Sizing silver rings

[cinnabar]

I have a silver right hand ring set with a central cluster of gemstones. I think it may be rhodium plated since it never tarnishes like my other silver jewelry. It''s about a half size too big; since cheap rings only come in full sizes, I had to get either the 6 or the 7 and really I need a 6.5 or 6.75.

Do jewelers resize silver rings? Is the rhodium going to be a problem?

I''m not concerned about cost - it would be worth it to wear the ring more, since it just sits in a box because it''s too big. I can wear it with a huggie from Claire''s Accessories, but I don''t like the feel of the plastic bulk at the back of the ring. I''d much rather get the ring re-sized if possible.

 

[FireGoddess]

I went to a silversmith in a silver store to have a silver ring resized. Usually silver is not rhodium plated as it is the whitest of all the white metals. But if yours hasn''t tarnished, maybe it was dipped. It should be no problem for someone who works with silver to resize the ring and redip it if need be, but I''d take it to a place that deals with silver. I don''t know if most jewelry stores that deal exclusively with gold or platinum would size it, and I dunno if I''d want them to even if they did.

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

Hi cinnabar,

FireGod. Rhodium is definately whiter then silver, or not as silver if you like. It may have been silver plated as it often done. I rhodium plate silver when I am making models for show. It is a very expensive undertaking as silver will eventually mix into the rhodium and the outcome includes silver, which in this case makes it grey.

There are non-tarnish silver alloys out there. One here does and it and it is a patented formula, but it isn''t hard to imagine others who have developed their own non-tarnish alloy.

It is a fair job to resize it and get it looking right in my workshop, because the rhodium will go black, (if it was plated that way) and the easiest way to fix this, is to replate it, bearing in mind - nobody who knows, will want to rhodium plate silver, in case they damage the expensive solution too soon.

At any rate, you may well find a jeweller who will do it as a service and lump it in with other plating jobs that don''t damage the rhodium solution. The sizing part is nothing unusual and should cost the same, even less.

All the best, and I hope this helps,

Phillip

 

[FireGoddess]

Fascinating. I had no idea silver would leech out into the rhodium solution. It does this rapidly, I presume? I''m guessing none of my silver pieces that have had work done to them are rhodium plated, or otherwise the silversmiths do it but I can''t see gold/platinum sellers wanting to deal wtih that problem.

 

[cinnabar]

Thanks to all who offered advice when I posted this question, you were all very helpful

I finally found someone with a little stall in the mall near where I work, who specifically does repairs rather than sells new jewelry.

His service is advertised as being "while you wait", but as I wanted four rings, he asked me if I''d mind coming back next day. That suited me better anyway, so that''s what happened.

He had a detailed sliding scale of charges, depending on the metal of the ring and the amount of re-sizing work required. I wanted two silver rings sized down from 7 to 6.5 and two 10K gold rings sized up from 4.5 to 5; the silver ones cost about $25 each and the gold ones $35 each.

He did a superb job. All the rings were sized invisibly and all were polished better than they''d been when new. The stones are all very secure in their prongs and are in perfect condition, no burning or other damage. The guy who did the work was obviously the owner of the business, so there were no worries about misunderstandings like when you deal with the salesman and the salesman passes on a message to the benchman.

 

[FireGoddess]

Yay - glad to hear it worked out for you!