Ring Shank Repair Cost: Half vs. Full (2026)

How much does it cost to fix a broken ring shank?

Repairing a ring shank in 2026 generally runs $120–$300 for a half-shank replacement in gold and $175–$300 in platinum, while a full-shank replacement starts around $180 in 14k gold and can reach $500–$900+ in 18k gold or platinum. A simple crack that can be laser-welded closed costs far less than a rebuild. The price is set by how much metal has to be replaced, not by how dramatic the break looks.

What the shank is — and why it fails first

The shank is the band: the part of the ring that circles your finger. It is the thinnest, most-worn part of almost every ring, and it fails in three predictable ways.

Thinning. Decades of contact with skin, counters, and steering wheels wear the underside down. The ring is still round, but the bottom is paper-thin.
Cracking. A thinned shank splits, usually at the bottom.
Full break. The band separates completely, or has been squeezed out of round so badly it cannot be trued.

Thinning is the one people ignore. A shank that has worn to roughly half its original thickness is not a cosmetic issue — it is a break that has not happened yet, and it usually happens somewhere inconvenient.

Repair options and 2026 cost ranges

Option	What it is	Typical 2026 range	Best for
Laser weld a clean crack	Fuse the split closed without adding metal	Lowest-cost option	A fresh crack in an otherwise healthy band
Sizing beads / shank guard	Adds material inside the band for fit, not strength	Low	Fit problems, not structural wear
Half-shank replacement (14k gold)	Replace the worn bottom half of the band	$120–$180	The most common real repair
Half-shank replacement (18k gold)	Same, softer/higher-purity metal	$120–$225	18k pieces
Half-shank replacement (platinum)	Same, high-heat work	$175–$300	Platinum pieces
Full-shank replacement (14k gold)	Rebuild the entire band	from ~$180	Severe wear all around
Full-shank replacement (18k gold / platinum)	Full rebuild in denser or higher-purity metal	$500–$900+	Heirloom and high-value rebuilds

Ranges reflect published 2026 market pricing from multiple US jewelers. Your written quote is based on the actual piece.

What drives the price

How much metal is replaced. Half-shank work replaces the bottom arc. Full re-shanking rebuilds the whole band, and metal cost scales with it.
Metal type. Platinum is denser, has a much higher melting point, and needs specialized tooling and laser welding — consistently the most expensive metal to work.
Band width and weight. A wide, heavy band takes more metal than a thin one.
Stones near the repair. Any stones set close to the work must be protected during heating and re-checked afterward. Rings with stones down the shank are more labor.
Whether the ring must be sized at the same time. Combining shank replacement with resizing is usually cheaper than doing them separately.

Half shank or full shank — how to decide

Half shank if wear is concentrated at the bottom and the top of the band and the setting are sound. This is the right answer for most worn engagement rings.
Full shank if the band is thin all the way around, has been sized repeatedly, or has multiple old solder seams.
Neither if the band is sound and the issue is only fit — that is a resizing job, not a shank job.

A trustworthy repairer will tell you when the cheaper option is the correct one. If a shop quotes a full re-shank on a ring that is only worn at the bottom, get a second evaluation.

Signs your shank needs attention now

You can see daylight through a thin spot, or the band flexes when you squeeze it.
The ring has gone out of round and no longer sits flat.
There is a visible hairline at the bottom of the band.
Stones have started loosening — a flexing shank works settings loose over time.

How RJS handles shank work

RJS has been repairing and rebuilding rings since 2002 and processes 50,000+ pieces a year. Shank work is quoted in writing after a free evaluation, laser welding is used where heat near stones is a risk, and every piece is insured under a Lloyd''s of London Jewelers Block Policy with 100% chain-of-custody tracking from intake to return.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to fix a broken ring shank? A half-shank replacement typically runs $120–$180 in 14k gold, $120–$225 in 18k, and $175–$300 in platinum. A full-shank replacement starts around $180 in 14k gold and reaches $500–$900+ in 18k gold or platinum. A clean crack that can simply be laser-welded costs considerably less.

What is the difference between half shank and full shank replacement cost? Half-shank work replaces only the worn bottom of the band and is the cheaper, more common repair. Full re-shanking rebuilds the entire band and costs roughly two to four times more, depending on metal.

Can a cracked ring band be repaired instead of replaced? Often yes. A fresh crack in a band that still has good thickness can be laser-welded closed. If the metal around the crack has already worn thin, welding it will only move the next break a few millimetres over — replacement is the durable fix.

Is it worth re-shanking an old ring? For sentimental and heirloom pieces, almost always. Re-shanking preserves the original head, setting, and stones while replacing only the consumable part of the ring.