Re-sizing advice

[bojack]

Hello all,

Any advice on the pros/cons on getting my ring re-sized by different jewelers? I recently purchased the ring online but it is a little too big. The jeweler I purchased from would do this for free but I would have to pay to ship it out again. I am a little nervous about having to ship it back and forth again and am considering looking for a local jeweler to re-size it. I am a little worried about what this may cost locally (and from a jeweler where I didn''t purchase the diamond) and also about a possible "diamond switch" during this process. I live in Los Angeles, any recommended local jewelers for this process? Also, any other opinions or factors I should consider that might help me make the smarter choice?

 

[denverappraiser]

bojack,

You bring up 2 different issues:

Ring sizing is usually relatively easy and inexpensive. The price will depend on the design and materials of the ring, the amount of change, whether you are going up or down and other variables. Any skilled jeweler should have no problem giving you an estimate of their charges and usually they are quite reasonable. They should also be able to complete the work much faster than shipping back to the original suppler. The only time I would specifically recommend against this approach is if you have a warranty from the manufacturer that is affected by another jeweler working on the piece. This is not usually the case but call your vendor and ask them specifically about this.

Stone switching concerns come up quite a bit. Use the search utility to search the forum for previous discussions about this.

The short answer is to use jewelers that you have reason to trust. That said, it’s always prudent to follow the old advice of Ronald Regan, ‘Trust but verify”.

A properly done appraisal done at the time of your purchase will include photographs, plotting diagrams and possibly both of your diamond. What these are for is to show you the recognizable characteristics of your stone. If your stone is below VS1 or so, you should be able to recognize it through a loupe with a little practice. At SI2 and below its pretty easy. The plotting diagram on the lab report and/or the appraisal is a mapping of these characteristics and should help you locate them. When you drop off your stone at the jeweler for repair, look for your inclusion and point it out to them. Many jewelers will draw a version of that plotting diagram right on the take-in form for exactly this reason. Don’t worry, they won’t be offended. Mind your manners so that it doesn’t come across as an accusation and they’ll be fine. They are probably just as concerned as you are about helping their customers to be confident that stone is the same when they get it back. Their reputation is at stake. They can and should measure the outside dimensions of the stone when you drop it off and again when you pick it up although sometimes the mounting will make some of these measurements difficult.

Some diamonds have serial numbers and other things written on the girdle. This serves the same purpose as the above and can be especially helpful for very high clarity stones where there isn’t much internally that you can recognize. If your stone doesn’t have a number on it and you are interested in this, most jewelers or appraisers can get it done for a fairly low fee.

Gemprint offers a unique service for recognizing individual stones. I won’t try to explain it here but you can read about it at www.gemprint.com. This will allow any gemprint center to recognize any registered stone anywhere in the world, even when it’s mounted.

People worry about stone switching far more than it actaully happens. Part of the problem is that most jewelry shops use some very powerful cleaning equipment when they work on a ring to make it look as good as possible. Dirty diamonds have very different optic properties than clean ones and diamonds, by their nature, get dirty very quickly when you wear them. Customers get used to a certain ‘look’ and this will change at the jewelry store while they have it for repair. Another thing to be aware of is that jewelry stores usually have some very specialized lighting that’s probably quite different than what you are accustomed too and this can seriously affect the look of your stone.

Lastly, theft, even by a jeweler, is a covered loss under most insurance policies. If you aren’t insured, consider getting a policy before you start this process. Your risk is low but it provides great peace of mind if you’re inclined to worry about it.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[lmurden]

Ship the stone back to the vendor and let them do it so you don''t have to worry your stone being switch or some jeweler screwing up your setting. The postal office will insure your ring up to $$$. Good luck.