Can a palladium ring be stretched or resized? What do you know about Palladium rings? If you are shopping for jewelry, one of the jewelry metals you will come across and may have to consider is palladium.
Palladium rings are elegant and stylish, and they are among the rings are among the trendiest piece of jewelry on the market. But despite its beauty, there are numerous misconceptions around palladium rings and what they can and can’t do.
In this article, we’ll review everything you need to know about the palladium rings, and most specifically, whether the rings can be stretched or not.
To do this, let’s start with the basics.
What Is Palladium?
Palladium can be defined as the naturally-occurring, white precious metal that belongs in the platinum family/ group of metals. This chemical element has the Pd symbol. It is one of the rare, precious metals, with the most interesting bit about the metal being the fact that this metal is even rarer than gold and platinum.
Palladium wasn’t always used in jewelry; however, it was used in jewelry during World War II following the reserved use of platinum in the military. With these changes, palladium was soon used as the next best alternative to platinum – it looks pretty much like platinum, which made its adoption and use rather seamless.
Palladium is a hypoallergenic metal, which makes it a great choice of metal for jewelry for persons with skin sensitivity concerns. And unlike white gold, palladium has and retains its shiny white finish, without any rhodium plating on it.
Palladium is, therefore, one of the most beautiful colors for wedding rings, and you can keep its white, lustrous shine by cleaning it easily and through occasional buffing.
The fact that palladium doesn’t need the rhodium-plated is the reason why palladium is the metal of choice for gemstone embellished engagement and wedding rings.
Palladium is a good choice for the embellishments because of its natural shine and the fact that the palladium doesn’t need to be buffed, unlike the white gold jewelry.
In addition to that, there is the fact that palladium’s bright white sheen makes it the perfect complementary metal option for colorful gemstones and high-grade diamonds.
Can a palladium ring be resized?
One of the features that stands out from Palladium is the fact that Palladium is a hard metal that boasts a nice beautiful sheen. But there is a common misconception that people have held against palladium for years – the belief that Palladium cannot be resized. Well, the truth is that despite its hardness, palladium can be resized.
Speaking of the hardness of palladium, this is a hard metal that scores a five on the Moh hardness scale. Palladium is even harder when alloyed, with a 5.75 score on the Moh scale. Thanks to its hardness, palladium is resistant to scratches, which makes it a worthy investment.
While a number of jewelers opt not to resize palladium rings mostly because these rings were manufactured in the 1940s and are vintage rings with old, worn-out castings, it doesn’t mean that the palladium rings cannot be resized.
The second reason why most jewelers avoid resizing palladium rings even though they can be resized has to do with the rarity of the metal, along with the fact that most jewelers lack the matching types of solders that would allow them to work on palladium rings easily. With this in mind, any resizing works on palladium pieces would result in unwanted inconsistencies.
Lastly, there is the issue of experience (or their lack of). Primarily, palladium rings have the same properties as platinum. Since platinum has a very high melting point and a tendency of high porosity, most jewelers lack the experience and tools to handle platinum, and by extension, palladium.
So, if you are wondering about the possibility of resizing palladium rings and how to resize them, you should know that it is possible. The only caveat is that the resizing process is difficult and pricey.
Can a palladium ring be stretched?
Yes, but only if the palladium ring is plain, with no diamonds or other types of gemstones.
Can you engrave palladium rings?
Yes, you can engrave your palladium ring. The type of engraving that can be done on the ring is machine engraving.
Machine engraving boasts a high level of precision and an incredible level of accuracy that allows you out personalized messages on the palladium ring.
Other jewelers make use of specialized laser engraving that works for the inside and the outside of the ring.
How to Resize Palladium Rings
You may need to resize your palladium ring for a number of reasons, including growth spurts, as well as fluctuations in weight. Palladium makes it a little to resize the ring, but as mentioned above, it is not impossible.
That said, here is how a palladium ring is resized.
First, take the measurements of the finger. You could download and print out the finger size guide from the website of any leading jewelry store. Alternatively, you could go to the jeweler to have the finger’s size measured.
Next, take the ring to the jeweler for resizing. The jeweler will ask for your finger size; then, they’ll start resizing the ring.
There are three main steps involved in ring resizing – evaluation, sizing, and polishing/ finishing.
- In the evaluation step, the jeweler examines your palladium ring and takes notes of its features, including stones, if any. They will also take note of any special finishes used. In most cases, however, palladium rings are simple, plain rings with a matte finish. The jeweler will take note of this to be able to recreate the finishing after it’s resized.
- Sizing– here, the jeweler cuts open the ring on one end –for rings with specific designs on the front, the jeweler cuts it at the back to avoid design alteration. After the cut, the metal is removed or added as needed; then it’s closed. A palladium solder is often used for the best results. Often, the white solders will recede when polished because of different consistencies.
- Polishing and Finishing– this is the last step, and it’s done after the ring is resized. The polishing process involves buffing the ring using the polishing wheel for the removal of bumpy and rough bits on the surface. The finish chosen can be brushed or matte. The polisher will then reapply the ring’s initial finish so that the ring looks as it did before resizing.
Conclusion
Yes, a palladium ring can be resized, and you only need to find experts. Just bear in mind, however, that the ring resizing will take a few weeks. For more ring topics, please visit this page for more.
Tiger is a fashion&jewelry lover. He is also a fashion jewelry manufacturer that help thousands of small business to grow and also do business with some big fashion jewelry brands. He is a truly metal expert and he will share some information you are looking for.