Finally going to do something about the ring spin!

[caratgirl]

Well, as some of you know, I am cursed with the larger-knuckle-than-finger-base syndrome. After suffering the discomfort of the soldered balls inside the ring that shred my knuckle whenever I try to take the ring off, I took matters into my own hands (literally) and used a file to shave them down a lot. Well, still a problem with taking the ring off painfully and ''oh, look George, the ring still spins''

.

I just happened onto DT after my HUGE disappointment in not winning a gemstone

, and saw several options listed in a recent post. One would be to solder a thin flexible piece of metal into the inside of the ring (not an option as it barely fits over my knuckle now), or getting a superfit shank soldered onto the ring, where they basically cut the bottom half of your ring off and replace it with a really trick bottom piece that opens up completely. I checked out www.superfit.net, and promptly e-mailed them for info in my area.

I am just able to fit a size 5 over my knuckle, so I think that I will be either a 4.5 or 4 to prevent the spin. I can''t wait to get this taken care of, because it is driving me crazy. I had been contemplating an entirely new custom ''square shank'' setting that might not have worked anyway.

By the way, if I don''t like this solution, anyone know of a great platinumsmith that has experience with square rings? Not just the bottom, but the whole ring shank. Any names would be helpful.

Will keep all posted so that you know if the quality is as good as they claim.

Finally seeing the end of the tunnel, I hope.

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

-Platinumsmith's,




Mark Morell


Greg @ (Ring Designer)


One of the many Jeweler's which Tradeshop employs...




-

 

[jenibear]

I have the same problem and am at a loss for what to do! Especially because my hands swell in the summer and shrink in the winter by a half-size.
My ring ia a 5 3/4 but so big I fear it will fall off! So I'm gonna have it resized to a 5 or 5 1/4 but fear come summer I won't be able to get the darn thing on and off. Cursed large knuckles!
Please let me know how things work out for you because if the resizing don't work - and I fear it won't - I may have to go down the same route!
Good luck!

 

[caratgirl]

Thanks Josh, I will keep them in mind.

Jenibear, by the way, I just LOVE your ring setting. It is so beautiful! I got my stone from DBOF as well. You know, if you got the whole setting from them, see what they think of the surefit solution, since surefit claims that it is a very easy modification to make.

Let me know how yours works out as well. In your case, since you haven't already had it resized like I did, you might want to go with the spring bar that I mentioned above - look at the DT post about arthritic fingers. The pictures look promising for your case. My fingers don't swell very much, so that wouldn't do much for me.

 

[Fancy]

I have the same problem, at night my ring won't even come off without scraping (sometimes cutting!!!!) my knuckle, and sometimes I can't get it off at all.

That device that opens and snaps shut is THE BEST .. my grandmother has it, and it's incredible. She got hers done by her local jeweler.

Actually, just now I tried to get my wedding band off, NO CAN DO .. it's totally stuck. I swell a lot during the summer and always at night!

I will get that device put in one of these days!

 

[jenibear]

Caratgirl - don't you just love DBOF!
Glad you like my ring. I love it! I get compliments all the time and tonz of stares. Hee Hee.
I did get the whole set from Jan and Brad so I will ask them what they think. I'll check out the DT post now.
Thanks!
Let us know what happens!

 

[caratgirl]

Oooh, Fancy, I feel your pain! I just got back from Hawaii and I had to get the ring off in order to go snorkling. I was really afraid that I was going to get it banged up. It took me 5 minutes to think about how I was going to suffer pulling the ring off, another 5 lubing my finger, then sheer terror and agony

as it got stuck on my knuckle. That's when I self-modified

those soldered balls from hell...hey this sounds vaguely warped, doesn't it?

Yes, Jenibear, I just loved Jan & Brad. I wish I would have gotten the setting through them, then they could have helped with this.

 

[valeria101]

There seem to be some other solutions out there... Just in case: WWW There was a 'thin shank' solution on another Fay ring (some snapping piece like the closure of a key ring) but I can't find it for anything in the world!

 

[caratgirl]

Hi Valeria, couldn't find it either.

On the bright side, I spoke with a high-end jewelry designer in my area today and he recommended the 'lockshank' instead of superfit, since there seem to be less problems/repairs associated with it. If anyone wants to take a look at the website, it is www.lockshank.com. I have an appointment with tthe designer on Friday, so I will keep everyone posted.

On another note, we spoke for about 15 minutes on custom design, costs and platinum blends. Very interesting conversation. He actually prefers the 95% plat with either iridium or ruthium instead of my 90% plat with 10% iridium. Claims it is softer than the 95% ones. I had discovered with my set though, that it seems to scratch less than the others. A possibility is the type of manufacturing process used on mine, which is die-struck instead of tooled, which creates additional hardness. I hope that I am remembering that correctly.

Also, he mentioned that a lot of people come in to the store looking to change a portion of a designer setting (such as Verragio) to look a bit different. Usually the manufacturer will be willing to work with the consumer on the changes (as interpreted or facilitated by the store designer) and actually make those custom changes to the setting more cheaply than doing a design from scratch. I thought that was very interesting. Apparently the name brand designers are looking for something different to work on occasionally as well! Or maybe they are looking for a new design for the next catalog

.

 

[caratgirl]

Just an update to my saga...I spent 1 1/2 hours with the very impressive owner of the jewelry store today discussing all of my ring options. Absolutely to pressure - I felt like I had all the time in the world. If anyone is interested in a B&M with a solid reputation for custom work, etc. I would very much recommend Lynn's Jewelers in Ventura Ca. They are not low end, but the jewelry is either designer or very well made in his large shop, which is visible through a back window in the store.

I had no idea that so many shank options were available, and we went over each one in detail. Bob also had custom designed one of his own that is really trick (he is engineer as well). Since the cost of redoing the shank was a bit higher than I wanted to spend, we decided on a compromise.

My seven stone wedding band is too wide across my finger, so I am going to try the custom square shank solution for it, and using only 5 of the stones. If that works out well, I will have the same thing done to the engagement ring, but just reforming it more to be squared off. Since a square is a larger diameter at the corners, it should fit over my size 5 knuckle, and create a lesser tendency to 'spin' on my finger base, which is a size 4! I had no idea that it was that small, since I have very long fingers and medium sized hands.

In order to fit 5 of my 20 point stones across the band, he suggested a half bezel design, something like the one below. The mold should be completed in about two weeks (very busy custom shop), and then he will cast it in a base metal for me to try on first. If I don't like the way it feels, I'll just be out the CAD and casting time/materials, which I thought was a reasonable way to proceed.

I will add to this post as events unfold.

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 11/12/2003 4:09:02 PM caratgirl wrote:

Hi Valeria, couldn't find it either.

On the bright side, I spoke with a high-end jewelry designer in my area today and he recommended the 'lockshank' instead of superfit,

.----------------

This was it! It seems like you have found a great place. Best of luck!