Hey guys, quick question? How many of you out there are wearing jewelry? I would guess that since you are reading a jewelry blog, that it would be quite a few of you. So take a quick peek at your pretties and ask yourself this question. When was the last time I cleaned my jewelry? If you answer anything but 30 seconds ago, chances are it’s been awhile. And what you may not know is that your jewelry most likely looks like this.
Scary stuff right? This is what your ring could, and probably has looked like at some point. My ring was helped out by my puppy Hera.
She’s 130+ pounds of drool and slobber, and her nose is right at ring level. She also thinks that she is the size of a chihuahua, but that's a story for another day. It turns out that there are tons of other ways for your rings to get dirty, including, washing your hands. Yes, washing your hands can leave soapy residue on your diamond’s surface. A quick diamond factoid. Diamonds are what we call hydrophobic, which means that they HATE water, and LOVE grease. And grease and grime are bad news when it comes to sparkle. So, we’ve established that your diamond is probably filthy, but don’t worry, we’re here to help. We’re kind of like super heroes that way. We should totally have a theme song don’t you think?
So you’re probably reading this at work, perhaps on your lunch hour, or perhaps not, I’m not here to judge. And you’ve looked down and your ring looks like the one above. It’s hours from quitting time and there isn’t a jewelry cleaning product in sight. Now before you descend into full blown panic mode, there are a few things that you can do. And one of them is sitting on your desk.
Yep, scotch tape. Cut off a strip and press it down firmly onto the table of your diamond. Then you can gleefully watch as layer upon layer of filth is removed with each stick of the tape.
You may need two or three pieces to clean the whole top of the ring, but afterwards you should notice a big improvement.
Not bad right? Another option for those of you who are on the go, or maybe you’re work for a company with a strange tape rationing process , is a soft, lint free cloth.
Take the cloth and gently rub the diamond and setting, trying to get as deep into crevices and clean as much of the diamond as possible. And voila, a sparkly diamond!
Although, however amazing these tricks are, they’re no substitute for a good home cleaning. The best tips I can give you is to keep it simple. You would be amazed at the results that you can achieve with some regular household items and some good old elbow grease. The tools you’ll need are a bowl of warm water, a super soft toothbrush, and liquid dish washing soap. Squirt a drop of the soap into the water and swirl to distribute. Then drop your ring in and let it soak for a few minutes. The warmth of the water and the grease cutting power of the soap will loosen up all of the gook that has collected.
Then, take your ring out and give it a gentle scrubbing with the toothbrush making sure that you get into all of the little nooks and crannies, under the basket, and along the pavilion of the diamond. Rinse your ring, pat dry with a clean, lint free cloth and enjoy the sparkle.
So, now that your ring is bright and shiny again, what can you do to keep your ring just a little less grungy between cleanings? First, taking off your rings when you get home and placing them in a safe place will not only protect them, but keep them cleaner in the process. Also, when you’re out and about, take off your rings to wash your hands and apply lotions. And whilst you’re wearing your lovely rings, try hard not to touch the diamonds with your fingers. Our skin naturally produces oils that can quickly build up on their surfaces. However the most important thing is to bring your pieces to your local jeweler to be inspected and given a thorough cleaning. Trust me, those steam cleaners are incredible. This will ensure that you can enjoy the sparkle of your diamonds for years to come.
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