Difference between ready-made rings and hand-made rings
Hi ! This is Connie in charge of customer support 😊
What is the difference between ready-made rings sold at retail shops and our hand-made rings.
① Hand-made rings are made to perfectly fit your finger.
Therefore the sizes could be an inbetween size such as 9.2 or 9.8 (Japanese size)
whereas with ready-made rings you could only choose size 9 or 10 and put up with
the ring being a little small or a little large for your finger.
② Our hand-made rings can be taken home on the same day.
As for ready-made rings if there isn't a ring that fits your finger size or if you choose one from their display it might take from 2 months to 3 months depending on the shop and
the ring you choose.
At our shop, you can take the ring home on the day regardless of whether you
participate in our ring-texturing workshop or you order the ring to be made by our
craftsman. Therefore we recommend our shop for overseas visitors who cannot wait so
long.
③ There are many cases where the afterservice like re-polishing and resizing is not free.
The cost varies according to the retail shop.
For our handmade rings, afterservice such as re-polishing and resizing from minus 2 to plus 2 is free on the condition that it is worn on the same finger.
(for 1.0mm width and 1.5mm width rings resizing is from minus 2 to plus 1)
There is no deadline so you can come anytime you need it.
Afterservice is also available at our sister shops so for overseas visitors who come to
Japan again in the future can visit one of our sister shops if they do not come to
Osaka.
Sister shops:
・aisorashi Ishikawa Prefecture ・itoware Kobe
・nane tokyo Tokyo ・itoaware Shiga
・nane asakusa Tokyo ・itoaware Nagasaki
・itoaware kyoto Kyoto ・itosina Okinawa
・itoaware nara Nara
④ At retail shops there are no workshops where you can make the ring yourself.
At our shop, you an participate in our ring-texturing workshop whereby you
texture the pattern of your choice onto the ring while expanding it to fit your
finger size. The workshop is free so you just need to pay for the ring!
⑤ At retail shops, the engraving is done by a machine.
At our shop, the engraving is done by hand by our craftsman so the image of the
engraving looks more original. If you prefer, we could recommend several original
engravings just for you. Even with engravings, the ring can be taken home on the day.
(engraving is an option which is ¥1,100 with tax for every 5 letters)
⑥ At a handmade shop such as itoaware, if you like we can take photos during the
workshop so you can take home the ring as well as happy memories.
If you wish to order the ring, no reservation is required.
Also, if you find the ring you like from the displayed ring and it fits your finger
you can purchase it after we repolish it.
However although you like it very much but it doen't fit your finger,
you can order it and a just-fit ring will be made by our craftsmen.
If you wish to participate in our ring-making workshop, we recommend that you make a
reservation in advance.
Please search instagram for the shop you wish to visit and send us a DM in English and
we will reply in English.
Osaka shop instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itoaware.osk/
(For overseas visitors, if you bring your passport with you it can be tax free)
We are looking forward to meeting you !