How Much to Size my Ring – With Scratched and Dull Gems?
Sometimes sizing your ring leads to a bit more work. A ring needing repair may look a bit dull and you are looking forward to getting it properly cleaned by your jeweler. But that gemstone may not just be dirty.
I usually see my client’s rings when they need to be sized. I thank the lucky stars that their rings needed to be sized, because that gives me a chance to spot diamonds that are about to fall out, prongs about to let go, little cracks threatening to become bigger cracks and gems that have gotten scratched.
In this post I shed light on what to expect when budgeting for ring sizing and repair costs with scratched and dull gems. Keep in mind that different jewelers charge differently and have different labor and location costs. I am an individual jeweler in Santa Barbara and my example repairs will be different from your own.
Job #1 – 14kt Gold Bezel Set Amethyst Ring. Cost to Size $155.00
I visited my client to size her amethyst ring one size larger. I pointed out how dull the amethyst was. She said, “I wear it everyday! I love this ring. It’s just dirty right?”
We had to struggle to get it off her hand since her finger size had increased. I brought my ring saw in case I had to saw it off, but we managed with soap and water and twisting to remove it.
Yay!
Since the back of the ring was fairly thin, the sizing itself was only $60.00. However daily wear had taken its toll on the surface of her amethyst and rendered it completely dull. She had two choices, 1. have it polished in its setting or 2. have it removed from the bezel, fully polished and re-set.
Full disclosure time. I forgot to photograph this ring when I completed the job, so the after picture is amazingly enough another amethyst ring I sized and polished. Just to be slightly confusing, the after picture is of a gemstone that was removed from the bezel and reset after polishing. The removal and resetting cost of the second ring was $45.00. For the purposes of my story here I’m not including that cost.
The cost to polish in-the-setting this amethyst (pictured as the before ring) was $95.00.
Job #2 – 18kt Gold Bezel Set Tsavorite and Diamond Ring. Cost to Size $410.00
My client Carol said, “This needs to be sized up and I just can’t get this to look clean!” When I looked under my magnifying loupe, I saw that her tsavorite was scratched and would never sparkle until the facets were re-buffed. I showed her the magnified truth and she said, “do it.”
We were also going to replace two side diamonds that were missing. This sizing turned into what I call a ‘mid-life tune-up.’ Rings that need sizing just sometimes end up needing a lot more.
We beefed up the channel holding the two diamonds on each side as each side had let go of one of her diamonds.
Here is a breakdown of all of her work and why it was needed. Her gem needed to be removed from its bezel setting to be polished and the setting needed some gold added once her gem was re-set into it.
Polished gem: $125.00
Bezel work and un-setting and re-setting her tsavorite gem: $95.00
Replace two small diamonds: $50.00
Ring sized one size larger: $70.00
Channel work where diamonds fell out and other labor: $70.00
Before and After Gem Polishing and Replacing
This inherited amethyst had faded and we replaced it with a nice vivid one. I’m not including pricing as I don’t have that data to hand. I wanted to show you what a nice difference that made.
This green tsavorite gemstone was in my client’s ring when he took a fall. What a difference re-cutting his gemstone made.
Deborah wanted to redesign her wedding ring. As part of the process we needed to re-polish her oval sapphire. We wanted it to look like the star it is.
The cost of the re-polishing and re-faceting of her sapphire was $185.00. In the new design it gleams most wonderously.
Hilary bought this beautiful vintage sapphire and platinum ring. Because her knuckles are enlarged, it was flipping around. And it got a pretty bad chip on the sapphire which broke her heart.
I re-cut her sapphire and buffed the top facets lightly, $145.00, and put on a platinum CLIQ shank that hinges open and shut. This will keep her beautiful sapphire face up and safe. It was a happy ending.
Polishing your gemstones makes a tremendous difference in the look of your gemstone rings.
Your Ring Sizing Jeweler,
Calla
As always, thank you for educating us about what goes into the cost of having work done on our rings. There is so much that most of us would have no idea to even look for, that if done, would make a big difference in our enjoyment of our jewelry.
Linda
Hi Linda,
I’m so happy that my tales of ring sizing details and costs is finding a reception. I find myself explaining it a lot. I keep thinking, “now I’m done with the series.” And then some new detail I haven’t covered crops up and I think, “well I need to talk about this!”
Enjoy your beautiful jewelry!
Calla Gold
Thank you for giving us an idea of costs for resizing rings with polishing jewels. I can see that here is so much fine detailed work involved for you in resizing. I appreciate your care and ongoing efforts to make each piece magnificent for your clients.
Hi Michelle, I recently had to saw off a ring of a client who was going in for surgery. I see that you wrote a book, “Recover Quickly From Surgery.” I would imagine with all the people you’ve been in contact with that hand jewelry comes up sometimes. In the case of the ring I had to saw off, it already had a small missing diamond and a chipped diamond. I was able to size it and do the repairs. We had to wait a couple of weeks to see if her swelling would go down and determine her correct… Read more »
Hey Calla, great article! I found it to be very informative. The way you were able to transform those rings with polishing, repairs, and gemstone replacement is incredible.
-Joseph
Dear Joseph,
I am a big fan of before and after pictures. I’m pleased you enjoyed them.
Your Personal Jeweler,
Calla