Picture this. You’ve spent days agonizing in the jeweler’s window, picked out the most perfect and beautiful ring, and have been planning the proposal for weeks until, finally, the moment arrives.
You nervously get down on bent knee, pop the question, and the entire world stops until you hear the answer, “Yes!”
Excitedly, you grab the ring from its box and clumsily push it onto your new fiance’s finger.
Only it won’t go on. Or, it just slides off and onto the floor.
You both laugh it off, but you inwardly cringe about the situation and wonder what to do.
Don’t worry.
Getting an engagement ring resized isn’t a difficult task, nor is it particularly expensive. However, there are lots of considerations to keep in mind. Here’s what you need to know.
We know what you’re thinking: Why not just get a ring that fits in the first place?
Well, it’s not always that easy, and there are many reasons why you might want to get an engagement ring resized.
Some engagement rings are family heirlooms passed down from person to person. What may have fit the previous owner may be too tight or loose for the new one. The same goes for preloved and vintage rings you buy in stores.
Additionally, sometimes you just don’t know your partner’s ring size before you make the purchase, so you take a best guess — and then the guess turns out to be wrong.
Other times, you want to resize an engagement ring far after the proposal. Maybe the ring fit for a few years, but it doesn’t now. As much as we’d all love to stay a steady weight throughout our lives, putting on a few pounds or losing a bunch of weight can cause an engagement ring to get very uncomfortable or easily slip off the finger, never to be seen again.
Because of all this and more, sometimes getting the ring resized is the only option.
Many factors determine how much it will cost to get an engagement ring resized mostly whether it’s being made larger or smaller. According to BriteCo, resizing a ring to make it smaller typically involves removing a portion of the band and on average can range from $30 to $60, while making a ring larger requires adding metal to the band, with the average cost ranging from $40 to $80. Outside of that, the metal the ring is made from will determine what side of those ranges you’re on.
Thanks to its durability and versatility, gold is a popular metal for engagement rings, and jewelers will be well-versed in resizing them.
Generally speaking, higher-karat gold is more expensive to resize because it is much softer and, therefore, more prone to breaking or cracking during the ring resizing process.
White gold is also more expensive to resize than yellow gold or rose gold. Why? White gold requires a layer of rhodium plating after the resizing. This special coating is necessary to maintain the ring’s color and shine.
Platinum is incredibly durable, hypoallergenic, and tarnish-resistant. On the downside, platinum is super-dense and hard, which makes it more challenging and ultimately pricier to resize.
Resizing this metal requires a high level of skill and precision from the jeweler, as any mistakes can damage or deform the metal. Such precision also takes time, which, in turn, raises the cost.
Silver is much less commonly used for engagement rings since it is generally cheaper and so not considered ”premium.” Additionally, silver is less durable and more prone to tarnishing and scratching than gold or platinum. On the upside, sterling silver is easy to resize, making it a good choice for a person whose size tends to fluctuate.
Titanium is a modern and less conventional choice for engagement rings. It’s very lightweight and strong, while also hypoallergenic. It’s also resistant to corrosion and doesn’t tarnish.
However, titanium is very hard and brittle, which makes it impossible to resize by conventional methods. The only way to resize titanium rings to fit a larger finger is to remove a piece of the band and insert a new piece of metal. To make a titanium ring smaller, additional metal is applied to the inside of the band to decrease the circumference.
In both cases, the process can, unfortunately, negatively alter the ring’s appearance and integrity.
Resizing a ring is not a one-size-fits-all process (pun intended!), and the overall cost is not just dependent on metal type. The ring features and design also play a role.
Other factors that will affect the cost of resizing your ring include:
If you’ve yet to buy the ring in the first place, and you’re picking out a new or vintage ring that may require resizing, choose a simple design to avoid problems later. The more complex and intricate the design, the more difficult and expensive it will be to resize the ring. Opt for a plain or simple band that can be easily resized without affecting its appearance.
Jewelers often charge very different prices to adjust ring size. You will also likely find that one jeweler may specialize in this service where others may not. Therefore, shop around and get a handful of quotes. Also, ask friends and family for recommendations. Doing so will help you identify which jewelers charge more than necessary for the service.
If it becomes necessary to reduce or increase the ring by more than two sizes, it may be better to find another solution, like wearing the ring on a chain.
The issue with changing the ring size by a large amount is that it becomes more difficult and expensive to resize and increases the risk of damaging the ring.
Another solution is to opt for a ring that can be easily adjusted without resizing, such as a tension-set or bezel-set ring.
Generally speaking, resizing a gold or silver ring down is cheaper than resizing it up, as it requires less material and labor. Platinum and titanium are difficult to resize and, therefore, tend to be the same price either way.
If the required resize is more than two sizes or the ring has a complex design, it can be difficult to enlarge, as it may require metal inserts, stretching the existing metal, or replacing the entire band.
Ceramic, wood, and tungsten rings are too hard and brittle to resize. Rings with intricate patterns, engraving, or pave diamonds can also be very complex and sometimes impossible to resize, particularly if they are very old.
Resizing a ring can take from one hour to two weeks. The time needed depends on the job’s complexity.
A ring may lose value when resized if the resizing process damages or alters the ring’s structure, appearance, or quality. If you don’t want a ring to potentially decrease in value, avoid resizing it altogether.
Proposing is a nerve-wracking process, but TheGroomClub is here to make it less so. We’ve got tons of articles covering all aspects of getting engaged, as well as loads of tips and hacks for the wedding itself. From wedding rings to wedded bliss, trust TheGroomClub to help you through it.
