gold shank.

Here are some pictures:





Thank you for any thoughts on whether this will be doable!

 

[stracci2000]

I don't see why not. The shoulders of the ring are plain and should bend inward for down sizing. A 10mm chunk will have to be removed from the shank to go from size 9 to 5.
Any capable jeweler can do this. It looks like it was sized way up in the first place.

 

[MollyMalone]

As is, the lower shank is awfully thin for continued wear. So you'd want a jeweler to insert a new partial shank even if your finger were a size 9

 

[musicloveranthony]

I'm not sure if that's the original band or not. It looks like it might have been added later. If it were me, I'd probably just ask a jeweler to solder on a new band

 

[goldnsilver]

I don't see why not. The shoulders of the ring are plain and should bend inward for down sizing. A 10mm chunk will have to be removed from the shank to go from size 9 to 5.
Any capable jeweler can do this. It looks like it was sized way up in the first place.

Thank you. That was my initial thought as well - that it shouldn't be too difficult for a plain solitaire like this. I guess my challenge would be to find a trustworthy local bench. Currently a bit paranoid after a local jeweler completely botched a vintage solitaire ring of mine when sizing it down just one alphabetic letter a couple of months ago.

As is, the lower shank is awfully thin for continued wear. So you'd want a jeweler to insert a new partial shank even if your finger were a size 9

That's true! It makes me feel less guilty about modifying it.

I'm not sure if that's the original band or not. It looks like it might have been added later. If it were me, I'd probably just ask a jeweler to solder on a new band

I was also wondering about it. Looks like it could have been a conversion ring from something else? Not sure if I'd want to deal with a complete re-shank at the moment (although it could be exciting to design something new to go with the head), I guess I'll see when/if I have it in hand.


Thanks again for all your input! My apologies for the late reply. The business with this ring has been a major headache and I'm a bit depressed about it. I had actually already purchased it at the beginning of the month and have been awaiting its delivery since 6 Aug when it was supposed to arrive. However our national post service has gone mad and been returning many packages (both e-commerce and personal) to senders on the basis of customs declaration issues, over the past few weeks following new EU import regulations. Unfortunately my ring has also fallen victim and is now making its way across the sea back to the vendor after weeks of disappearance from tracking...And the longer this postal fiasco continues, the more I second-guess myself with the purchase, wondering if I should have the shop re-send it once it gets back to them or give up on it and get a refund. And worries about the resizing didn't help.

I still haven't decided whether to pursue this, been changing my mind twenty times a day, lol.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Thank you. That was my initial thought as well - that it shouldn't be too difficult for a plain solitaire like this. I guess my challenge would be to find a trustworthy local bench. Currently a bit paranoid after a local jeweler completely botched a vintage solitaire ring of mine when sizing it down just one alphabetic letter a couple of months ago.




That's true! It makes me feel less guilty about modifying it.




I was also wondering about it. Looks like it could have been a conversion ring from something else? Not sure if I'd want to deal with a complete re-shank at the moment (although it could be exciting to design something new to go with the head), I guess I'll see when/if I have it in hand.


Thanks again for all your input! My apologies for the late reply. The business with this ring has been a major headache and I'm a bit depressed about it. I had actually already purchased it at the beginning of the month and have been awaiting its delivery since 6 Aug when it was supposed to arrive. However our national post service has gone mad and been returning many packages (both e-commerce and personal) to senders on the basis of customs declaration issues, over the past few weeks following new EU import regulations. Unfortunately my ring has also fallen victim and is now making its way across the sea back to the vendor after weeks of disappearance from tracking...And the longer this postal fiasco continues, the more I second-guess myself with the purchase, wondering if I should have the shop re-send it once it gets back to them or give up on it and get a refund. And worries about the resizing didn't help.

I still haven't decided whether to pursue this, been changing my mind twenty times a day, lol.

Oh dear im sorry to hear all this

 

[goldnsilver]

Oh dear im sorry to hear all this

Thank you so much for the sympathy. Thank heavens we have a place to share our antique jewellery headaches and dilemmas. I should probably start a thread about the postal situation here, in case anyone happens to need to send anything over. It almost feels like we're besieged, since we're only a small island (Ireland) and consumers rely heavily on imports. Hopefully our national post sorts things out soon, but the combination of the pandemic and Brexit has become such a pain (I now think fondly of the good old days a few months ago when I was freaking out over three days of not getting post ).

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Thank you so much for the sympathy. Thank heavens we have a place to share our antique jewellery headaches and dilemmas. I should probably start a thread about the postal situation here, in case anyone happens to need to send anything over. It almost feels like we're besieged, since we're only a small island (Ireland) and consumers rely heavily on imports. Hopefully our national post sorts things out soon, but the combination of the pandemic and Brexit has become such a pain (I now think fondly if the good old days a few months ago when I was freaking out over three days of not getting post ).

The post has become a lottery

I got a parcel on a monday morning after ordering it online saturday night (how on earth does that work !!!???) but we might only get letters delivered once a week


Right now im waiting on a new pay wave debit card as i misplaced it the week before lock down...but didn't initially notice, so im having to touch the pin pad when i buy something and that paywave is a visa debit so i can't buy anything on line till it arrives
But stuff from overseas is taking even longer than nornal with the lack of flights into NZ and now lockdown

Good luck deciding what to do about your ring

 

[Cerulean]

How frustrating to be at the mercy of bureaucracy at it’s worst - when the post goes bonkers there’s nothing you can do about it and it’s just a special kind of hair pulling frustration

hopefully it gets resolved for you soon