Options for when Arthritis Rears its Ugly Head...and Your Rings No Longer Fit

It’s an ill fated will for some…the day your knuckles succumb to arthritis and your rings no longer fit correctly. I see this almost weekly in my store, and most people have no idea there are options so you can still wear and enjoy your rings! And better yet we finally have some really cool options for those that have a knuckle much larger than the back of your finger.

I’ll list our top three picks for solving the knuckle problem below!

Option 1:

Adding little balls to the inside bottom of your ring…a lot of the time this is used to stop the ring from spinning on your finger more so than a knuckle problem, but if you don’t have a large difference between your knuckle and the back of your finger this is a good option for you!

Just FYI the balls in the ring should not be hurting you...if you have balls in your ring and they're hurting you take it to a jeweler and have them see if they can smooth them out a bit to make it more comfortable for you. The balls should be more of a mound shape than a pointy ball (pointy ball…that’s like an oxymoron isn’t it? Haha). At our store, we offer small, medium, and large options depending on your need. It’s always better to start a little bigger and the balls can be shaved down to fit you just perfectly!

Option 2:

Adjustable shanks. This is the best option that will offer the most accurate fit, but it is the most expensive option. This option allows for the jeweler to take off the shank (the bottom half of your ring, where your finger goes) and then add the adjustable shank. If done correctly, you won't be able to tell this has been added. There are a few different manufacturers that make these, so styling can be different depending upon what your jeweler offers. Check out the video below to get a better idea!

Option 3:

The final option is to add what we call a "butterfly." The process for this is to size the ring a little larger than your knuckle and then to add a piece of metal inside that you can bend and adjust to hold the ring in place on your finger. The cost on this repair is close to Option 1, but will most likely be a little bit more because we are sizing the ring as well as adding this mechanism.