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Proposal was perfect, ring size wasn't! Help resizing pave!

gm89uk

Brilliant_Rock
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May 26, 2015
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I've just proposed and thankfully got a yes! Thanks to you good people at PS the diamond looks fantastic.

As it was a surprise I didn't measure her directly. I got a few rings from her mum (some of which she wore on her middle finger :wall:). She knew we'd be engaged at some point so a while ago she sent me a ring size that she did spontaneously while going past a jeweller, but it turned out it was on the way back from the gym and her fingers were swollen, so we're 1.5 - 2 sizes too big). The rings are currently a UK J (US ~4.75) and we probably need an H (~3.75) or H and half (~4.00). Preferably an H if possible.

The rings are platinum, 50% cover pavé, the main engagement ring and the eternity ring. I've been a few jewellers who have given various opinions. I know it is risky to reduce the size as it will loosen the melee stones, even if all the prongs are tightened up again they are more likely to pop out.

A few options I've been given is
1) take the chance and size it
2) attach an inner semi circle ring inside the rings
3) Beads
4) Leave the contour of the pave part as it is, and stretch out the contour at the bottom so that the ring is slightly oval and the tension on the melee diamonds aren't changed.
5) it's ok because her fingers will get bigger as she gets older (!)
6) Sell and rebuy.

The original jeweller won't exchange the ring as I've set an external diamond in it in a different store (fair enough); nor swap the eternity ring as the purchase was around 5 months ago (fair enough). I'm very happy with their work otherwise.

When she's cold it does just roll off her finger so the chances of loss are pretty high. I'd be so grateful if you could give me any advice or things I should watch out for. I'll make sure the insurance is up to scratch before meddling with anything.

Thanks in advance!

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Re: Proposal was perfect, ring size wasn't! Help resizing pa

Sounds like they are too lose to wear as is so I would probably consider option number 2 as is might be the most comfortable. I bought a ring that was over 1 size too big and the sizing beads weren't very comfortable. The pave looks fairly delicate so I wouldn't resize it by that much. Buying the proper size is your best bet but it's also going to be the most costly and probably by a significant amount so I'd find some minimally invasive way to resize.
 
Re: Proposal was perfect, ring size wasn't! Help resizing pa

Number 2 would probably be your best bet. I wouldn't have them sized and replacing them would be costly. They are very pretty.
 
Re: Proposal was perfect, ring size wasn't! Help resizing pa

1. The amount of material to be removed from the ring to get to the size needed is just under 2mm. This is a very small amount of material to remove and the loosening of the stones will be very minor. Once tightened they will be good indefinitely and so this is what I would recommend. It really isn't "taking a chance" since, if the jeweler does a good job tightening, it will be just as good as it is now.

2. Adding a liner is certainly possible, but would be more expensive and make the ring thicker, maybe enough to make it uncomfortable.

3. Beads work too but have to be in the correct position to be as comfortable as possible.

4. Not a good idea, as that ring is not really stiff enough under the stones to keep it from "creeping" a bit and having the stones loosen over time.

5. Get it over with and buy her lots of ice cream now, (don't wait for her to get older). Her fingers will swell into the ring and it will fit perfectly in a short time period. DO NOT tell her that this was my idea!

6. That would be not much better than #1 since the spacing from stone to stone will be the same on a new ring, meaning that the amount that the prongs need to be bent to have a tight setting is the same as sizing your existing setting and tightening those prongs.

Ignore number 5 unless you can run faster than she can. Good Luck!
 
Re: Proposal was perfect, ring size wasn't! Help resizing pa

It is never a good idea to size rings down in the winter even if they had totally plain shanks. Almost everyone has loose rings in the winter if they fit well in the summer. So my advice is to do sizing beads for now. That's the least trouble and expense to make it to the summer and then see how they fit with the beads in the heat. If they are still too big, then you can find the best jeweler in your city and hope they will do a good job and be sure the pave isn't loosened.

Oh, and congratulations!!! :appl:
 
Re: Proposal was perfect, ring size wasn't! Help resizing pa

Just a note, the band is a diamond wedding band, not an eternity ring (if it is the one in the picture). An eternity ring has diamonds all the way around.
 
Re: Proposal was perfect, ring size wasn't! Help resizing pa

Thank you all so much for the advice, I definitely feel a bit safer about the resizing process.

Thanks DS I like the idea of waiting till summer to ensure we got the right size. The problem is in our culture we wear it on the right when engaged, then the left when married which causes all sorts of trouble with sizes, especially when there over a half size difference between both sides! When resizing I will do so for just the left, sacrificing culture for the melees :) , as I don't want to play around resizing several times.
 
Re: Proposal was perfect, ring size wasn't! Help resizing pa

:doh: Man, this is why I am 100% opposed to total surprises. For NOW, I'd actually get multiple sizing beads. That will help fill the space, and then when you switch hands after the wedding, the jeweler can file out a few to make room. That will also work to adjust if she needs room to maneuver after any pregnancies, without significant resizing.

After the wedding and after a while tinkering with the beads/sizing pads, you can deal with replacement.

The reason I suggest that is because most of those horseshoe sizers are not available in Platinum, and you can easily get sizing pads done in plat. If you do the beads more oblong they'll fill more space. Get like 4 maybe and then you'll fill more space. IF they end up too big you can file them down and take up less space.
 
Re: Proposal was perfect, ring size wasn't! Help resizing pa

gm89uk|1452601444|3974663 said:
Thank you all so much for the advice, I definitely feel a bit safer about the resizing process.

Thanks DS I like the idea of waiting till summer to ensure we got the right size. The problem is in our culture we wear it on the right when engaged, then the left when married which causes all sorts of trouble with sizes, especially when there over a half size difference between both sides! When resizing I will do so for just the left, sacrificing culture for the melees :) , as I don't want to play around resizing several times.

Well that DOES make it complicated as most women have different size ring fingers! Glad you will go for what's best for the ring over the tradition! It needs to fit her left hand and not be tight at all in the summer with the wedding band.
 
Re: Proposal was perfect, ring size wasn't! Help resizing pa

diamondseeker2006|1452485682|3973994 said:
Just a note, the band is a diamond wedding band, not an eternity ring (if it is the one in the picture). An eternity ring has diamonds all the way around.

This was super confusing to me when I moved here. I still don't know how to put it into words exactly. In the UK an eternity ring is not necessarily a ring which goes all the way around, but a ring which is given on a special occasion and has special meaning such as the birth of a child or a significant wedding anniversary. My husband's friend's mothers all wear an "eternity ring" and refer to them as such but none are rings with stones all the way around. The most common being mothers rings with birthstones to represent children or 5 or 7 stone diamond rings.

It's a cultural thing.
 
Re: Proposal was perfect, ring size wasn't! Help resizing pa

Michael_E|1452482229|3973979 said:
5. Get it over with and buy her lots of ice cream now, (don't wait for her to get older). Her fingers will swell into the ring and it will fit perfectly in a short time period. DO NOT tell her that this was my idea!

:o
 
Re: Proposal was perfect, ring size wasn't! Help resizing pa

Get a cheap plain band and wear it on the top of the engagement ring, so it can't slip off the finger.
 
Re: Proposal was perfect, ring size wasn't! Help resizing pa

Michael E is a bench jeweler and gem cutter, and he's been in the business a long time. Wink at High Performance Diamonds also has a much experience with resizings and repair / restoration of jewelry. I would contact Wink for a second opinion. If he thinks it can be resized, then I would go by that, and I'd send it to one of those two jewelers, and I'd bypass the local jewelers. I've dealt with both Michael E and Wink in the past, and I trust both.
 
Re: Proposal was perfect, ring size wasn't! Help resizing pa

Diamond_Hawk|1452659817|3975237 said:
Michael_E|1452482229|3973979 said:
5. Get it over with and buy her lots of ice cream now, (don't wait for her to get older). Her fingers will swell into the ring and it will fit perfectly in a short time period. DO NOT tell her that this was my idea!

:o
lol! I see the logic here though. It's bound to happen, why not get a head start ;)
 
Re: Proposal was perfect, ring size wasn't! Help resizing pa

I also would not recommend sizing in winter. My rings are very very loose in winter, but in the summer, they are sometimes suffocatingly tight. So I just don't wear them as much. But my fingers fluctuate a lot!
 
Re: Proposal was perfect, ring size wasn't! Help resizing pa

AdaBeta27|1452693331|3975342 said:
Michael E is a bench jeweler and gem cutter, and he's been in the business a long time. Wink at High Performance Diamonds also has a much experience with resizings and repair / restoration of jewelry. I would contact Wink for a second opinion. If he thinks it can be resized, then I would go by that, and I'd send it to one of those two jewelers, and I'd bypass the local jewelers. I've dealt with both Michael E and Wink in the past, and I trust both.


I would love to do this but being in the UK it might be easier to do it locally. I live near the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter which has a reputable factory near it. The reply I had with regards to resizing is that the melee diamonds may need to be removed, then resized, and reset, and that any further resizing would not be advisable after.

Diamond_Hawk|1452659817|3975237 said:
Michael_E|1452482229|3973979 said:
5. Get it over with and buy her lots of ice cream now, (don't wait for her to get older). Her fingers will swell into the ring and it will fit perfectly in a short time period. DO NOT tell her that this was my idea!

:o

Ill let you know how many icecream tubs it takes and see which was more cost effective!

diamondseeker2006|1452485682|3973994 said:
Just a note, the band is a diamond wedding band, not an eternity ring (if it is the one in the picture). An eternity ring has diamonds all the way around.

I thought this as well but was corrected by the jeweller that this is an eternity ring! But I agree that it is a wedding band and I now gather I probably wasn't supposed to give it until we were married. A bit late for that...
 
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