About Brian Potter Expertise I have worked in all aspects of the manufacturing and retailling trade over the past 40 yrs. I trained in London under one of the Queens jewellers and headed one of the largest maunfacturers in Europe. My expertise covers most areas of manufacturing problems from the gem aspect to the metallurgic - from casting to assembling.
I can answer all questions relating to wether a piece can be made or how to make 5,000 of them.
I now run a simple business selling jewellery over the internet.
Question Could you please advise on the different ways to make a ring smaller and the comparative merits. We have been given different advice from jewellers regarding the best way to make a plain 22ct wedding band smaller (3/4 sizes) One says they will cut a piece out then rejoin and sand. the other says they do not cut any gold out but reshape the ring. We are not sure which would be the best approach.
Carole
Answer Hello Carole,
There are several ways to resize your ring, in most cases my workshop would have cut a piece out and rejoined. As long as this is done properly you will not see where it has taken place.
The other option you have been given, I am assuming that they propose to compress the ring. This can be done due to 22ct gold being fairly soft and malable, but unless done very carefully can lead to other problems.
The third alternative is to have your ring totally remade, by this I mean a good jeweller should be able to melt your ring down, draw it into a wire and remake the ring the correct size. This is costly and would take time and skill.
Personally I would suggest that you plump for the first option, cutting and resizing is a common place event for jewellery workshops, as long as the craftsman is practiced enough you shouldn't have any problems.
