Common Repairs

Ring Sizing

The most common of all jewellery repairs. In some cases rings with stones set in them may need to be removed from the ring before any work can be done. Diamonds generally have no problem, but most stones on the lower end of the hardness scale will crack under the heat of the torch. This may increase the cost of your sizing, due to the labor involved in removing and re-setting the stones. Aside from removing the stones, some goldsmiths have developed protective measures to keep the stones from cracking or losing color, while not having to remove the stone.  These measures save both the goldsmith's time and the customer's money.

It is a common misconception that when rings are sized to a larger size they are "stretched". While this is possible, it is not common practice unless the goldsmith is dealing with a band (such as a Celtic ring) where it has a design all around the ring. Cutting the ring anywhere would break the design, and this can be unacceptable to some customers.  To avoid breaking the design, it is possible to "stretch" the ring larger, thinning out the ring but keeping the continual design in tact. This method is not recommended, and most goldsmith's (or sales associates) will let the customer know before hand if it is to be done. 

The most common method of sizing a ring is to cut (in most cases saw) a break in the ring and add or remove the amount of gold necessary to make the ring the desired size. Once ring is desired size it is soldered closed using 10k-22k solder, depending on the Karat value of the ring. Once this is finished, if sizing up the goldsmith will have to file down the excess gold from the gold he put into the ring, as well as the solder. When sizing down, he will have to file away the excess solder to make a smooth surface. Once finished, the ring is simple buffed to remove any minor scratches and the ring is complete.  Because of the filing involved in ring sizing it is not recommended to get your ring sized many times. while 2 or even 3 times should be fine (depending on the original width of the shank) excessive ring sizes can thin out the shank, which can jeopardize the strength of the shank. 

Half Shank

This is what is done to rings which have thinned out shanks and need to be replaced.  Much like sizing a ring larger, gold is cut off of the ring. Unlike ring sizing the piece cut off is taken straight off from right up to the strongest part of the shank near the head of the ring. This whole piece is then replaced by a thicker, stronger piece. While much more expensive when compared to a ring sizing, it involves more labor and gold.  It ends up being necessary for older rings that have worn down, rings that have been sized an excessive amount of times, a combination of the two or any other reason the shank would of worn thin.