Can’t wait to share this tip with you, although I bet some of you
already know about it. A customer came in this morning with a ring
that she hadn’t been able to remove for the past 2 months. Time to
cut it off. But instead of cutting and carefully bending the shank
(partially because I didn’t want to risk deforming the fragile areas
nearby) I remembered a yellowed copy of a newspaper article in my
desk I meant to try sometime. It was a hint sent in by someone whose
husband was an embalmer, but works on the UN-dead too, as I found
out: you thread one end of a string (I used what was available at
the shop - embroidery floss, but I wonder if dental tape would work
even better) … anyway you thread one end under the ring (towards
the palm) and wrap the other longer end tight around the finger
starting from the ring ending just past the far side of the knuckle.
The customer held that end taught, while I started to unwrap from
the other shorter end. As you unwrap, the ring slowly slides forward
and over the knuckle! I had to use some gentle force, and she said
it hurt a bit, but she was thrilled it didn’t have to be cut and
took so little time to do. I assume it can be a little risky - it
blocks off quite a bit of the blood running to the finger tip for a
couple minutes, and I wonder if there’s the possibility of it
getting stuck right at the knuckle. (Has anyone ever had that
problem?)
Anyway, that was my exciting moment of the day. Had to share it with
my fellow jewelers. Besides, who else could get excited about
something like this?
Cindy Crounse
Refined Designs Original Fine Jewelry