Resizing & repairs
Ring resizing in St. George
Most jewellery shops in town send resizing work out. We size in-house, by hand, because there is a jeweller at this bench. That means days rather than weeks, and it means the person who does the work is the person you spoke to.
What we resize
- Engagement rings — including solitaires and rings with pavé shoulders, where the sizing joint has to be invisible.
- Wedding bands — plain, patterned, and shaped-to-fit bands that have to be re-cut rather than simply squeezed.
- Heirloom and inherited rings — older gold behaves differently from new gold, and antique settings do not like being heated carelessly. This is the work most places would rather not take on.
- Rings bought elsewhere. You are not required to have bought it from us. Bring it in.
- Rings that are too big, which is its own job — you cannot stretch a ring down, you have to cut and rejoin it.
The honest bit about resizing
Size is easier to take in than out. Taking a ring down two sizes is straightforward. Letting it out more than about one size thins the band at the back, and on an eternity band — one with stones all the way around — it can be genuinely impossible without remaking it. If that is your ring, we will tell you straight rather than take the job and hand it back weaker.
Get it sized before the wedding, not after. A ring worn daily settles into a shape, and resizing an already-worn band is fiddlier than sizing a new one.
Winter rings
Fingers shrink in cold weather and swell in summer. A ring that is comfortably loose in January can be tight in July. If it is borderline, do not resize it in the middle of a cold snap — you will be back in June. This is the single most common reason a resize ends up being done twice.
What it costs
Simple sizing on a plain band is a small job and priced like one. Rings needing the setting worked on, stones tightened, or a shaped band re-cut cost more, and we will tell you which before we start — never after.
And then there is the other thing
People who come in for a resize are usually standing in front of someone who designs rings. If you are thinking about something custom, bring the idea along with the ring — you get a drawing and an exact price in 48 hours, free, whether or not you go ahead.
Questions people actually ask
How long does ring resizing take in St. George?
Days rather than weeks, because it is done at the bench here rather than posted out to a workshop. Ask when you bring it in and we will give you a straight date.
Can you resize a ring I bought somewhere else?
Yes. Plenty of people bring us rings from other shops, from their parents, or bought online.
Can you resize an eternity band?
Sometimes, and sometimes not without remaking it — stones running all the way around the band leave nowhere to cut. We will look at it and tell you honestly rather than take the job and weaken the ring.
Can you make a ring smaller as well as bigger?
Yes. Going down is the easier direction and usually the cleaner job. Going up more than about a size starts to thin the band.
Should I resize it now or wait?
If it is borderline, wait for warm weather. Fingers swell in summer and shrink in winter, and sizing during a cold snap is how people end up having it done twice.
Tell us what the ring is doing and we will tell you what it needs.