Depending on your income bracket, the wedding ring may be the most important (and expensive) piece of jewelry that you will ever own. And no matter how much money you’ve spent on it, you want it to fit your finger perfectly.
It should be snug but not so tight that it causes pain. But what do you do when your body starts changing, and it gets too tight or too loose? The solution is simple: consider resizing rings.
Do you need help determining whether or not to get your ring resized? Read on as we delve into the advantages and disadvantages of having it altered. Keep reading also to learn more about how a ring is resized.
How to Know if Your Wedding Band Needs to Be Resized?
The following signs will let you know when it’s time to have your wedding band resized or when you need to invest in wide wedding rings.
- Your finger feels uncomfortable when you wear your wedding band.
- It leaves an imprint on your finger after you take it off.
- It feels tighter than it used to.
- You can’t slip the band over your knuckle anymore.
If you’re experiencing any of these issues, it’s probably time to consider enlarging your wedding band’s size.
Thankfully, some rings can be sized up, and a qualified jeweler will be able to do this without damaging them. Sadly, most rings crafted using intricate designs or materials such as tungsten cannot be sized – making the selection of your correct size absolutely essential.
These are how to know if your band needs to be sized down:
- Try putting it on your finger and twisting it a few times. If it spins freely, it’s probably too big.
- Put it on and then try to pull it off. If it comes off easily, then the wedding band is too big.
If you’re experiencing any of the above, then you need to get your ring resized.
The Resizing Process
It’s pretty common to do jewelry resizing. Here’s a quick overview of the ring resizing process:
- Your jeweler will measure your finger using a sizer. This is a crucial first step in getting a ring resized.
- Once they have your size, they’ll cut off a small piece of the band (if the band is loose and you want it smaller). They will then solder it back together to create a smaller and better-fitting band.
- When choosing your band, it is important to consider your resizing needs, as some rings cannot be resized.
If you want to make the wedding ring bigger, your jeweler will add a new piece of metal between the cut edges and solder everything together to get a larger circumference. The metal added will depend on the type of material your marriage token is made of, but it should be a perfect match.
The item is then cleaned and polished. For custom and unique rings made by certain brands, resizing a ring is nearly impossible due to its intricate design.
With pieces of up to 30+ different elements fused together to create your dream ring, accurately determining the correct size from the outset is essential. Nothing could be worse than having a wedding band that can’t even fit on your finger!
What Ring Metals Can Be Resized?
The most common metals that can be sized up or down are gold, platinum, and silver. These metals are relatively malleable, so they can potentially be modified without damage.
However, a jeweler may not be able to work on a ring with lots of gemstones or diamonds on the band. There must be enough space to allow the removal or addition of material.
What Wedding Rings Can Not Be Resized?
Only some marriage tokens can be worked on. You cannot expand a wedding ring that is made from hard materials such as titanium, tungsten, or stainless steel. You also cannot adjust eternity bands and tension tokens.
What’s more, intricate rings that are painstakingly engineered cannot be resized due to the complexity of having dozens of different components intricately interwoven and pieced together to create your ideal band.
How Much Does It Cost to Get a Wedding Band Resized?
The cost of resizing a diamond ring (or any other wedding band) depends on a lot of factors. These typically are:
- Whether you need to make a ring bigger or smaller
- The type of metal it is made of
- The type of alterations to be made
- The jeweler you choose
Based on how these factors play out, resizing can be as low as $50 or as high as the cost of a brand-new ring.
So if you are looking for where to resize rings and not have to pay exorbitant prices, a good idea is to look for local independent jewelry stores instead of brand-name chain jewelry stores. If your ring is hand-made to order, like the rings from Rockford Collection, your ring will most likely have to be completely remade in your new size.
Does Resizing a Ring Damage It?
Resizing doesn’t damage your wedding band, but it does devalue it. It also loses some of its durability, which could cause it to break over time if you don’t take care of it properly.
However, as long as the ring you chose has the ability to be resized, it shouldn’t be an issue if you only make ring adjustments with a skilled jeweler.
Is it Cheaper to Resize a Ring Up or Down?
It is almost always cheaper to size down a ring rather than up since there are no additional materials. Jewelers typically add extra metal to the cut band and solder when making a wedding band wider.
Adding extra materials directly affects the cost. Remember, depending on the ring you choose, you may not be able to size up or down and will have to order a completely new ring.
How Many Times is it Safe to Resize a Ring?
If your wedding ring is too small or big, you may be able to modify it as many as two times and up to two sizes either way.
Remember, though, every time you resize a band; it weakens slightly, so it’s best to be cautious about how often you do it – as well as by how much. Some rings can only be resized one time, while others cannot be resized at all.
Wrapping Up
When it comes to wedding bands, you want to make sure you buy one that is a good fit. Of course, diamond ring resizing can be easy, depending on the ring, and sometimes inexpensive, but this is only sometimes a good idea.
For precise measurements and to avoid modifications later down the road, use an online sizer like this free ring sizer. You can now confidently buy the band of your choice for that special day.
On the lookout for the perfect marriage token? Rockford Collection offers a great selection of wedding bands, so you can be sure to find the perfect one for you.
