Let the ring air dry or dab it with a cotton towel instead of paper towels, which can damage the metal. If you use an ultrasonic jewelry cleaning machine, beware that the oscillations might knock stones loose from their settings.
For safety purposes, make sure you are using only clear food-grade or aquarium-grade silicone on your ring.
Gently wipe away extra silicone with a wet cloth as you go.
The cured silicone should hold for a few weeks, even when you wash your hands, but might degrade if it comes into contact with certain lotions, fragrances, or chemicals.
If you need to remove the silicone from the ring at any point, you should be able to easily loosen it and pull it off completely with your fingernails [3] X Research source
To get a better feel for how much you need to cut, measure the ring’s current size using a ring stick, which is a graduated cylinder with size measurements on the side. [4] X Research source Compare that measurement with the correct size for your finger and you will see exactly how much of the ring you need to remove. The size of your fingers can fluctuate throughout the day. For instance, they tend to be more swollen first thing in the morning, as well as when you’re hot. Try to take your finger size on a day when the temperature and humidity are normal, and at a time when you don’t feel puffy or swollen. [5] X Expert Source Nicole WegmanJewelry Professional & Founder of Ring Concierge Expert Interview. 23 April 2020.
If you follow the marker straight across the ring while you cut, you will be able to see if you have removed enough to shrink the ring to the size you want.
Filing ensures both edges will join together evenly, which is important if you plan to solder the ring closed again. If you are going to leave the ring open, you don’t want to hurt yourself by leaving sharp edges that can pinch your finger while you wear it.
Make sure the ring is still a circle shape by applying pressure evenly as you pull the ends together. If the ring loses its shape, put it back onto the ring stick and tap it lightly with a hammer until it appears circular.
Wear eye protection to prevent retina damage or something entering your eyes. [10] X Research source Clear out any excess material from the solder with a metal file and emery paper. Feel free skip this step and leave the ring open if you are uncomfortable using a soldering torch or if you don’t have access to one.
Make sure you thoroughly clean both the inside and outside of the ring to rid the surface of any excess particles. If the ring is especially tarnished, add three parts baking soda to one part water in the cleaning solution.
Jewelers can easily shrink rings that are made of gold, silver or platinum, but usually by up to two sizes at most. [13] X Research source Jewelers typically cannot resize rings made of titanium, tungsten, or those with gemstones going around the entire band. [14] X Research source
After the jeweler cleans and polishes your ring, there should be no marks indicating that it was ever cut open, preserving its value. This method works best if your fingers don’t often swell in response to changes in temperature or due to weight fluctuations because repeatedly resizing the ring repeatedly can weaken its overall structure.
Sizing beads are two metal beads added to the bottom of the ring that create a wedge between your finger and the ring to keep it in place. A fold-over device is a small metal bar fixed to the bottom of the ring with a latch on one end that can be opened to squeeze the ring past your knuckle when it’s put on or taken off, and closed again to secure the ring in place. [17] X Research source
