Does your ring need to be resized? While ring resizing is a relatively common process, the cost is somewhat complicated. Why? Between the various popular ring metals and their respective thickness, the cost of resizing a ring ranges between $30-$100. That said, some rings may even cost around $200. You may wonder why there is such a large gap in price points?
Well, the details of your ring, including the material, gemstones, finish, and thickness can affect the price of resizing it. Additionally, ring resizing costs depend on whether the ring needs to go up in size, or down in size.
As you’ve gathered, no ring resizing is quite the same. Therefore, the cost to size a ring depends entirely on the ring itself. Let’s explore the various factors that influence the cost of resizing a ring.
Sizing Up or Sizing Down?
Whether you need to resize a ring up or down affects the cost of ring resizing. For instance, resizing a ring smaller is generally less expensive than going up a size, which requires adding materials.
The process to go down in size requires cutting the band, removing metal and soldering it back together. Conversely, increasing a ring size requires cutting the ring, adding metals and rejoining the pieces together. The cost of resizing a ring larger will depend on how much material is added.
Metals
In order of least expensive to impossible, here's how various fine metals fall on the cost spectrum:
Yellow gold - One of the easiest metals to resize. Most inexpensive comparably speaking, but gold prices can be fluctuant.
Sterling silver - Fairly easy to resize. Comparable to yellow gold.
White gold - Needs refinishing and a reapplication of rhodium plating (applied to retain the white gold color).
Rose gold - Very temperamental. Can crack during resizing.
Platinum - Requires its own tools for resizing. Has a higher melting point than gold, creating more work.
Titanium - Extremely hard to work with. Some jewelers are not able to resize.
Tungsten - Metal is too hard to be resized.
Thickness
Consider that the thicker the ring, the more expensive it will be to resize it. It’s pretty simple, actually: thicker rings require more material to go up in size.
Additionally, rings with a flat bottom, or shank, will cost more to resize. A shank essentially prevents the ring from spinning around on your finger. What does this have to do with ring resizing? Well, in order to generate that effect, the corners of the shank have added weight to balance the ring. This factor will have to be addressed during the ring resizing process, and will likely result in a higher price.
Ring Resizing with Stones
The number, type and location of the stones in a ring will all affect the cost to resize.More stones, more problems - or at least the potential for more problems. The more stones a ring features, the more likely some will need to be moved or adjusted to accommodate the increase or decrease in band.If diamonds, or other gemstones, are set along the side of a ring that needs to be sized smaller, they will need to be retightened, or even reset, because of the change in curvature.Some types of gems are temperature sensitive, and those will need to be removed and reset.If one or more of these conditions applies to your ring, your ring resizing cost will increase.
Polishing and Finishing
Many rings feature decorations and finishes which require special tools and equipment to replicate. When a ring is resized, the added material, or new size, will need to match the original finish or decoration. Additionally, resizing a plated ring will cause it to discolor, meaning the resized ring will need to be replated which can add additional costs.
As you can see, your jeweler will need to evaluate your ring to give you an accurate price to resize it. Generally, hard metals and thicker rings will be more costly. While the cost of resizing a ring might seem steep, depending on your individual ring, it’s much more economical than replacing your ring altogether.
As you can see, the more complex a ring is, the higher the cost to resize it.
Take care not to be tempted to pay for a cheap resizing job, which can ultimately compromise the quality of your ring. It’s also best to avoid 1-hour ring resizing, which will likely lack quality craftsmanship. Ultimately, resizing your ring with an inexperienced jeweler can do more harm than good.
Bottom line, it’s better to be patient and have your ring resized with a skilled professional who costs a little more, than get a rush job that damages the look or value of your ring. Lastly, don’t be too quick to jump on resizing your ring as various factors including heat, cold, and humidity can cause your ring size to fluctuate up to a half size every day.
Did we answer all your questions about the cost of ring resizing? We sure hope so! Still not sure if ring sizing is the best idea for you? Read our helpful guide on ring sizing to see if your ring can be resized.
