It depends on the ring, not on how much you want it. Here’s what decides it and how we measure.
The perfect ring that won’t go on.
What decides how far it can move
Fingers change too, which is why we measure at the counter
What gets checked before it goes back to you
If the ring is from here
Where and when
You inherited it, someone gave it to you, or you bought it online without trying it on. You love it and it won’t get past the knuckle. Or worse: it spins, and it’s already slipped off twice.
A ring that won’t go on, or one that spins on your finger: we measure it and size it. What’s worth knowing is what decides how far it can go.
There’s no one number that works for every ring. How much a ring can be sized up or down depends on three things: the metal, the design and the starting size.
The metal. Gold works well. Other metals give less, and some metals can’t be resized at all.
The design. A plain band has room. A ring with stones all the way around, with engraving inside or with a pattern that runs all the way around has less, because resizing it moves everything else.
The starting size. Sizing up and sizing down aren’t the same job: one adds metal, the other takes it away. How much of each gets decided with the ring in hand.
A finger doesn’t measure the same in the morning as at night, or in January as in July. Heat swells it; cold thins it.
That’s why the size gets taken at the counter and not over the phone. If it’s for someone else, the best thing is for them to come with you and get measured here; if they can’t, bring a ring that fits that person well and we measure that one.
We measure your finger and we measure the ring. We look at the setting and the stones under the loupe and tell you what we see, without the jargon.
We tell you whether the resizing gets done here and how. We look at the piece first. If what you need is more than your ring can take, we tell you that too: better a clear no than a damaged ring.
The piece gets cleaned and the setting checked before it goes back to you. The stones get checked one by one: a resizing done right doesn’t loosen them, and they get checked to make sure.
If the ring has engraving inside, say so beforehand. Resizing can touch the engraving, and it’s better to know from the start.
The ring comes back in your size. Try it on at the counter before you leave.
Engagement rings and rings from the case. If it doesn’t fit, we size it right here.
When you pick one, ask Tito or Raffi to measure your finger. They do it right there and you save yourself the trip back.
If it’s a gift and you don’t know the size, ask before you choose: we tell you what can be resized afterward and how.
The bench is at 88 Nagle Avenue, Inwood, Manhattan. Open every day from 9:00 AM to 7:30 PM.
Send a photo of the ring on WhatsApp, from the front and from the side, and we’ll tell you what you’ve got.
