How to Clean a Diamond Ring: Tips on Taking Care of Your Sparkly Diamond!
Anna 20 Mar 2020 4901 If you have a diamond ring, chances are that it is very important to you. The most popular type of diamond ring is an engagement or wedding ring, but you can have a beautiful diamond ring for any number of reasons including that you just like it and wanted to get it for yourself.
Diamonds are very special stones. They are actually the hardest mineral on the entire Earth. They rank a 10 on the Moh’s hardness scale putting them above all other stones.
Interestingly, this means that a diamond can only be cut or scratched by another diamond. Since they are harder than anything else, there is nothing else that can scratch them. Even though the gemstones are incredibly durable themselves, you still want to make sure to care for them properly for a few reasons.
First of all, you want to make sure that your stone sparkles and shines to its full potential. Not caring for your diamond properly can leave it looking musty and dull. You want your precious ring to sparkle like a diamond, of course!
So, proper cleaning and care will keep your diamond looking its very best. Possibly even more important than that, though, is that your ring does not just consist of diamonds.
How to clean diamond ring settings is very important because they are more susceptible to damage. It isn’t just the setting that needs to be considered, but many rings also feature additional stones.
Since diamonds are, again, the hardest mineral on the planet, the other stones regardless of variety, will also be more susceptible. All elements of the ring need to be considered when caring for your piece of jewelry.
Check out some of the cleaning methods and care tips below while considering the specific elements of your ring in order to determine the best care routine for your specific needs!
Cleaning Methods
The biggest thing in a jewelry care routine is how you will clean your piece of jewelry – in this case, your ring. It is important to choose a cleaning method for your gemstone ring that protects the weakest element of it.
Below, you can check out 4 popular methods of cleaning for diamond rings and we will discuss which methods are best for different types of jewelry.
1. Warm Water and Gentle Soap
This tried and true method of jewelry cleaning is one that you really just can’t go wrong with. That is why we would be willing to say that this is probably the best option for any diamond ring regardless of the setting type or additional stones.
This will protect your ring well while still allowing you to get an efficient clean that helps that stone to really sparkle! The method is about as simple as it sounds.
✓ You will want to get a small container of warm water. This could be a small bowl, a glass, or even a coffee mug.
✓ Anything you have that can hold water, soap, and your ring will work just fine. You don’t need to put much water into the container – just enough to fully submerge your ring is good.
✓ The water should be slightly warm, but not hot.
✓ Add a small amount of gentle soap into the water and stir it around a bit to get the water mixture nice and sudsy. A gentle soap can be anything from hand soap to body wash to baby soap. One of the most popular choices is a mild dish soap like blue Dawn.
✓ It is very important to choose a soap that does not have moisturizers in it, though. This can leave a slimy residue on your stone that takes away from its beautiful sparkle.
✓ Once your water mixture is all ready to go, you’ll simply leave your ring in it for a while. You can gently swish the ring about in the mixture for a moment if you want to in order to help get the mixture down into the crevices and knock away build up.
✓ Then, simply let the ring sit for around 15 or 20 minutes. Once you pull your ring out, you can use a soft toothbrush to very gently scrub your piece of jewelry.
✓ Make sure that you choose the softest toothbrush possible as a stiffer toothbrush can cause abrasion and damage to the setting (and possibly accent stones) of your ring. It is even possible that a stiffer option may loosen settings and cause you to lose your diamond altogether!
✓ So, really make sure you choose a soft option. You can gently scrub the ring with the soapy mixture still on it. Take care to get underneath the stone from the inside of the ring. This makes a big difference in how your diamond looks.
✓ If you miss getting rid of grime from the bottom of the stone, it can cause it to look foggy and discolored from the top.
✓ If you have build-up in the tighter crevices of your ring and the toothbrush isn’t helping to loosen them, you can use a toothpick. If you choose to use a toothpick, you must be very careful in order to not damage your setting or loosen your stones.
✓ You can also repeat the water/gentle soap soak and scrub again with the toothbrush to help get out more build-up. If it is very bad, it may be time to get a professional cleaning at your local jeweler.
✓ Once you have your ring soaked and scrubbed, you will want to give it a rinse in running water. Make sure that you close the drain on your sink, though! This is so important because you do not want to accidentally lose your ring down the drain.
✓ Even if you feel like your ring can’t make it down the actual drain, you should still close it. You never know when a stone may come loose, and you could actually lose your diamond down the drain! So, always close the drain.
✓ After rinsing it off well, you will need to dry it. You can choose to simply set it down on a cloth and allow it to air dry. If you don’t want to wait, you can dry it off with a soft, lint-free cloth. It is important to choose a lint-free option to avoid fuzzies getting on your ring.
2. Windex and Hydrogen Peroxide
It turns out that the popular window cleaner Windex has many different uses beyond cleaning glass! One of those is to help clean your piece of jewelry. Now, it is important to note that you must not use this method with just any diamond ring.
The ring can’t have any elements within it other than diamonds, solid gold, solid sterling silver, or solid platinum. If your piece features other metals, plated metals, or other stones, please do not attempt this method as it could cause damage to it.
If you do have a ring with only these elements in it, this is a great method for really cleaning and cleansing your ring to restore it to its original beauty.
The Windex removes any dirt, grime, or other build-up from your ring. It makes it a lot easier to remove the hard-to-get stuff from your ring. Keep in mind that you don’t have to have actual Windex to use this method. You can choose any generic version of Windex as well.
Then, the hydrogen peroxide helps to kill any bacteria and give your ring a good cleansing.
✓ To perform this method of cleaning, simply mix 1 part Windex with 1 part hydrogen peroxide. You can use any small container for this.
✓ The measurements don’t have to be super precise, either. So, if you want to just guess, that is perfectly fine. It is especially easy to guess the measurements since it is a simple 50/50 recipe.
Get the hydrogen peroxide solution here
✓ Once you have the two products mixed, you can add your ring. Let it sit in the mixture for about 10 to 15 minutes or so. Once it has done this, you’ll follow the same basic steps that we talked about for the water and gentle soap method.
✓ So, just pull it out and give it a scrub with a soft toothbrush. After you’ve got it all nice and cleaned up, you can go ahead and give it a rinse.
✓ Remember that you do not want to leave the drain open while you rinse your ring! Always close the drain!
✓ Finish rinsing it clean and then dry it off with a lint-free cloth or simply set it somewhere safe to air-dry. Using a cloth will help it to look as good as possible, though.
✓ Air drying is mostly fine but can actually leave small water spots on the ring. Using the lint-free cloth gives it a smooth finish with a nice polish.
3. Ultrasonic Cleaning
Another fairly popular option for cleaning different types of jewelry is an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner. An ultrasonic cleaner can definitely get your jewelry nice and clean, but it isn’t the best solution in many cases.
The way it works is pretty simple. You will place your jewelry inside an ultrasonic jewelry cleaning solution inside of the machine. Once inside, you can turn the machine on, and it will begin the ultrasonic cleaning process.
How this works is that the machine sends special high-frequency waves through the cleaning solution. This creates little vibrations all around the ring. In combination with the specific chemicals used in the ultrasonic cleaner solution, these tiny movements are able to remove all debris from your jewelry.
Get the Magnasonic cleaner here
✓ The length of the cleaning cycle in your ultrasonic cleaner can vary anywhere up to 20 minutes but it usually won’t take very long unless your ring is very dirty.
✓ Don’t forget to wear gloves when using the ultrasonic cleaner to avoid coming into direct contact with the chemicals used. You will also want to give your ring a good rinsing afterwards, with the drain closed, of course.
✓ Then dry it the same way as with other methods either by air drying or with a soft, lint-free cloth. It is very important to note that ultrasonic cleaners are never a good option for certain diamond rings. If the ring features other softer stones as well, you will want to avoid them.
✓ Things like emerald and opal can be damaged by the ultrasonic cleaner. You also shouldn’t use the ultrasonic clean if any elements of your ring, including your diamond, have been treated in any way.
✓ It is never a good idea to use the ultrasonic cleaner on a regular basis either. The tiny vibrations during the cleaning cycle can actually loosen your settings overtime and cause you to lose your diamond(s)! Really, a professional cleaner would be a better option in general compared to using an at-home ultrasonic cleaner.
✓ If you do choose to use an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner at home to clean your diamond ring, just remember to use it only occasionally rather than all the time.
4. Jewelry Cleaning Solution
The final method we will talk about is by using a specialized jewelry cleaning solution, sometimes simply called a dip. These solutions are available for purchase just about anywhere.
There are different options that you can choose from, so make sure you are getting a solution that is designed for use for whatever your specific diamond ring features – such as silver, gold, etc.
Again, you always want to consider the weakest element of your ring when choosing the best care routine for it. Regardless of the other elements of your ring, you will want to look for some specific things in your solution. It is best to choose a jewelry cleaning solution that is non-abrasive and chemical-free. This will help protect all elements of your piece of jewelry.
These solutions often come with a brush for you to use to scrub your ring as well, so feel free to use it! It should be nice and soft to keep your ring in great condition.
It is also very important to always read the label of your jewelry cleaning solution. Follow all directions in order to get the best results possible. Solutions like this usually don’t take very long at all, so they are a speedy option for getting your ring cleaned up quickly!
Cleaning Frequency
If you are wondering to yourself, “How often do I need to clean my diamond ring?”, it may be more often than you think. Some people tend to think that if they are just washing their hands regularly while wearing their ring, their ring gets cleaned each time they wash their hands.
This isn’t really quite accurate, though. It may help with some build-up, but it can actually lead to more build-up in the form of soap. It also isn’t necessarily good for your ring in terms of loosening up and receiving regular abrasion.
Consider taking your jewelry off when you wash your hands, most of the time. Your ring doesn’t really need a cleaning every day, but cleaning it once a week can be very beneficial.
This helps to prevent a lot of dirt and debris from building up onto it in the first place. It also helps to make sure it looks great all the time. You can do just a basic cleaning in soap and water once a week and occasionally add in something like the jewelry cleaning solution, ultrasonic cleaner, or Windex and hydrogen peroxide if you want to.
It is perfectly fine, though, to just use warm water and gentle soap each and every time. It is a great idea to take your jewelry in for a professional cleaning from time to time, though.
Just like you clean your teeth regularly and still go in for deep cleaning at the dentist a couple of times a year, you also want to consider doing this for your precious jewelry.
Taking your ring in for a professional cleaning about twice a year or so will help to guarantee that it stays in good shining and sparkling condition indefinitely.
Diamond Care Tips
You want to regularly clean your piece of jewelry to make sure it is always sparkling to its full potential, but it is super important to make sure you are always taking care of your ring in-between cleanings as well.
There are some important things that you will want to take into consideration when it comes to the care of your diamond ring. You definitely want to avoid all abrasive products and items. Things like baking soda can do some serious damage to it – especially your setting.
So, never use baking soda with your ring. You also might have heard that toothpaste is a good way to clean your jewelry. Well, its not! Do not use toothpaste to clean anything.
Bleach is another no-go when it comes to caring for jewelry. So, if you have to work with or use bleach, always make sure to remove your ring and put it in a safe place beforehand.
It can be helpful as well to simply not touch your ring as much as possible. Some people are constantly drawn to move, touch, and feel their jewelry all the time.
If you can avoid this, you will save a lot of time scrubbing off oils and dirt. Taking your jewelry off before applying products like lotion is also a really good idea.
This helps to keep the lotion from getting into the smaller crevices of your ring. It also keeps it away from any products that may damage it, leave a film on it, or make it slide off.
There are many other activities that you will want to avoid while wearing your diamonds. Rough activities like working out or manual labor are best avoided. Make sure you have somewhere safe to put the diamond jewelry when you need to take it off.
Certain things like washing dishes and gardening are bothersome enough to put gloves on but you don’t necessarily need to take the ring off altogether for these things and other similar things.
Jewelry of all types tends to mean something special to us. Diamonds are often of the utmost importance, though. These stones represent deep eternal love and have been long used as one of the most popular gemstones for engagement and wedding jewelry out there.
Because of how important they are, we need to make sure that we are regularly cleaning it as well as other jewelry. This helps keep your jewelry in top-notch shape.
