Rings are beautiful jewelry that emphasize the tenderness and sophistication of women's hands and are often presented as gifts. However, in some cases, jewelry turns out to be too large and easily falls off the finger. In order not to lose a valuable acquisition, the size of a gold ring can be reduced using the services of specialists or on your own.
How is reduction carried out?
Most often, having discovered a problem, jewelry owners go to the jeweler. And they do it right! A professional will be able to make this metal item suitable for you. What will the jeweler do?
Technologies
There are three main technologies for reducing size:
- tenderloin;
- compression;
- stavka.
But unfortunately, not every ring is suitable for one or another method .
REFERENCE . Design or inlaid gemstones will place significant restrictions on how the jewelry can be treated.
Let's take a closer look at the operating technologies for various rings.
Tenderloin
Using a notch involves removing part of the rim to reduce the overall diameter. The master removes 2–4 mm from the central part of the rim or at the seam site, if the ring has one. Then he squeezes the ends and solders them. The product is slightly deformed, turning from a circle into an ellipse.
But a specialist using a special crossbar will also correct this deformation. Then all he has to do is clean up the seam and polish the product to return it to its original shine.
IMPORTANT! You can calculate how much will need to be deleted using the following algorithm. You need to multiply the amount of size reduction by Pi (3.14). For example, reducing the product by 0.5 sizes, we get: 0.5*3.14=1.57 mm.
Compression
The simplest and fastest technology for size reduction. The process involves driving a ring into a cone-shaped hole. In this case, a special round knob is used.
REFERENCE! The work does not require a long time. The finished product can be picked up in 20–40 minutes.
But with all the advantages of technology, it has a serious limitation. It can only be used for simple wedding rings; any ornament or stones do not allow this method to be used.
Insert
The most complex and expensive method, but it is used only in very difficult cases. This technology consists of soldering another ring of smaller diameter onto the inside of the ring . This allows you not to touch or deform the outer contour. But at the same time achieve a reduction in size.
REFERENCE! This work can take up to 4 days. The artist may need additional time to find enough material for your decoration.
Jewelry with complex shapes is often made from a rare precious material that may not be available in sufficient quantities in the workshop.
Color.
White gold has a metallic color that is the result of rhodium plating. However, over time, the coating wears off, revealing the yellowish tint of the gold alloy underneath.
When this happens, to restore the shine and color of the white gold piece, you will need to re-plate it with rhodium.
With a titanium ring, you won't have to pay to have it replated—the greyish, platinum-like color of your ring will stay the same for a long time.
Titanium is available in more colors than white gold: you can buy titanium jewelry in blue, red, black and other shades.
Unlike many other metals, titanium is colored not by adding additional substances, but by simply changing the optical structure of the surface using electricity.
How to reduce rings without a stone
Gold jewelry without stones is often much simpler to process and more easily susceptible to various deformations.
- If there is no external ornament, then compression is best suited. This will be the fastest and most effective option.
- If there is an ornament, the craftsman will most likely prefer to cut a piece from the rim. And then restore the pattern or make a cut so that it fits together when soldered. But in any case, the master will have to do delicate work with the drawing. Even with laser soldering, defects will appear that will need to be removed.
IMPORTANT! If your product, although not decorated with stone, has a very complex shape, then often the only option is an internal insert.
It is impossible to cut a complex decoration without distorting the outer part. And sometimes even insertion is impossible if the shape of the product is too unusual.
Cutting a ring to change its size.
Typically, to alter a ring, jewelers cut the band and then make it larger or smaller before putting it back together.
To make a ring larger, the jeweler will stretch it as far as necessary after cutting and then add a new piece of metal to fill the gap.
Tapering works in a similar way: the jeweler will cut a strip from the ring and narrow the band, joining the two ends together. After this, the jeweler solders the rim at the cut site.
Changing sizes leaves a weak point.
After changing the parameters of the ring, the place where it was cut and then soldered becomes weaker.
Additionally, these cuts are made at the bottom of the band, which is the area that experiences the most stress when you wear the ring (if the ring has a top and a bottom).
And if you put pressure on the area where the ring is soldered, the rim may break. However, if the jeweler has done the resizing properly, then the risk should be kept to a minimum.
How to reduce rings with diamonds and other stones
For products with precious stones, there are two options. It depends on the location and size of the stones: large stones in the central part or many small ones throughout the area.
- If these are only large ones, then the product can be reduced using cutting technology.
- If there are many small stones, then you can only solder the insert.
It is also necessary to take into account the possibility that the stones will be damaged. With sudden changes in temperature, the stone may darken or crack .
Therefore, such rings should be given only to craftsmen with a good reputation and extensive experience.
Why a jeweler might not undertake a reduction
Jewelers have long and firmly established the reputation of craftsmen who can perform the most delicate and complex work. But even they do not accept all rings for processing and reduction. We asked the professionals which jewelry they most likely wouldn't work with.
Bijouterie
A good jewelry maker will not undertake work with costume jewelry. And it’s not a matter of laziness or unwillingness to work with simple metals. To work with any material, you need to know its properties well and how it behaves under certain conditions. And products not made of precious metals may contain unknown impurities .
And, unfortunately, it is impossible to predict how such material will behave. The main problems encountered when working with such products.
- Loss of color when heated.
- Inability to hide the seam . Due to the fact that the metal is unknown, it is impossible to find solder for it.
- Unpredictable behavior after polishing , the metal may begin to oxidize and release harmful substances.
What could go wrong?
Sometimes the jeweler may not solder the rim properly. As a result, there is a possibility that it will break down in the future. How do you know if the resizing work has left your ring weaker than before?
Look at the place where the decoration was soldered. If it has been soldered correctly, there should be no indentation on the surface and the surface itself should be flat and polished.
If the rim is thinner in this area and you see a depressed line, then the solder is likely to break. (If the soldered alloy is a different color, you may see a line, but as long as the surface is smooth, there should be no problem with strength).
So if you see a line where the ring joins, ask your jeweler to reinforce the joint. This usually comes down to adding more metal to the solder joint and polishing the joint to make it indistinguishable from the rest of the ring.
However, keep in mind that if your ring is made of platinum, due to certain properties of this metal, you will most likely see a line in the joint even when the job has been done properly.
Rhodium plated silver
The craftsman may also not use rhodium-plated silver jewelry. At high temperatures required for tempering and hardening of metal, the matte coating oxidizes and loses its appearance. But it is extremely difficult to restore it, and it will not be possible to return the original appearance.
Openwork products
It is also extremely difficult to work with rings made of openwork filigree. The complex pattern will not allow them to be mechanically deformed . And it is not only very difficult to build up such patterns, but often it is impossible in principle due to the specific shapes.
Platinum
Platinum jewelry is very difficult to process . To work with platinum, specialized equipment is required. It is not available in every workshop.
A laser cutter is used to cut platinum, and a specialized crucible is required for heat treatment. It's also difficult to find solder.
Platinum is a very finicky metal and darkens very easily, which makes it impossible to completely hide the seam from soldering.
When can a ring not be changed?
There is a limit to how much a ring can be resized.
If the desired increase or decrease is more than one or two sizes, it is unlikely that the change will be possible without risking damage to the ring.
Some metals are difficult to change. For example, most jewelers cannot alter titanium rings because conventional cutting and soldering does not work with this metal.
Other methods such as drawing, cutting or adding additional material can be used, but their effectiveness has its limits.
If your jewelry contains gemstones, they must be removed before resizing the ring. However, if the stones are not set using traditional prongs, it may not be possible to remove them without damaging the ring.
In such cases, unless the stone is a diamond or other heat-sensitive gemstone, resizing may not be possible because the high temperature required for soldering will damage the stone. This is the case with rings made from platinum, sterling silver and palladium.
So make sure your ring fits you as best as possible before you buy it because adjusting its size later can be a hassle and may even be impossible.
How to reduce ring size at home
There are several simple techniques for reducing the inner diameter of your favorite jewelry.
ADVICE! The first thing to do is try changing your finger. The human body is not symmetrical, and perhaps the ring will fit well on the finger of the other hand.
If you want to continue wearing jewelry on this particular finger, then you should try one of the methods given below.
Silicone gasket
The most reliable and durable method is a silicone gasket. There are special silicone gaskets for rings that need to be glued to the inside of the jewelry. After which it will securely clasp the finger, fixing the product well on it.
The main advantage is the simplicity and convenience, as well as the durability of this method. But getting such a gasket will not be easy. It is only available in some jewelry stores. At the same time, it can be ordered online.
IMPORTANT! Do not try to replace the silicone gasket with improvised means, such as electrical tape. The material will have very close contact with the skin, which, if the material is of poor quality, will cause irritation on the skin.
Nail polish
The simplest and most affordable way would be transparent nail polish.
It must be applied in layers to the inside of the rim . The varnish is applied several times. Moreover, before applying the next layer, you need to wait until the previous one has completely dried.
The number of layers will greatly depend on the difference in finger and ring sizes. Sometimes only 5 layers are enough, and sometimes all 15 are needed for the decoration to stick well.
The advantage of this method is the fine adjustment of the size. And if you need to increase the diameter again, the varnish can be easily removed with a special solution.
Increase.
Jewelers will tell you that enlarging a ring by cutting it and adding metal is impossible because titanium cannot be soldered.
However, many jewelers claim that they can make changes using two alternative methods:
Stretching
Some experts can stretch a titanium ring, but warn that the increase will be negligible because the metal is very hard.
Cutting
Other professionals will say they can't stretch your ring, but suggest making it bigger by removing metal from the inside. However, if the product is too thin, the potential increase will be very limited.
Most jewelers who use this method claim that they can only achieve half an increase to the next size.
