Anyone have any recommendations for a local place to get an engagement ring resized without having to send it off for 7+ days? Its a size 7 white gold band that needs to be resized down to 6 or 6.5.

Thanks

1/6/2011 1:20:25 PM

pick a jeweler, most any jeweler

i got my wife's ring at reed's (bought the ring, provided them with a diamond to mount) and for an extra $50 got the lifetime service (unlimited resizing, re-plating since it's white gold, cleaning, etc) that included the initial resizing (which was something like $40 by itself, i think)

1/6/2011 1:23:54 PM

I got this engagement ring from Kays -- proposed over break -- thankfully she said yes (Would have been awkward if she said no after 9 years, owning a house together and getting a dog together ).

Anyhow, Kay Jewelers apparently has to ship their rings out to be resized which would take a few weeks. I'll give some other jewelers a call when I get home from work tonight but figured I'd see if anyone on here had any good or bad experiences/recommendations to help me narrow down a good place.

1/6/2011 1:28:23 PM

i'm surprised at that...reed's has a local "rotating" jeweler that visits each store once or twice a week (or so it was explained to me)

my wife got my wedding band at jared's...their prices were no better or worse than anyone else's, but their service was fantastic (it's all done in-store)...i would have gotten her engagement ring there, but they wouldn't accept trade-in diamonds against the cost of the ring (i had a multi-diamond engagement ring i had picked up for peanuts at a garage sale about 6 years ago...ugly as sin, but worth about 20x more than i paid for it)

the reed's folks were very cool, though...i'd recommend them to anyone

[Edited on January 6, 2011 at 1:36 PM. Reason : .]

1/6/2011 1:35:45 PM

we went to the place in the mall....treasure isle. Took them an hour and its like $20-$40 depending on the material.

1/6/2011 2:57:02 PM

Oh thank God. I read the title and got worried that she ballooned up after you proposed and now the ring is too tight on her sausage fingers.

1/6/2011 2:59:18 PM

^yep, came in expecting the funny

1/6/2011 3:34:00 PM

Quote :

"engagement ring"

Quote :

"ncstatepimp"

does not compute

1/6/2011 3:50:15 PM

Bought my fiancee's ring at Jared's at triangle town center, and their service was great. Resizing takes maybe a few hours and then you're done. They're owned by the same company as Kay, for what it's worth.


Jared's people couldn't have been nicer through the whole experience.

1/6/2011 4:11:47 PM

If you bought the ring from Kay's, and also got their lifetime warranty (the one that replaces the whole thing if it gets damaged or something, so long as you do semi-annual inspections) be careful about taking it elsewhere to get resized. I am not positive, but I think that might void any warranty. Not saying don't, just read the fine print first.

1/6/2011 4:16:43 PM

not trying to hijack your thread but ya know how some girls refuse to eat at "chain" restaurants and will only eat at local hipster places? what if your girl says her engagement ring better not come from some franchise place like zales, reeds, kay, etc.... ? she want me to go down in a mine and find the diamond myself? anyone had this problem?

1/6/2011 4:21:39 PM

She wants some Jane Seymour jewelry it sounds like.

Or a pawn shop.

1/6/2011 4:23:17 PM

^^

Quote :

"DO NOT MARRY"

1/6/2011 4:37:52 PM

Sizing up a small amount is easy; you're basically just stretching it a little. Sizing down usually requires cutting, soldering, and polishing to make the seam invisible again which is why it takes so long at most places. It takes a skilled craftsman and still involves some risk.

http://www.creativemetalsmiths.com/ in Chapel Hill can do the work without sending it off, but you might want to call to see how quickly they can turn it around for you.

Quote :

"not trying to hijack your thread but ya know how some girls refuse to eat at "chain" restaurants and will only eat at local hipster places? what if your girl says her engagement ring better not come from some franchise place like zales, reeds, kay, etc.... ? she want me to go down in a mine and find the diamond myself? anyone had this problem?"

I'd be glad to find out that she doesn't want some cookie cutter stuff. Hand crafted pieces aren't always any more expensive than a comparable piece from a big box store. All things being the same, who wouldn't want a unique piece crafted by an artist over something mass produced?

I'd be more worried if she demanded a certain brand of cookie cutter jewelry just because of a commercial that comes on during Ofrah.

[Edited on January 6, 2011 at 4:50 PM. Reason : s]

1/6/2011 4:42:17 PM

Quote :

"who wouldn't want a unique piece crafted by an artist over something mass produced?"

women

most of them like big, big diamonds

1/6/2011 4:46:27 PM

Thank goodness for man made diamonds and cubic zirconia then.

1/6/2011 4:51:35 PM

You can get unique, hand crafted pieces at some franchises... Bailey's has great ring designers

[Edited on January 6, 2011 at 6:00 PM. Reason : .]

1/6/2011 5:59:45 PM

there's a place in Crabtree by the food court that will resize for you that day. It's where I eventually took mine after sending it off twice through the store fiance bought it from and it still not being the right size. I forget the name of it...but if you walk in btw Chic-Fil-A and McDonald's, walk toward the left and then out that side entrance from the mall to the food court, it will be on your left.

1/6/2011 7:43:36 PM

Quote :

"what if your girl says her engagement ring better not come from some franchise place like zales, reeds, kay, etc.... ? she want me to go down in a mine and find the diamond myself? anyone had this problem? "

It's just the 'cookie cutter-ness' of these stores. My fiancee is the same way (She's not picky about anything....except jewelry). She thinks that just about everything they have is 1) Ugly and/or 2) Really bland. She's also not a big fan of the traditional "solitataire" ring.

That said, the reason she doesn't like these places are because loves antique rings. She actually likes the band beauty (and overall design) much more than diamond size. When I was looking for her ring, I didn't want to drop $6-8k on a horrible color & clarity diamond from the 1900's, so I had an antique ring copied/remade for her with a modern diamond. She loved it.

I think if you go to a quality jeweler, you'll pay a bit more, but you generally will get a lot better quality. If you go to one of these places, I'd make sure they 1) Guarantee that it will appraise INDEPENDENTLY 2) Go get it appraised at Baileys, Jolly's, etc.

If you have a budget issue, I'd go to bluenile.com before the chain stores. I'd think they'd have better budget rings than most. If she's kind of a "classic" girl, go look for an antique...most girls love them. Joint venture Jewelers in Cary usually has a few nice estate/antique rings

If you get her any diamond, she'll love it no matter where it's from. You get what you, personally, can afford. Just do a little reasearch, and I, personally, would always get it appraised independently to make sure you're not getting ripped off.

[Edited on January 6, 2011 at 11:10 PM. Reason : ]

1/6/2011 10:58:23 PM

Quote :

"You can get unique, hand crafted pieces at some franchises... Bailey's has great ring designers"

Baileys is a franchise?

1/6/2011 11:43:27 PM

Jared's is good and the ring sizing is usually an hour. Treasure Island is always good too.
Bailey's has multiple locations and they own the pandora franchise stores in the area.

1/6/2011 11:51:46 PM

^ They are in multiple places across the state... Not sure if that counts as a franchise per say, I guess I was just making the point that it wasn't a random specialty jewelry shop ya know?

1/6/2011 11:52:55 PM

^they are all owned by the Bailey family, i.e. Clyde Bailey.

*I like Baileys, they always have a good product and a good gemologist.

1/6/2011 11:55:50 PM

what's a sneaky way to figure out your gf's ring size so that you can skip the resizing?

1/7/2011 12:22:51 AM

Take one of her other rings, measure, and make a very educated guess - preferably on the larger side.

1/7/2011 8:13:12 AM

Quote :

"what's a sneaky way to figure out your gf's ring size so that you can skip the resizing"

Wait until she's in a deep sleep and wrap a piece of thread around her finger. Measure the thread length and that equals her finger circumference. When in doubt, round up.

Keep in mind that if she's a light sleeper, this might ruin your proposal surprise if she wakes up with you measuring her finger.

Better yet, find one of her rings she already has and wears and take it to get sized

1/7/2011 9:18:47 AM

My engagement ring is my husband's grandmother's ring.

It was size 4 1/2

He took it to Joint Ventures in Cary to get it resized. Because it was an older ring, they had to completly take the ring apart and put it back together.

I would recommend them to anyone.

http://www.jointventurejewelry.com/

1/7/2011 9:34:50 AM

MY first job was as a bench jeweler. Coolest. Job. Ever.

1/7/2011 9:38:06 AM

Size 4.5 is like a pencil

1/7/2011 3:57:15 PM

Simons-Ross also has an estate collection which is all older one-off rings. That's how I found the ring I got. I got it online and they shipped it from ashore in new jersey. They do have a store in crabtree though.

1/8/2011 1:18:13 AM

Bailey's in Cameron Village resized my wife's platinum ring. $50, but they did perfect work.

1/8/2011 1:59:48 AM

Honestly, the whole ring sizing thing (in a sneaky way), could be a toss-up.

My fiance' asked me in a sneaky way (got me a more casual ring before hand) and I thought I was a size 7 for rings.. my engagement ring is a size 6

Might as well just guess then resize later, imo

[Edited on January 8, 2011 at 3:06 AM. Reason : .]

1/8/2011 3:06:24 AM

4.5 is a pencil? Mine is a 3.5.... Working in the industry, I always find it heartwarming that men so frequently argue "her hands are your size" (That's only happened to actually be the case about 3 times in 15 years, but okey dokey...) - - Once, a guy told me that and she was a 9. I always thought he was precious.

Anyway: In reply to

Quote :

""what's a sneaky way to figure out your gf's ring size so that you can skip the resizing""

Take one of her rings and cram it down on one of your fingers as far as it will go.... take a pen, draw a line - - - go to jewelery store and ask for their sizers, then find the one that's closest.
It's much more accurate than a string.

1/8/2011 5:26:33 PM

^ Yep

3.5, for reference



[Edited on January 8, 2011 at 6:25 PM. Reason : ]

1/8/2011 6:24:36 PM