Why Some Engagement Rings Spin on Your Finger
One of the biggest engagement ring issues people come across is that their diamond ring doesn’t fit properly. You might notice you have a loose ring fit, but resizing would make it too big or too small. Now, you’re left wondering how to make a ring fit tighter
A common issue is ring spinning. It can happen to engagement rings that have a big diamond combined with an uneven ring setting. For example, a 4-carat solitaire diamond engagement ring could have that issue. The majority of the ring’s weight is in the diamond rather than the metal band. If the ring is just slightly loose, you might find it tipping over toward another finger.
How to Know if Your Ring Fits
You’d think that making a circular ring sit on your finger right wouldn’t be that complicated. If it goes on your finger, it should come off, right?
Wrong.
Making a ring sit upright is no easy feat, especially if you’re somebody with larger knuckles and slender fingers. Your finger size doesn’t have the same circumference at every section. Many times, some people can’t get a ring to fit over the knuckle.
It can be a pain (both literally and mentally) to try to twist a ring past your knuckle. But you know that once it gets past the knuckle, it’d fit just right. But if you got a ring half a size bigger, you wouldn’t be able to keep your ring upright.
At the same time, you don’t want a ring to slide on and off your finger too easily. The last thing you need is for your ring to fly off your hand like Chris Evert’s diamond tennis bracelet at the US 1987 Open tennis match.
Should You Get Your Engagement Ring Resized?
Just because your ring doesn’t quite fit right, doesn’t necessarily mean it needs to be resized. For those with top-heavy ring spinning problems, resizing your ring isn’t going to help. Fortunately, ring resizing isn’t the only way to make a ring smaller.
Plus you want to avoid ring resizing as much as possible if you can. Many professional jewelers offer ring resizing services for free. Often it’s a one-time ring resizing or within the first year.
Yet some jewelers pride themselves in providing ring resizing for life. They’ll tell you that you can size up or down as many times as you like. For example, if you’re one of those people whose finger size shrinks in the winter and swells in the summer, this kind of ring resizing warranty would be useful, right?
You would think, but that’s not the case. You want to do everything to make your ring fit right, but try to avoid sizing it more than once. Engagement rings are composed of the head and ring shank. The ring shank is the metal band of your engagement ring. Most wedding jewelry is crafted in gold or platinum. They are natural metals and can weaken if worked on too much.
Sizing up and down 2 twice a year would weaken the precious metals of your ring shank. It would start to thin out if you have to go too big. This can cause breaks in the shank. In this case, the professional jeweler would have to add more metal to your ring shank. It can be very expensive.
Most of these solutions are for people whose ring sizing is just a little off. If you find yourself needing to go down a whole size or more, it’s best to have a jeweler resize it.
Temporary Solutions to Make a Ring Fit Tighter
Sizing Metal Beads
Sizing beads are probably the most common removable ring resizing solutions that you’ll see people have. The process is simple and can be done by any professional jeweler. Sizing beads are two small metal balls that are soldered onto the bottom of your inner ring shank.
When you want to have the sizing beads removed, you can just return the jeweler. Removing the metal beads from the ring shank is done easily enough and a jeweler should be able to buff out any remnants or scratches from removing the sizing beads.
If wearing a ring already feels uncomfortable to you, the sizing beads solution may not be right. While most people say they don’t notice the beads, people with major sensory issues may have a problem.
Tape
This is one of the simplest and oldest ways to make a ring smaller, but it isn’t recommended. It can make a great solution in a tight spot, such as for your wedding date, or a special event that your ring just has to fit. When you’re all out of time and can’t get anything else, you probably have tape lying around somewhere.
But tape leaves a sticky residue around your ring that can be a pain to get off. Dirt will get caught up under the edges and cause it to look gross and tacky if worn for too long. Plus, while tape won’t damage the gold, it could strip some of the polish off, especially if you’re using tape besides scotch tape.
Ring Guards
The most common ring guard is a plastic guard. These are super affordable and you can often obtain them for free from a local jewelry store. This temporary solution to make a ring smaller is very temporary, so you may want to buy plastic ring adjusters that come in bulk instead of a single.
The plastic ring guards often have a clear, plastic, and curved short tube that is slit all the way open on one side. The curve of the ring guard fits the curve of the bottom and is pushed until the guard wraps around it.
Don’t expect these pieces of plastic to last very long. A lot of people say it helps make a ring smaller, but it may not sit right on the finger. Others find themselves frequently losing them or being annoyed by them throughout the day.
Some may opt for a ring guard made from food-grade silicone. They work to achieve the same goals as the plastic ring size adjuster.
Sizing Bar
A sizing bar is horizontal bar that goes across the bottom of your ring. A sizing bar can also be called a fold over device. Most people who need their ring smaller without resizing will opt for either the sizing beads or the sizing bars. If the beads aren’t comfortable for you, the sizing bar is said to be a more comfortable option than both beads or a spring insert.
Clear Nail Polish
Just like with tape, we don’t recommend using this tactic, though you’ll see it recommended all over the web. There’s been a trend in applying clear nail polish to make a ring smaller. The nail polish serves as an invisible liquid guard to make a ring fit snugly instead of half a size too big.
Truth be told, you shouldn’t put nail polish on gold. You might not be able to see it, but it is not recommended to paint anything on precious metals. And whatever you do, don’t use nail polish removed on it either. Chemicals can damage precious metals. That’s also why we don’t recommend wearing jewelry in the pool.
Semi Permanent Solutions to a Make a Ring Fit Tighter
These are great solutions to making a ring smaller without going down in size. However, some of them require major modifications to your ring shank and/or are pricier.
Spring Insert
Spring inserts are U-shaped, thin, flexible bars that go across the bottom of the ring. This type of mechanism is meant for those who have larger knuckles. The ring fits everywhere, but not over your knuckles.
They may look like a weird mechanism when you’re staring straight at it, but you can’t see evidence of it when you’re wearing your ring.
Spring inserts are perfect for those with a large knuckle problem. You can choose a ring size that fits over your knuckle. The spring insert pushes down as you place the ring over your knuckle and springs back snugly against your finger for a tighter fit. They are a great alternative to ring resizing.
Hinged Shank
A less common solution to permanently resizing your engagement ring is by modifying it to a hinged shank. Engagement rings with hinged shanks open at the side by way of a small hinge. These can also be useful for those with a large knuckle problem.
Hinged shanks aren’t used all that often, but they can be beneficial for those with arthritis or pain in their fingers. There’s no need to have to slide a ring down over your finger when you can open a hinge and clasp it back around your finger for a good fit.
Solder Wedding Band
The majority of people purchase an engagement ring first, then a wedding band second. The engagement ring is usually worn until the wedding day when the wedding bands are exchanged during the ceremony.
Not everyone today has two rings to commemorate their marriage and that’s okay. But if you have both an engagement ring and a wedding band, soldering your wedding set together can make a ring smaller. The same thing can be done by adding more rings, like in a ring stack.
Jewelers can solder rings together and take them apart. However, the process can also be done badly, so make sure you’re taking it to the right place.
Add More Wedding Bands
To make a ring smaller, you can add more bands to it. By creating a ring stack, you don’t have to solder them to your ring to make it tighter, but you’ll have to pay extra for the other bands you choose. Eternity rings are a popular option for stackable ring sets.
When you increase the width of your ring’s band, it makes your ring smaller and tighter around the finger. This is a good option for those whose engagement ring won’t sit upright.
Ring Jacket
Ring jackets may also be called enhancers. These are ring bands that are open but joined at the bottom. An engagement ring fits snugly between the two sides of the enhancer. It gets its name from the way an engagement ring looks as if it is put on a sparkly “jacket” when placed in the enhancer.
The way this makes a ring smaller follow the same idea that adding more wedding bands does. As the width of your ring gets bigger, the fit will make your ring smaller. You can also have a jewelers solder your enhancer to your ring and remove the bars that connect the two sides of it.
Adding an enhancer isn’t everyone’s first choice. If you’re more about minimalist and dainty rings, a wide metal band probably isn’t your cup of tea. Nor is a lot of sparkle. Not to mention that many enhancers can be very expensive because you’re essentially paying for two bands conjoined together.
Perfect Fit Collection
If you’re prone to the ring spinning issue because of your love for a big ring, we have a collection of engagement rings that might be right up your alley. The Perfect Fit collection is our take on what’s often called a Euro shank.
Instead of your engagement ring band being a perfect circle, the Perfect Fit Collection ring settings fit the curve of your fingers. The band is squared off a little, contouring to the sides of your finger. The Perfect Fit collection may hold the perfect ring to solve your ring size problems.
