this is a crap picture because it’s cropped from a group photo of other things.
so, this october will be my 30th wedding anniversary. I havent been able to wear my wedding ring in about 10 years due to weight gain. David Wiggins of Creative Jewelers in Corrales NM made matching rings for my husband and I in 1994, in 14K white gold. Both our rings have a crescent of turquoise channel set in the front, as you see. I have been intending to send mine to David to have him size it up - it is currently a 5.5, i think i need a 6.5. However, I learned that he passed away unexpectedly in 2019.
I believe his wife and son carried on the business after his passing for some time, but the business is now closed. I am terrified to send the ring elsewhere to be sized, especially here in Missouri where no one knows anything about turquoise. I messaged his wife on FB, but am not sure if she will respond or have any recs.
I am seeking recommendations from all of you lovely humans for someone who could reliably and sensitively size this white gold ring without damaging the stone. I realize it will have to be removed to be sized, i just want the same stone put back. I miss wearing it.
I just had them do some repairs on a couple of silver pieces, and some necklace restringing. I wasn’t sure about asking them for gold resizing, however.
Kevin Lindsey in Oregon at https://www.lindseyjewelers.com/ is a master at TIG welding gold. He gave a symposium at Santa Fe on the method. I saw what he is capable of and I recommend him for a complex project. Laser does not go deep where TIG does and in most cases the stone is left in the setting. Don’t expect it to be cheap but it will be great work.
I’m going to recommend Johnathon McKinney. John is an excellent craftsman (Acoma) who literally grew up in the jewelry industry. You’ll most likely need to remove and possibly replace the stone to size the ring, and I cant think of anyone I’d trust more for this work.
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In my case, I have not sized up my wedding ring (dang weight gain is the culprit as well), and as mine has little melee diamonds on two side rings that are attached to my wedding ring, and sizing up tends to have them ping out all over the place. I have been wearing a ring with a couple of diamonds and a sapphire (family stones) next to a larger gold band I wore when pregnant with both kids (no way wedding ring fit during pregnancy). My husband would like me to go back to wearing it, but, I need to get serious about walking and getting more fit.
You can make fitness a goal, and wearing your ring as the prize, while wearing a interim ring in the meantime. It’s a long-term solution, with two wins at the end. In my case, I’ve let it go too long, so 2024 is my year to get myself healthier.
