Any decent jewelry store will do ring sizing. What you don’t want is a decent jeweler doing the work! Glenn and his team of master jewelers have been taking care of sizing rings for our customers for over 30 years. We have the tools, the materials, and the expertise to perfectly match that ring to your finger. We stand behind our work, and if the fit isn’t to your satisfaction, we’ll get it right.

Ring sizing prices vary between establishments, as does the length of time it takes to complete the work. There are actually many factors involved in determining how much a particular sizing will cost. Here’s how we assess how much is charged on any given sizing:

Determine the karat of gold, which really only matters if the ring is above 14K* (18K and 22K jewelry costs a bit more due to higher gold content). Note white or yellow gold**
Measure the current size of the ring, then measure the finger you want it to go on to determine the new size (logically, going smaller in size will cost less than increasing the size. The more the size increases, the greater the cost…this is based on the cost of gold, silver, or platinum, and the labor involved with the piece)
Measure the width of the bottom of the shank where the sizing will be performed
Assess any stones in the ring, and if they can take the heat of the sizing process (& check prongs). The more stones there are, the higher the cost, as all prongs will have to be tightened after sizing; some stones may have to be removed if they can’t take the heat involved in the sizing process (ex. emerald, peridot, Cubic Zirconia, etc.).
In some circumstances, like in the case of a more delicate stone such as emerald, it may cost less to size the ring or perform other repair work by using a laser welder, as opposed to removing and resetting the stone, which can sometimes result in damage or fracture. Unlike a jeweler’s torch, a laser welder pinpoints heat to an area the width of a hair, doesn’t distribute the heat throughout the piece, and though it’s more costly than using a torch, it’s often less expensive than removing/resetting the stone(s).
Take all measurements, metal type, and stone count and look up the cost for the piece in the jewelry repair handbook

*Karat = the measure of purity of gold. It’s simple…pure gold is 24 Karats. So 10K gold jewelry is 10 parts gold out of 24K (10/24= 0.416666 or 41.7% gold). This means that less than half of your 10K piece is gold, which also means the less gold the less expensive, and will also usually be more durable than pieces with a higher percentage of gold. For 14K: 14/24= 0.583333, which rounded up is 58.5%. For 18K: 18/24= 0.75, which is 75% gold. For 22K: 22/24= 0.916666, roughly 92% gold. 22K gold jewelry is not typically found in or manufactured for the United States market due to its high gold content, which makes the piece extremely soft and delicate. 22K is usually found predominately in India and the Middle East where pieces aren’t worn daily, but for special ceremonies/occasions.

**Note about “white” gold: Because all gold is naturally yellow, other alloy metals are added to change the appearance of the piece from yellow to the desired color. White gold is created by using much less copper, and higher amounts of (usually) nickel, manganese, silver, or palladium (whereas rose gold is created by using higher amounts of copper). How white the piece looks is a result of how much white metal is used. Even if the piece is very white, chemical changes over time due to the environment, and during the repair process, will result in more of the yellow gold being visible as the alloy metals oxidize. In order to keep your piece looking nice and white, we apply a rhodium (a platinum metal) plate to all white gold jewelry that we work on, and our repair manual has the rhodium plate included in the price for white gold pieces. The takeaway: white gold pieces are generally a bit more expensive to work on than their yellow gold counterparts.

For businesses that have to send repair or modification work to some other place because they do not have the personnel or equipment on-site, you may have to wait three weeks or more to have a simple sizing done (so it’s always good to ask if the sizing is done in-house!). All of our repair work is done in-house, and most ring sizings can be completed within a few days.

Some people are under the impression that rings are stretched to increase their size. Though this is the case for some rings, the vast majority of the rings that we size require cutting the bottom of the shank, then either grinding away the correct amount of material to decrease the size, or adding a piece of metal to increase the size. Decreasing the size uses no additional metal, and is less labor intensive as there is only one solder joint to get the ring back together. Increasing the size requires additional metal, but also creates two solder joints to complete the job. The only time we will ever stretch a ring to increase its size is in the case of a stoneless, plain band that only has to go up a half-size or so. This method is only used if the ring is thick enough to be stretched, or more accurately, rolled-out.

In our experience, most ring sizings cost between $40 to 100 dollars, depending on the level of work that needs to be done, while some of the most expensive sizings can cost $200 or more.

I’ve been asked how many times a ring can be sized? The answer is simply an infinite amount. In fact, we have quite a few customers that bring their rings in twice a year to be sized, as they are perhaps more sensitive to temperature fluctuations between hot and cold weather (we all swell up a little in the summer, and shrink in the winter).

We can size most any ring that is made out of precious metal (gold, silver, platinum), and even size more difficult rings like those bezel or channel set bands, or where the stones wrap all the way around the circumference of the ring (eternity setting).

I should also mention that we can cut off a ring that has become too tight to remove by other methods (windex, soap, lotion, etc). If it’s not a medical emergency, we recommend that a professional jeweler cut the ring off as opposed to medical personnel or your neighbor with their wire snips. We use a diamond-tipped cutting device that will ensure a clean-cut, which will cost you much less to repair than the mangled shanks we see when others attempt to cut them off.

The only rings that we will caution you on are the invisible-set stone type (see below pictures). These stones are actually cut in a tongue-and-groove fashion, so that they interlock, and are then set into a metal frame that lies beneath the surface of the ring. This gives the appearance of a solid surface of gemstones that are “prong-free.” The invisible-set is the most likely of the settings to have stones come loose or pop-out during the sizing process, and there are only a handful of laboratories in the country that can reset missing stone(s), which can be costly. Still, the seamless and sharp look of the invisible setting allows jewelers to push the boundaries of design, and is well worth the minimal risk for most people.

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