Adjusting ring size

[kev-man]

Was wondering if anyone had some ideas. I bought my fiancee an engagement ring and since I got it she has lost a lot of weight and her finger size has gone down almost a size and a quarter. We''ve tried a couple of solutions to have the ring fit without having to remake the ring and I was looking to see if anyone here had an idea.

First we had two balls placed into the bottom of the ring. This worked very well and cut down the ring about 1/2 to 3/4 of a size. Unfortunately as she continued to lose weight this didn''t adjust the ring enough.

We next had a ring guard installed. This was a strip of metal that went about 3/4 of the way across the band and could be adjusted with a firm push against it. This did a good job of making the ring the correct size (her finger rested on the guard rather than the bottom) but as the jeweler warned us could happen, it is beginning to snap off. I''m surprised this is happening already as it has only been about six months and I was hoping it would last a few years so we could see if she is going to maintain this new weight before having the ring remade.

I''m now left a few weeks from our wedding and she is wearing the ring on her middle finger and telling me we have to do something so it is fixed for the wedding. I''m trying to decide if we should have them put in another ring guard (I think it cost about $150) so we can get through the wedding and then decide a more permanent solution. Do they make non-adjustable ring guards that would fit across the whole band and be more sturdy?

I also didn''t know if we could just fill up the bottom of the ring with platinum to make it smaller on the bottom (not sure how aesthetically pleasing this would be.

Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[cinnamon013]

Wow! Congrats to her on losing some weight. I bet she is in the hottie status now! If you could post some photos on the ring (handshots if possible), everyone might be able to offer some suggestions (including going to a different setting at an affordable price). Seeing what you have, with and without the ring guard will help.

 

[kcoursolle]

Horseshoe sizer???

 

[Manmountain]

Why don''t you have the ring sized? I have been sizing rings for 37 years, and can tell you that aside from enameled rings, sizing a ring is a pretty normal occurance.

 

[kev-man]

Thanks for all of the responses. We spoke to the jeweler today. He had suggested sizing the ring over the phone and if it still needed to be smaller he could then add the balls. My fiancee took in the ring and he said that the ring was made very poorly. He said the stones are beautiful but the ring maker and setter did very poor work. I bought a stone from a diamond broker and he had his ring maker and setter put it together. This jeweler is a new guy that we''ve been using when needing to adjust the size and we also bought our wedding band from him.

We knew when we first got the ring that there was a small chunk of the platinum missing (a hole) but didn''t think much of it. This jeweler said that it was terrible that we were given the ring this way. He said it had to do with an air bubble and further confirmed that the ring was made poorly. He also said that the center stone is a little loose and while not in any immediate danger it is something he wouldn''t recommend leaving as is. He also said that the channel setting is too thin and the side diamonds do not fit comfortably in the channel setting, once again why he felt that the ring was made and set poorly.

His recommendation is that we have the ring completely remade (which he can do for us and he said it would look exactly like the current ring) which would also fix the size issue. I do trust his opinion and am a bit concerned with his evaluation of the ring about the center stone being loose. I''m very new at all of this so I''d appreciate any thoughts from some of the experts here.

Thanks for the help.

 

[whatmeworry]

Wow, sorry to hear that. You might consider getting it looked at by an appraiser before and after getting it reset, particularly to check for chips. Also you can send the appraisal to the diamond broker and see if they take responsibility for a defective/poor product. Will the jeweler warranty his work? How about looking at some stock settings? Why don''t you wait until after the wedding to do this, just tighten the prongs for now Your fiancee could wear it on her right hand too. Just throwing some ideas out there. Good luck with the ring and the wedding!

 

[iheartscience]

I''d be inclined to get it remade, especially since you know yourself there is an air bubble hole in the ring. If you aren''t sure on your jeweler''s quote to remake the ring you should start a new thread and post the type of ring it is and the amount the jeweler said he would charge you. I''m sure many of us will have an idea if the price is too high or if there is a similar stock setting available from different designers.