If your knuckle is larger than the bottom of your finger, it can be challenging to wear rings. If the size difference is only one or two sizes, we can solder sizing balls to the back of the ring, which enables you to push the ring over the knuckle while removing some of the size difference at the bottom of the finger.
However, with arthritic knuckles, the size difference is often too significant for this solution to work, or it would be painful to push sizing balls into the back of the joint. But there is another option! Read on to find out how I helped Sylvia refurbish her beautiful engagement ring and make it wearable now that her knuckles are swollen with arthritis.
Sylvia’s Engagement Ring
Sylvia has worn her ring for decades, but sadly, some years after losing her husband Angus, she noticed that the central diamond had fallen out of the heavily worn setting. She could no longer pull the ring over her knuckle as arthritis had settled in, so she had to have the ring cut off. She decided to leave her plain gold wedding band in place but missed wearing her engagement ring, so she contacted me to see if I could help.
On seeing the significant size difference between her knuckle size and the size of her finger, my usual suggestion of sizing balls would not work for her. Instead, I showed her how we could convert the ring into a hinged ring to make it possible to wear again!
The pretty diamond set shoulders were in good condition, so we lifted those from the original ring. We made a replacement setting in the same style as the original, and sourced a brand new diamond.
The original yellow gold band was melted down with additional gold to make up the depth of the band to be much more hard-wearing and deep enough to accommodate a hinge. The hinge is completely seamless in the body of the ring, so very comfortable to wear. Pull the two halves apart with a firm grip to open up the ring, and push together to hear the satisfying snap as the ring closes up over the finger.
Sylvia was delighted with the finished outcome – not only was her ring looking as good as new, she could now wear it with confidence, knowing it could be removed when doing anything hands on or if she needed to for any medical procedures.
I was incredibly proud to hand over the beautifully made ring to Sylvia and felt quite emotional seeing it on her hand again – I know how much it means to her to be able to wear the ring Angus gave her all those years ago!
Click here to see a video of Sylvia’s ring in action.
Other Options
There are a number of ways to overcome the issue of large knuckles or arthritis. If sizing balls won’t work for your finger shape, here are some other options:
Ring Clip
Make the ring large enough to fit over the knuckle, and use a ring clip to make it fit at the bottom of the finger. I can source clips that match the metal of your ring, and slot inside for a discreet and functional way to make your rings comfortable to wear.
We did this for Becky after an arthritis flare up just before her wedding – we resized her engagement and wedding ring so they would be able to fit over her knuckle, and soldered them together so they wouldn’t spin apart on the smaller part of her finger. The ring clip shown on the bottom right of the photo below slots inside the combined rings and fills the gap between the rings and her finger, and can slide larger and smaller as her finger swells and contracts.
I would recommend a metal ring clip over a plastic spiral sizer as they are a much more permanent solution.
Open Backed Ring
Jayne’s ring has a secret – it’s been designed to be suitable to fit over arthritic knuckles and be comfortable underneath where the finger is smaller.
Due to arthritic knuckles, Jayne hadn’t been able to wear her engagement or eternity rings for years. We combined the diamonds and metal from both, along with metal from other sentimental pieces to make this new ring.
The back of the ring expands and contracts due to an open design that works much like a child’s expanding ring! As it slides over the knuckle, the ring expands as the back opens up a little. It then shrinks back down to fit the finger below the knuckle.
The back of the ring is also not round – it is slightly triangular shaped which helps the ring not to spin, which is often a problem for top heavy designs.
For this style to work, the ring needs to be fairly chunky – the band needs to be 4mm wide or wider, and have a good depth to the band to give it the strength and spring it needs.
I’d love to know if you have any other suggestions of solutions for arthritis suffers to enable them to wear their rings, and which is your favourite from my suggestions and examples.
But most importantly, if you are an arthritis sufferer, I hope this article gives you the answer you have been looking for to get your rings back on your fingers!