An MRI is the one medical situation where permanent jewelry genuinely comes up, because the machine is a giant magnet and metal behaves unpredictably inside one. The answer is not a blanket "yes" or "no" — it depends on your exact piece and your imaging center. Here is how to handle it without panicking.
The Short Answer
It depends on the facility and the procedure, but many MRI exams require metal jewelry to be removed because an MRI uses a very strong magnet. Whether yours must come off depends on the material of your piece and the imaging center’s policy. Permanent jewelry can always be removed by cutting the connecting ring — and the chain can be saved and rewelded afterward.
Why MRIs are different
An MRI scanner uses a powerful magnetic field to image the body. Certain metals are affected by that field, which is why radiology centers ask patients to remove jewelry and other metal before scanning. Some materials are safe in the MRI suite and some are not, and the facility that runs your scan is the one that makes the call based on what you are wearing.
So do you have to remove it?
Ask your imaging center before your appointment — they will tell you their policy for the material of your piece. Some permanent jewelry is fine in an MRI and some is not; the facility is the authority. If they say remove it, do not fight it. The good news is that removal is not destructive to the jewelry: someone cuts the connecting ring, the chain comes off intact, and you can have it rewelded.
How to remove it when needed
Measurement is simple. The connecting ring is the small welded ring where the chain closes — cut it with a set of scissors, nail clippers, or wire cutters and the piece slips right off. Keep the chain safe. For an MRI you have a clear timeline, so you can remove it the night before with care rather than in a rush. If you would rather not do it yourself, a professional can help.
What about after the scan?
Once your scan is done, happy news: since the chain is intact, it can go back on. Bring the cut piece to any Oh She Linked event and we can reweld it. That is the whole benefit of cutting the connecting ring — nothing about the jewelry itself is lost, and "permanent" jewelry can live through a medical necessity with a simple reweld.
Bring this to your next permanent jewelry 101 in West Michigan
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