HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR DIAMOND

How do you care for and clean your diamond?

Well, that’s easy!

Go to the store and buy:

• Ammonia
• (Ammonia or Mr. Clean)
• A little Dish Soap
• A Soft Toothbrush

That’s all the care your diamond needs.

Put a touch of Ammonia into a glass of hot, soapy water (make sure the water is hot, but not boiling). Soak your rings in the liquid for about 5 minutes to loosen the dirt. Then scrub your diamond gently with the soft toothbrush. Clean underneath the diamond good to get the pavilion (base of the diamond) clean. That’s where all the dirt, debris, soaps and hand lotions build up. Be careful that you don’t snag or pull your prongs.

Doing this once a week will keep your diamond looking brand new again.

That’s the cool thing about diamonds… They never wear down or erode. They’ll look perfect forever, as long as you keep them clean.

Keeping them clean allows light to enter your diamond and return back to you in a thousand sparkles of beautiful light and color (brilliance and fire). It just needs a wash once a week, that’s all!

Mountings are another thing…

The mounting on the other hand, does need maintenance and upkeep. Mountings like white gold (which are also rhodium plated), yellow gold, rose gold, and platinum can wear down (gold more than platinum – platinum is 4x more durable than gold). But they all will wear down, erode, corrode, break, become brittle, bend and even tarnish.

A lot of things can happen to them; they can be crushed, dropped, flattened and dented. The shanks (band) can get thin, razor sharp and snap. The prongs can be bent, broken or worn flat. The channel walls can become thin, weak and jagged. The list goes on and on…

Mountings need some TLC! But they can get quite costly over the course of a lifetime, there’s no way around that.

Which is why it’s recommended that you take your jewelry into a jeweler at least twice a year (I actually advise every 2 or 3 months – I tell customers anytime they are in the area, stop by so we can clean and inspect their jewelry).

Jewelers will not only clean your Jewelry (usually a free service), but they also know what to look for when it comes to repairs. They can check for loose stones, uneven prongs, pitted shanks, chips, dents, stress marks and weak walls. They can make sure the mounting is up to par. If there are any signs of weakness that could potentially harm your stones or cause your diamonds to fall out, then they can fix them before it gets worse.

Preventive medicine:

Preventive medicine is the best policy. It’s also peace of mind.

Cleaning and inspections normally cost nothing and they only take a couple of minutes… So there is no excuse not to get them done. What have you got to lose? Your diamonds?

It’s either that or wait until your stones fall out… And fighting with the insurance company to cover it sounds fun, right? I think not (plus, deductibles are outrageous).

Take it to the jeweler often and get a professional cleaning (professional ultrasonic machines are wonderful). Plus, jewelers always have powerful steam cleaners that will make your diamonds sparkle more than they ever have.

Care and cleaning of your diamonds and jewelry is not a difficult thing. But you must remember to do it. Mark it on your calendar (make a date with the jeweler). Or set a reminder in your iPhone… Go on, do it NOW!

You could always buy yourself an ultrasonic cleaner and clean your rings yourself, but you’ll still be missing that much needed professional inspection. Hearing “Your prongs are worn and flat, they need to be rebuilt” is well worth the trip.

So jewelry cleaner or not, take your valuables to the store and have them clean everything well and inspect your items for durability, wear and tear.

If it saves you from losing a diamond, then that’s advice well taken.

Cheers! :)