“It doesn’t fit any more” is one sentence covering three different problems. Either the finger changed, or the ring changed, or it never fitted properly in the first place — and only one of those three is a straight resize. Working out which one you have is what stops you paying for the wrong repair, or wearing a ring that is quietly about to break.
The short version: most rings move a size or two comfortably, and larger changes are possible on many bands by adding or removing metal. What complicates it is almost never the size itself. It is what is around the band, and how much metal is left at the bottom of it.
First: did the finger change, or did the ring?
Take the ring off — if it will come off — and look at the bottom of the band, the part that sits against your palm. Then find your line below.
| What you notice | What has usually changed | What that normally means |
|---|---|---|
| It spins at the base, but will not come over the knuckle | The shape of the finger, not its size | Sizing down to stop the spin would trap the ring. The ring has to pass the knuckle and then sit at the base, so the knuckle is the number that decides — and holding the ring upright is a separate conversation to have with your jeweler, not a size change. |
| Fine in the morning, leaves a groove by the evening | The finger, over a single day | Fingers are smallest in a cold morning and largest in a warm evening or after salt, exercise or a long flight. The swing is close to half a size — the exact difference between comfortable and stuck. Measure late in the day at normal room temperature before you commit to a number. |
| Slowly tighter, or slowly looser, over years | The finger, over time | This is the ordinary resize, and the most common reason a ring shows up here. Most rings move a size or two comfortably; larger changes are possible on many bands by adding or removing metal. |
| The band feels thin, flat or sharp at the bottom and the ring no longer sits round | The ring — the shank has worn | This one is not a sizing problem at all. A band worn daily for many years thins out at the bottom and can crack — or snap completely — sometimes while it is still being worn. The fix is a re-shank: worn-through metal rebuilt so the band is strong and even again. |
| The band is already cracked or split at the bottom | The shank, and it has already failed | Stop wearing it. A cracked band is soldered and restored, or the shank is replaced outright, depending on how much sound metal is left. Which of the two it is gets decided with the ring under magnification, not from a photo. |
| It never fitted, from the day you got it | Nothing — it was sized off a guess | Common with a ring bought before an accurate sizing, or one inherited from someone else’s hand. Still a straight resize — just measure properly first, or let the bench measure the ring itself. |
Two of those six lines are not about size at all. That is the point of the table: a worn shank and a tight ring feel like the same complaint when you are wearing them, and they are completely different jobs.
Three questions that settle resize or re-shank
1. How much metal is left at the bottom?
Run a fingernail along the underside of the band. A sound shank is round and even all the way through. A worn one goes flat, then thin, then sharp — and it always wears at the bottom, because that is the part that meets everything you touch. If the band has thinned, resizing it alone is the wrong repair: you would be adjusting the diameter of metal that is already failing. Re-shanking rebuilds the worn-through section so the band is strong and even again, and it sits in the same price group as sizing, so asking for both at once does not mean two trips.
2. What is around the band?
This is the fork that decides how far a ring can move. A simple solitaire with an open shank can usually be sized up or down a few sizes with almost no visual change. A halo or eternity setting is a different story — when stones circle the entire band, the ring generally cannot move more than about half a size without removing and resetting the stones nearest the seam, which adds both cost and time. Some full-eternity and tension-set designs cannot be sized conventionally at all; if that is your ring, we tell you honestly and suggest the best alternative rather than forcing it. You are told which situation your ring is in as part of the quote, before any work starts.
3. Is anything else on the ring already asking for attention?
A ring in for sizing is a ring already on the bench, under magnification, with a jeweler looking at the whole piece. Worn prongs are the obvious one: they carry a real stone-loss risk, and re-tipping them costs one shipment instead of two if it happens now. So does rhodium plating on white gold that has gone warm, and so does a full polish. Every one of those is quoted as its own line in the same written quote, and you say yes or no line by line. Nothing is ever added on our own initiative — and ultrasonic cleaning and polishing is already included free with every repair, so it is never sold to you as an extra.
What the number actually is. Rings & Bands start at $139 — that group covers ring sizing, prong re-tipping, shank replacement, crack repair, rhodium plating for white gold and full polishing. It is the lowest starting point for the group, not the final price. Every ring is inspected and quoted individually, you get one firm number, and nothing is worked on until you approve it. See what a repair quote covers, line by line.
Four things not to do to a ring that does not fit
Do not have the band “stretched” at a counter. Forcing metal thins the shank, can crack a solder join and loosens stones in the setting — and undoing that costs more than resizing it properly in the first place. Do not open or close a ring yourself with pliers for the same reason. Do not keep wearing a band that has gone thin and sharp underneath while you make up your mind: that is the state in which rings crack or snap on the hand, and a stone lost that way is a much larger bill than the re-shank would have been. And do not have an engraved band sized without saying so — engraving away from the resize point is usually left untouched, but sizing often cuts or adds metal exactly where an inscription sits. Flag it when you request your quote so it can be planned around or replicated.
How to send it in so it can be sized properly
You do not need to know your size to send a ring in. What helps is telling us where it does not fit.
- Measure late in the day, or do not measure at allIf you want a number, take it in the evening at normal room temperature, using a ring that already fits that finger — the millimetre-to-US-size chart is here. If you would rather not guess, say so: our jewelers measure the ring itself on the bench, which is more accurate than any measurement taken at home, and your written quote confirms the finished size before any work begins.
- Photograph the underside of the bandMost people send a photo of the top of the ring, which shows the setting and hides the problem. One straight-on frame of the band from underneath tells a jeweler whether this is a sizing job or a shank job before the ring has even shipped.
- Say where it is tight — the knuckle or the baseThose two complaints lead to different answers, and it is the single most useful line you can write. Add whether it has been getting worse over years or only in warm weather.
- Mention the engraving, the eternity band and the inherited ringAnything that changes the plan: an inscription you want kept, stones that run all the way round, a piece that came from a grandmother and is older than it looks. It is also the moment to ask about worn prongs or a re-polish, since each one goes into the same quote as its own line.
- Send it exactly as it isUnstretched, un-tacked, unpolished. Cleaning and polishing is free with every repair, so there is nothing to gain by having it done first — and a counter that “just opens it up a little” while you wait has made the real repair longer and more expensive.
Where ring work sits against the rest of the price list
These are the starting prices published on our repair pricing table. Every piece is inspected and quoted individually.
| If the problem is | The group it falls into | Starting at |
|---|---|---|
| Sizing up or down, a worn shank, a cracked band | Rings & Bands | $139 |
| A prong that has worn thin, or a stone that rattles | Stone Setting | $79 |
| A sound ring that has gone dull, or white gold gone warm | Polish & Cleaning | $99 |
| A bangle or bracelet that no longer sits right | Bracelets & Bangles | $79 |
These are the lowest starting points, not the final price — you get one firm number after inspection, and nothing is worked on until you approve it. Read the third line carefully: if the ring is coming in for a repair anyway, the cleaning and polishing is already included free and is never sold as an add-on. Every group’s starting price is in one table on the home page.
What you get back
The ring is worked by a master jeweler under magnification, with trained gemologists (HRD Antwerp and ERIJ) overseeing anything involving stones. The gold colour and karat are matched at the seam — mismatched metal is visible and can wear or tarnish unevenly over time — and the band is re-finished so the join is invisible and the ring is as strong as it was before. On older pieces where a stock alloy is not an exact match, the closest available match is used and you are told about it before the work is done.
A repair done correctly generally preserves a ring’s value rather than reducing it. What actually hurts resale value is poor workmanship — a visible solder seam, mismatched metal colour — which is why every join is finished before the ring ships back. Timing is typically a few business days once we receive it, plus shipping, and the timeline is confirmed together with your quote. It comes home inspected by a trained gemmologist, cleaned and polished, in a keepsake box, fully insured with an adult signature required, and carrying a 12-month workmanship warranty.
Not sure which of the three yours is? You do not have to work it out. Send one photo of the ring from underneath and a line saying where it is tight. A trained jeweler replies within one business day with a firm price, the shipping kit and the insurance both ways are free, and you pay nothing until you approve the number. If you pass, the ring ships back to you free and fully insured.
Frequently asked questions
Can a ring with stones all the way around be resized?
Usually only a little. When stones circle the entire band, the ring generally cannot move more than about half a size without removing and resetting the stones nearest the seam, which adds both cost and time. Some full-eternity and tension-set designs cannot be sized conventionally at all — if that is your ring, we tell you honestly and suggest the best alternative. A plain band or a solitaire with an open shank is the opposite case and moves a size or two comfortably.
My ring is tight in the evening and fine in the morning. Should I resize it?
Measure again before you decide. Fingers are smallest in a cold morning and largest in a warm evening or after salt, exercise or a long flight, and that swing is close to half a size on its own. Take your measurement late in the day at normal room temperature, and size for the finger you actually have most of the time rather than for its smallest hour.
What is the difference between resizing and re-shanking?
Resizing changes the diameter of a sound band by adding or removing metal. Re-shanking rebuilds the bottom section of a band that has worn through, so it is strong and even again. They are different repairs for different problems: if the shank has thinned, resizing on its own is adjusting metal that is already failing. Both sit in the same group, starting at $139, so they can be quoted together.
My ring will not come over my knuckle. Can it just be made bigger?
Sizing up so it passes the knuckle will usually leave it loose at the base, where it will turn. That is a trade-off, not a fault, and holding a ring upright on a wider knuckle is a decision to make with your jeweler rather than from a chart. Tell us the ring passes the base but not the knuckle when you request your quote — it changes the recommendation.
Will resizing show, or lower what the ring is worth?
Done properly, no on both counts. The band is re-finished so the join is invisible and the ring is as strong as before, and the gold colour and karat are matched at the seam. A correct repair generally preserves a ring’s value; what damages resale is poor workmanship — a visible solder line or mismatched metal — which is exactly what a finished join avoids.
Will resizing affect the engraving inside my band?
Engraving away from the resize point is usually left untouched. But sizing often cuts or adds metal at or near the engraved section, and that inscription can be affected and may need to be re-cut. Flag any engraving you want preserved when you request your quote, so it can be planned around or replicated rather than discovered on the bench.